Select a landing page experience for your local inventory ads

If you're looking for information about selecting a landing page experience for your local inventory ads in Merchant Center Next, click here.

This is step 6 of the local inventory onboarding guide.

To decide how you want to onboard, you’ll need to answer the following question in the Merchant Center: “ Do you have up-to-date inventory information?“

• If the answer is “Yes, I know what's in stock at my stores”:
  • Choose your landing page type for local inventory ads (local inventory ads only).
• If the answer is “No, I don't know what's in-stock at my stores, but I can ship products to my stores“:
  • Implement pickup later for Shopping ads (You must be active on Shopping ads).

Note: Pickup later allows you to provide a direct online to offline experience for your customers. For items that can be picked up in store within a specific SLA regardless of store availability, pickup later allows you to use your stores as an omnichannel asset and differentiator. Unlike other local inventory ads features, pickup later doesn't require full inventory information.

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Local inventory ads can direct customers to either a Google-hosted local storefront or a merchant hosted local storefront depending on the data provided in your primary and local product inventory feeds, as well as in the information presented on your website product pages.

1. The Google-hosted local storefront (GHLSF) is a Google-hosted product page for your store where customers can view in-store inventory, get store hours, find directions, and more. Complete your inventory verification to avail this feature.
2. The Merchant hosted local storefront is a product page on your website.

Instructions

When you first enable local inventory ads, you'll be required to select a storefront option that best matches your website’s product page functionality. Depending on the storefront option you select, you'll also be required to provide an example of a product page on your website for Google to review. Follow the steps below:

Step 1: Tell us about your product landing pages

In the Merchant Center, click the Tools and settings icon , then select Local inventory ads setup under “Tools”. After you’ve selected your country, select one of the following storefront setups in the “Website product pages” section:

• Merchant hosted local storefront (full)
  • Select this setup if your product page’s URL can be customized to display a product’s price and availability at a specific location using the Business Profile store code.
  • If you select this setup, your local inventory ads will direct users to your product page using the Merchant hosted local storefront (full) feature.
    • Ensure that you are submitting the [link_template] feed attribute for the Merchant hosted local storefront (full) feature.
• Merchant hosted local storefront (basic)
  • Select this setup if your product pages allow customers to check a product’s availability at your retail stores.
  • If you select this setup, your local inventory ads will direct users to your product pages using the Merchant hosted local storefront (basic) feature.
    • Ensure that you are submitting the required feed attributes for the Merchant hosted local storefront (basic) feature.
• Google-hosted local storefront
  • Select this setup if your product pages can’t show which stores carry your products.
    • A Google-hosted local storefront page will be automatically built from your feed data.

Step 2: Provide an example product landing page for review (required for Merchant hosted local storefront full and basic)

After you’ve selected your storefront setup, in the “Example product landing page” section provide a link to one of your product landing pages in the text box. If you have selected the merchant hosted local storefront (full) option, ensure the product link you are providing contains the store code and loads the landing page with product details for that store. Google will review this link to ensure that your website’s functionality meets the landing page requirements for the merchant hosted local storefront full or basic.

Note: Your review won't be completed until you create, register, and submit feeds for local inventory ads.

If you selected the Google-hosted local storefront option, you won't be required to submit an example page for review.

Change your landing page experience

If you’re already opted into local inventory ads, you can check which experience your account is using by logging into your Merchant Center account. Click the Tools and settings icon and then select Local inventory ads setup under “Tools”. After you’ve selected your country, you'll find the setup your account is using in the “Website product pages” section.

Note: The current landing page experience must first be approved before you can change it. If the landing page experience needs to be changed before the approval, you should remove your country and add it again with the desired landing page experience.

Switch to a Merchant Hosted Local Storefront

If you are currently using the Google-hosted local storefront setup and would like to change your landing page experience to use one of the merchant hosted local storefront options, you'll need to make three key changes.

Update your “Website product pages” selection

1. In your Merchant Center account, click the tools and settings icon and then select Local inventory ads setup under “Tools.”
2. After you’ve selected your country, you'll find the “Website product pages” section.
3. Select one of the options: “Merchant hosted local storefront (full)” or “Merchant hosted local storefront (Basic).”
4. Submit an example product landing page URL in the text box.

Note: Additional verification will be required before your ads will redirect to your merchant hosted landing pages.

Update your primary feed and inventory feed to add additional attributes

1. If you’re changing to merchant hosted local storefront (full):
   1. Review the feed attribute requirements and ensure you include the following attributes:
      1. Primary Feed:
         • Link for your merchant hosted local storefront (full) [link_template]
      2. Primary Feed or Product Inventory Feed:
         • Price [price]
2. If you’re changing to merchant hosted local storefront (basic):
   1. Review the feed attribute requirements and ensure you include the following attributes:
      1. Primary Feed:
         • Link [link]
         • Price [price]
      2. Product Inventory Feed:
         • Price [price]

Contact Google Support

1. Use the Contact Us form to request assistance and fill in the following fields:
   1. “Type of issue”:
      1. I want to implement additional features (Merchant-hosted local storefront, Store pickup, On Display to order).
   2. “Please select the feature that you are interested in implementing”:
      1. Select either “Merchant Hosted Local Storefront (Full)” or “Merchant Hosted Local Storefront (Basic)”.
   3. “Summary of issue”:
      1. Enter “I am changing my landing page experience from Google-hosted to merchant hosted.”
2. Google support will then conduct a review of your account in order to determine the following:
   1. Whether your example product page meets the participation requirements for your selected website experience.
   2. Whether your feeds contain the required metadata to support your selected website experience.

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Switch from a landing page experience to pickup later with Shopping ads

If your landing page experience for local inventory ads is already approved or currently under review and you'd like to change to pickup later with Shopping ads, you'll need to make the following changes.

Note: This action is recommended if your website does not meet the merchant hosted local storefront full or basic requirements but it does meet the pickup later requirements. Additional verification will be required before your ads will redirect to your pickup later product pages.

If your website does meet the merchant hosted local storefront full or basic requirements you can simply add pickup later during the regular onboarding and choose to only submit pickup later attributes via your product data.

Remove your current local inventory ads setup

1. In your Merchant Center account, click the Tools and settings icon and select “Local inventory ads setup”.
2. Scroll down to “Countries with Business Profiles” and Select the country for which you’ve started the local inventory ads onboarding via landing page experience.
   • You have previously answered “Yes, I know what’s in stock in my store(s)” for the question “Do you have up-to-date inventory information for your stores in {country name}?.
3. Select “Remove (country name)” at the bottom of the page.

Note: If you completed setting up your local inventory ads through a landing page experience, this step will erase all progress done.

4. In the pop-up window, select “Remove {country name}”.

Start your onboarding process with pickup later with Shopping ads

1. In your Merchant Center account, click the tools and settings icon and select “Local inventory ads setup”.
2. Under “Countries with Business Profiles”, click the blue plus icon and select the country where your physical stores are located from the drop down.
   • If you are not seeing the blue plus icon , complete the following steps:
     • Click Growth on the left hand navigation menu from the Merchant Center overview page and then click Manage programs.
     • Under the Local inventory ads card, click on Get started.
     • In the country list, choose the country where your physical stores are located and click on Continue.
3. Under the question “Do you have up-to-date inventory information for your stores in (country name), select “No, I don't know what's in-stock at my stores, but I can ship products to my stores”.
4. Under “Select the pick up options customers have on your website.” and next to “Pickup later”, tick the checkbox “If a product isn't in stock, ship to store is available” .
5. In the field under “Example product page for pickup later”, Provide a URL to a product that is available for pickup later.
6. Click Save.
   • Note: Add the required attributes pickup SLA [pickup_SLA] and pickup method [pickup_method] in either your primary or your inventory feed.

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Switch from pickup later with Shopping ads to a landing page experience

If you are currently onboarding/onboarded in pickup later with Shopping ads and would like to change to the landing page experiences for local inventory ads, you'll need to make the following changes.

Note: This action is recommended for advertisers willing to promote their in-store inventory. Additional verification will be required before your ads will redirect to your pickup later product pages.

Remove your current local inventory ads setup

1. In your Merchant Center account, click the tools and settings icon and select “Local inventory ads setup”.
2. Select the country for which you’ve started a local inventory ads onboarding via pickup later with Shopping ads.
   • You previously answered “No, I don't know what's in-stock at my stores, but I can ship products to my stores)” at the question “Do you have up-to-date inventory information for your stores in {country name}?”.
3. Select “Remove {country name}” at the bottom of the page.

Note: If you completed setting up your local inventory ads through pickup later with Shopping ads, this step will erase all progress done.

4. In the pop-up window, select “Remove {country name}”.

Start your onboarding process with a landing page experiences for local inventory ads

1. In your Merchant Center account, click the tools and settings icon and select “Local inventory ads setup”.
2. Under “Countries with Business Profiles”, click the blue plus icon and select the country where your physical stores are located from the drop down.
   • If you are not seeing the blue plus icon , complete the following steps:
     • Click Growth on the left hand navigation menu from the Merchant Center overview page and then click Manage programs.
     • Under the Local inventory ads card, click on Get started.
     • In the country list, choose the country where your physical stores are located and click on Continue.
3. Under the question "Do you have up-to-date inventory information for your stores in { country name }”, select “Yes, I know what's in stock at my stores”.
4. Under “Product pages on your website”, select a landing page on how customers can know what you have in store and where, from the following options:
   • Merchant hosted local storefront (full)
   • Merchant hosted local storefront (basic)
   • Google hosted local storefront
5. Click Save.

Related links

• Local inventory onboarding guide
• Local inventory ads overview
• Merchant hosted local storefront (full)
• Merchant hosted local storefront (basic)