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Content language

Content language is the language of a Merchant Center data source, fixed when the source is created; Google shows its products to people who use that language.

How it works

Every product data source in Merchant Center has one language, which you set when creating the source and can’t change. Google supports a fixed list of languages, including Czech, Slovak, Polish and Ukrainian. A source in any of them can show products in any country where Shopping ads and free listings are available. Google targets people there who use that language.

A second language therefore means a second data source. The language is part of the product ID, so each offer then exists twice, for example as csCZ123 and skSK123. Translating titles, site and checkout together is localization. Our guide to Merchant Center for several countries covers running several markets from one account.

Where you see it

  • Merchant Center — chosen with country, marketing methods and feed label when you add a product data source.
  • Merchant API — the contentLanguage field, a two-letter ISO 639-1 code that is part of every product ID.

Example

Example store, not client data.

The tableware shop sells in Czechia from a Czech data source with 3,000 products. To reach Slovakia, it can add that country to the source, and Google shows the Czech listings to people there who use Czech. Or it can translate the catalogue and the site and add a Slovak source. Merchant Center then holds 6,000 product records, two per offer.

Not to be confused with

  • Feed label — a name that tells a campaign which data sources to advertise, one per campaign. The language decides who Google targets; the feed label decides which campaign advertises the product.
  • hreflang — website markup that points Google Search to the right language version of a page.

Right and wrong readings

  • Wrong: “A Czech feed cannot be shown in Slovakia.” Right: it can: Google shows its products to people in Slovakia who use Czech.
  • Wrong: “Translating the titles is enough.” Right: descriptions and variant details should be in the source language too. The parts of the landing page and checkout that a shopper needs to buy must be in that language. If most of the product data doesn’t match it, products may be disapproved.

Sources