How Long Does It Take for Products to Show on Google Shopping?

It usually takes 24 to 72 hours for products to appear on Google Shopping after submission to Google Merchant Center.

However, timing can vary depending on feed approval, account verification, and data quality checks by Google.

If you’re an online store owner running (for example) a WooCommerce store and using data feeds or plugins to submit products to Google Shopping, one question you’ll often ask is: “How long will it take until my products actually appear in Google Shopping or in listings served via Google Merchant Center?”

Understanding the timing, the factors that affect visibility, and the steps you can take to speed things up is critical for managing expectations, planning launches, and troubleshooting issues.

In this article, you’ll learn:

• What “showing on Google Shopping” really means
• Typical timeframes for products appearing in the Google Merchant Center / Shopping ecosystem
• Which factors speed up or slow down the process
• Step-by-step checklist for making sure your feed is visible sooner
• What to do if your products are delayed or not showing up
• Practical guidance and tips for your WooCommerce-based store and plugin users

What does “showing on Google Shopping” mean?

Before diving into timing, it’s important to clarify what we mean by “products showing”.

When you upload a product feed (or update it) to Google Merchant Center, your products under go several stages:

• Your feed is processed by the Merchant Center, and product data is evaluated.
• Your product items may enter a “Under review” or “Pending” status while Google checks for compliance.
• Once approved, your product has an “Approved” status and may begin to be eligible for display in Shopping ads (if you run a campaign) or free listings.
• “Showing” can mean different things:
  • Visible in your Merchant Center “All products” tab with status Approved
  • Eligible to appear in Shopping ads and actually generating impressions/clicks
  • Appearing in the Google Shopping tab or search results for users

Thus, when you ask “how long”, you are really asking: How long from feed submission (or product update) until my item is eligible and actually meaningfully visible to users?

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Typical timeframes: how long does it take?

The time it takes varies depending on your account status (new vs existing), the size and quality of your feed, and whether you’re making simple updates or submitting new products first time.

Based on Google documentation and industry experience:

• For first-time feed submission in a brand-new Merchant Center account: Google’s Help Center states that the review may take up to 3-5 days for ads and “a few weeks” for free listings.
• For existing feed updates (when you already have approved products and you add or update items): In many cases, the processing in Merchant Center is much quicker — “around half an hour” is quoted by feed-management specialists.
• Many merchants report that if everything is correct, their items show up within 2-4 days, and some even within 24-48 hours.
• Longer delays (one week or more) can happen if there are issues — feed errors, policy checks, brand new account, large catalogue, etc.

Key takeaway timing ranges

Situation	Typical time to show
New account + first feed submission	As little as 30 minutes to a few hours; up to 1-3 days in practice
Existing account + adding/updating items	Delays due to errors/large accounts/new account
Delays due to errors/large accounts/new accounts	Several days to a week or more

So while some items may appear quickly, you should plan for 2-4 days as a reasonable expectation, and allow a bit more if you’re launching everything new.

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What affects how long it takes? (Delays & acceleration factors)

Factors that speed up visibility

• You already have a verified and healthy Merchant Center account (approved business, shipping, returns, tax settings).
• Your feed is error-free, with correct required attributes: ID, title, description, price, availability, image, GTIN/brand (if required), etc.
• You upload products via a fast method (Content API) or a regularly processed feed. The Developer’s guide notes, “it may take up to several hours” for API changes to show in the database.
• Your feed size is moderate, and there are no bulk “first upload” delays.
• Your landing pages are crawlable, your website is fully configured, shipping/tax rules are correct, and they match your feed.
• You link your Merchant Center to your Google Ads account (if running Shopping campaigns) and set up a campaign so impressions can start.
• You structure and optimise the feed and product data (good titles, descriptions, images, GTINs) so that there are fewer manual checks required.

Factors that slow down visibility or cause delays

• New Merchant Center account that must undergo manual review.
• Errors or warnings in your feed (missing attributes, incorrect formatting, policy issues) — these may hold items in “Under review” or “Pending” status.
• Large feed (tens of thousands of items) or complex import — can take longer to process.
• Submitting via slower fetch schedule (daily only) or using older feed formats.
• Items with uncommon or restricted attributes (e.g., special categories, custom ads) that require extra policy review.
• Mismatch between feed and website (price, availability, shipping) — this can lead to disapproval or hold-up.
• Seasonal peaks in review workload at Google, or accounts flagged for additional review.

One Reddit thread:

“Generally, it’s supposed to take 3 business days but our feed has been pending … like 20 days now.”

In short, the more “clean” everything is, the faster the process. The more new/unverified/complex the account or feed is, the slower.

How to Reduce “time to show” On Google Shopping?

Since your target audience is eCommerce store owners (WooCommerce) and you build plugins/tools, here’s a practical checklist to help ensure your products show quickly in Google Shopping:

1. Verify your Merchant Center account

Ensure business information, website link, shipping and returns policy, tax settings are valid and approved.

Check account status is approved (not suspended or ‘in review’) via Merchants → Overview.

2. Ensure your feed is clean and error-free

Required attributes present: id, title, description, link, image_link, availability, price, brand/gtin/mpn (where required).

No formatting errors (correct currency code, no unexpected characters).

For WooCommerce stores: use a reliable feed plugin (e.g., CTX Feed) and test the feed file.

3. Submit the feed and check the processing status

Use Merchant Center → Products → Feeds → Processing to see whether the feed was fetched and processed.

If first feed, expect longer initial review time.

4. Monitor the product status

In Merchant Center → Products → All Products, check the “Status” column: ‘Under review’, ‘Approved’, ‘Limited’, etc.

“Under review” or “Pending” means you wait a typical wait of 3-5 business days, according to Google.

If the status remains “Pending” far beyond the expected time, check for errors or contact support.

5. Set up Shopping campaign (if applicable)

If you want paid visibility, link Merchant Center to your Google Ads account, and create a Shopping campaign or Performance Max campaign.

The campaign setup itself might take a little time to accumulate impressions. One Reddit user observed: “We usually see a couple of days at most to get traction… some clicks and impressions happening.

6. Check free listings eligibility

If you’re relying on free listings (not ads) via the Google Shopping tab, ensure you have opted in for free listings (if required) and your feed supports them.

7. Match your website data with feed data

Ensure price, availability, and shipping info on your website match what’s in the feed. Mismatch can delay approval or cause disapproval.

8. Allow for realistic time and monitor

Even with a perfect setup, allow 24–72 hours (1-3 days) for visibility. If beyond a week, investigate.

9. Optimise to improve impressions once live

After products are approved, ensure you have competitive pricing, good images, strong titles/descriptions, and sufficient bids (if running ads) so they will actually show. Approval alone does not guarantee high visibility.

What to do if your products are delayed or not showing?

If your products remain in “Under review” or “Pending” status longer than expected, or once approved, you still see zero impressions, here are the troubleshooting steps:

• Check the diagnostics/errors tab in Merchant Center: Products → Diagnostics. Fix any critical issues (disapprovals, warnings).
• Ensure products are approved for desired destinations (ads, free listings) and the target country/language matches your feed settings.
• Confirm that your campaign budget and bids (for Shopping ads) are sufficient so you actually see impressions. A product may be approved but not shown because bids are too low or the budget is exhausted.
• Review policy compliance: Some verticals or new accounts attract additional review.
• Ensure feed scheduling is not overly slow (e.g., only fetching weekly) — faster fetch = faster refresh.
• Verify your website is accessible to Google’s crawler (robots.txt not blocking, images accessible, HTTPS).
• For free listings: ensure you opted in and your region supports them.
• Be patient: Google states that for initial feed review, it may take several weeks in some cases (especially for free listings).
• If you suspect something is wrong, contact Google Merchant Center support with details of the feed and product status.

Practical implications for your WooCommerce store and plugin ecosystem

Since you build WooCommerce plugins and tools (e.g., calculators, feed tools, discount logic), here are some direct take-aways and tips to integrate into your workflows and share with your users:

• Feed generation plugin setup: Your plugin (such as CTX Feed – WooCommerce Product Feed Plugin) should allow mapping of required attributes and check for completeness before upload. If you help your users validate feeds before submitting, they’ll save time waiting.
• First-time store launch: If a merchant just connected a store to Merchant Center for the first time, warn them of the longer review time (3-5 days or more) and encourage them to submit feed and campaign early.
• Frequent feed updates: If a merchant already has approved items and is just adding new products or updating stock/price, using incremental feed updates means changes can reflect in hours. Promote incremental updates.
• Plugin-based diagnostics: Provide checks for common delay factors (missing GTIN/brand, mismatches, image issues) and perhaps alert when feed fetched but status stuck “Under review”.
• User education: Many merchants expect immediate showing; set correct expectations. For example: “Even if your feed is perfect, allow up to 72 hours for approval, and up to a week for full visibility in free listings.”
• Optimisation after approval: Approval is just step one. Integrate best-practice features (optimised titles, competitive pricing, shipping info) so their listings actually perform.
• Support content: Provide blog posts, knowledge base articles (like this one) for your users explaining how long products take to appear and what to check if they don’t.

Summary

The time it takes for products to show on Google Shopping via Google Merchant Center depends on the account status, feed health, and many other factors.

If everything is clean and you’re using an existing approved account, items may show within hours or 1-3 days — many merchants report ~2-4 days.

For a brand-new account or first feed upload, you should expect up to 3-5 business days (for ads) and possibly longer (a few weeks) for free listings.

To speed things up: ensure your Merchant Center account is verified and healthy; ensure your feed is error-free; align website and feed data; connect a campaign if you want paid visibility; monitor status & diagnostics.

If you’re a WooCommerce merchant (or building plugins and tools for merchants), communicate realistic timelines to your users, provide feed diagnostics, and help them optimise their product data for faster and better visibility.

By thoughtful preparation and proactive monitoring, you can minimise the wait time and avoid the frustration of products “not showing”.

And for your website/tool audience, having this knowledge integrated into the plugin workflows or website content adds value and builds trust.

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