# Google Shopping vs Pinterest: feed requirements compared

Pinterest borrows Google's attribute names but asks less of a feed: most of what Google requires conditionally is optional here. What Pinterest does demand is a genuinely good image, because the image is the listing rather than a thumbnail, and a separate feed for each market.

- **Canonical URL:** https://www.feedlab.io/knowledge/compare/google-shopping-vs-pinterest
- **Last reviewed:** 18 September 2026
- **Source:** feedlab knowledge base
- **Licence:** free to quote and cite with attribution to feedlab


## Short answer

A working Google Shopping feed will import into Pinterest with almost nothing removed, because Pinterest's requirements are a subset of Google's. The work that matters is not schema work at all: it is choosing which image you send, and generating a separate feed per country and language rather than one file for every market.

## Attributes treated differently

| Attribute | Google Shopping | Pinterest |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `brand` | Required in some cases | Optional |
| `condition` | Required in some cases | Optional |
| `gtin` | Required in some cases | Optional |
| `item_group_id` | Required in some cases | Optional |
| `mpn` | Required in some cases | Optional |

## Every attribute, side by side

| Attribute | Google Shopping | Pinterest |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `availability` | Required | Required |
| `brand` | Required in some cases | Optional |
| `condition` | Required in some cases | Optional |
| `custom_label_0` | Optional | Not documented here |
| `description` | Required | Required |
| `google_product_category` | Recommended | Not documented here |
| `gtin` | Required in some cases | Optional |
| `id` | Required | Required |
| `identifier_exists` | Optional | Not documented here |
| `image_link` | Required | Required |
| `item_group_id` | Required in some cases | Optional |
| `link` | Required | Required |
| `mpn` | Required in some cases | Optional |
| `price` | Required | Required |
| `sale_price` | Optional | Optional |
| `title` | Required | Required |


## Differences a table cannot show

### The image is the product, not a thumbnail

On Google a weak image costs a little click-through. On Pinterest the image is the entire unit of discovery, and vertical or near-square crops materially outperform the landscape images many Shopify themes produce. Sending the same image_link to both channels is the most common missed opportunity here, and mapping a dedicated image where the store has one is worth more than any attribute change.

### One feed per locale, not one feed with locales

Google accepts a feed per target country and can also handle several countries in one feed with the right settings. Pinterest expects a separate data source per country and language combination. A Shopify store selling into four markets needs four generated feeds, which is a pipeline decision rather than a mapping one.

### Identifiers barely matter here

Google treats gtin, mpn and brand as a conditional chain and warns when it cannot match an item. Pinterest treats all three as optional. Feeding them is still worthwhile, but a catalogue of own-brand goods that struggles on Google will not struggle on Pinterest for the same reason.

### Refresh is once a day, at a time you pick

Pinterest fetches a scheduled data source once every 24 hours and has no sub-daily option and no routine push API. A sold-out product can stay pinned as available for most of a day. The only lever is regenerating the feed shortly before the scheduled fetch, which narrows the window as far as the channel allows.

### No product taxonomy attribute

Google uses its own taxonomy in google_product_category to decide which vertical rules apply. Pinterest does not take that attribute, so categorisation comes from the title, description and its own classification. The taxonomy mapping is not wasted, it simply does nothing on this channel.




## Reusing one feed for the other channel

1. **Start from the Google feed and remove nothing** — Pinterest ignores what it does not use, so the fastest correct first step is to publish the existing mapping and let the unused attributes ride along. Nothing in the Google feed will cause a Pinterest rejection.
2. **Choose the image deliberately** — Look at what image_link currently resolves to. If it is a theme-resized landscape crop, find out whether the store has a portrait or square alternative, in a metafield or as a second product image, and map that instead for this channel only.
3. **Split the feed by market** — Generate one feed per country and language pair, each with its own currency, its own prices and its own product URLs. This is the part that catches stores out, because a single multi-market file looks correct and simply will not behave.
4. **Schedule regeneration just before the daily fetch** — Pick the fetch time in Pinterest, then regenerate shortly before it. Regenerating on an unrelated cadence means the channel systematically reads data that is up to a day older than it needs to be.
5. **Leave the identifiers in place** — They are optional here but cost nothing to send, and they are the fields that let Pinterest tie your item to the same product elsewhere. Removing them because the channel does not require them is a false economy.







## Frequently asked questions

### Can I use my Google Shopping feed for Pinterest?

Yes, with two caveats. Pinterest wants one data source per country and language, so a multi-market file needs splitting, and the image is worth choosing separately because on Pinterest the image is the listing rather than a thumbnail.

### Does Pinterest require GTINs?

No. gtin, mpn and brand are all optional on Pinterest, where Google treats them as conditionally required. Sending them is still worthwhile for matching, but their absence will not hold a catalogue back here.

### How often does Pinterest fetch a feed?

Once every 24 hours, at a time you choose, with no sub-daily schedule and no routine push API. Regenerating the feed shortly before that fetch is the only way to keep price and stock as current as the channel allows.

### What image size should a Pinterest feed use?

Favour vertical or near-square over landscape, and send the largest original you have rather than a theme-resized version. Pinterest displays the image at a size where a small or badly cropped file is immediately obvious.




## Primary sources

- [Google: Product data specification](https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/7052112)
- [Pinterest: Data source ingestion and formatting](https://help.pinterest.com/en/business/article/data-source-ingestion)