What's the purpose of Google Merchant Center?
Merchant Center lets you manage how your in-store and online product inventory appears on Google.
Merchant Center lets you manage your store information and how it appears on Google
Merchant Center lets you create, manage, and run your campaigns
Merchant Center lets you create and edit affiliate locations and location extensions
Explanation
Analysis of Correct Answer(s) - The correct answer perfectly defines the primary role of Google Merchant Center (GMC). It is the central hub where businesses upload, store, and maintain their product data. This includes details like price, availability, and product attributes for both online and in-store inventory. This information is then made available to other Google services, most notably for powering Shopping ads, local inventory ads, and free listings. The key function is managing how your products appear, not the business itself.
Analysis of Incorrect Options - Campaign management: Creating, managing, and running advertising campaigns is the core function of Google Ads. While you link GMC to Google Ads to run Shopping campaigns, the campaign management itself happens in Google Ads. - Affiliate locations and location extensions: These are features managed within Google Ads. They are used to show your business locations in your ads. The underlying location data is typically sourced from a linked Google Business Profile, not Merchant Center. - Store information management: Managing your business's general profile information (like address, hours, and phone number) for Google Search and Maps is handled through Google Business Profile. GMC is specifically for product inventory, not the business listing.