The Content API source has not been updated for a long time, and I would like to eventually remove it and have all products managed through the Automatically Updated source.
However, I am seeing inconsistent behavior between the two sources.
For some products, both the English and Arabic versions are present in the Automatically Updated source.
For other products, the English version is present in the Automatically Updated source, while the Arabic version of the same product only exists in the Content API source.
This has made it difficult to understand how Google is discovering and assigning products between the two sources.
I also noticed that products from the two sources use different ID formats:
Products from the Content API source start with: shopify_SA_100...
Example: shopify_SA_10221449216292_51216817127716
Products from the Automatically Updated source use a different format and start directly with numbers instead of the shopify_SA_ prefix.
In addition, I deleted a product from the Content API source more than two weeks ago, but it has still not appeared in the Automatically Updated source, even though the product page is live and accessible on my website.
Could you please clarify:
Why are some Arabic products being discovered in the Automatically Updated source while others remain only in the Content API source?
Is it possible for products currently in the Content API source to be automatically migrated to the Automatically Updated source?
How long does this process normally take?
Are there any additional steps required from my side?
Could the different product ID formats be preventing Google from matching the products between the two sources?
That’s a bad idea, I would not use the Google’s automatic system, because it’s very slow, and broken.
Not only that the IDs that are assigned by google’s automation are random, meaning your cart data and remarketing tracking will not match up. Meaning you will loose out on performance.
If you are serious about advertising, don’t use automatic imports.
Now to your second big issue, in August the google and youtube app will force you to update. Meaning all ID’s will change again, to shopify_ZZ_
Why? I don’t know, it’s one of the dumbest things Google has ever done.
So if you have important historical data and you don’t want to loose out on ranking, I recommend using a 3rd party data feed application. Instead of the google and youtube app.
And if you would uninstall and re-install the app now, all product ids will also change, and you will be using the merchant api, instead of the content api.
Emmanuel’s right not to consolidate onto the automatic source, and there’s a bigger reason now. Content API for Shopping shuts down on August 18, and Shopify’s app is already moving stores to the new format where IDs become shopify_ZZ_ instead of country codes. So your IDs will change regardless, and that’s the moment historical performance and remarketing can break if Google reads the products as new. The cleaner path is a third party feed app that lets you pin item IDs to your SKUs so they stay stable through the August switch. And don’t uninstall and reinstall the app in the meantime, that forces an immediate ID reset on its own.
I see why you are frustrated. This data source mix-up is a huge headache.
To be honest, I strongly advise against relying on Google’s automatic product import. It is incredibly slow and highly unreliable. That is exactly why your Arabic pages are missing and your deleted items are not showing up.
Worse, those automatic, random IDs can hurt your business. They break your cart data and your remarketing tracking. When your tracking breaks, your ad performance drops quickly.
You also need to watch out for the official Google & YouTube app. It often forces updates that change your product IDs to a rigid format. Every time your IDs change, you lose all your valuable historical ad data.
Instead of the automatic crawl, I highly recommend using a solid third-party feed app. It will give you stable product IDs, handle both languages correctly, and protect your ad history.
We don’t have a perfect fix for this yet, so please don’t delete your Content API source just yet. Let’s take it slow so you don’t lose your data.
Do you recommend any third-party Google Feed app that allows me to submit both Arabic and English versions of the same product to Google Merchant Center?
