What a scheduled fetch is, and is not
With a scheduled fetch Merchant Center pulls the file from an address you give it. By default it does so every 24 hours, and the page says the schedule can be adjusted. That is different from an SFTP upload, where you push the file to Google's server using a username created in Merchant Center, and the file name you upload must exactly match the one registered. One easy mix-up is a pull address that needs the username and password for a push server, or a push script that uses the wrong host. Google's help pages change; this guide reflects the pages as read on 11 October 2026.
- Pull: Google requests your URL.
- Push: you send the file to Google's SFTP host and register the name.
The address must lead directly to the file
Google's page is clear that the link must begin with http://, https:// or sftp:// and point directly to the file, not to a page about it. The troubleshooting page names two causes for a failed fetch: a URL that is blocked by robots rules or lacks the permission for Merchant Center to download it, and a URL that does not work or redirects to a page without the data. One pattern is an address that works in a browser because you are logged in, and redirects Google to a login page. Another is a file moved to a new address after a site change, with the old address redirecting to the home page. If the file needs a login, the page says to enter it in Merchant Center settings; do not embed a password in the address itself.
What Google does not tell you, and what to check yourself
Google's help page, as published on 11 October 2026, does not explain how to set the fetch time or time zone, how to force an immediate fetch for a link source, or how long a source may go without an update, so check the data source's own schedule settings and report rather than assume. What you can test from outside is the address: request it from a network that is not yours and not logged in, and record the status, any redirects, the final address and the content type. A web page where a file should be, or a redirect to a login, explains the failure at once.
Other diagnoses to rule out
If the file is fetched but nothing appears, the fault is in the file's contents, not the fetch; see the guide on file format requirements. If the data source shows a recent fetch but products look stale, the file generator may be producing old data, which is a different fault from the fetch. A host that blocks unfamiliar automated visitors, a firewall rule or bot protection can refuse Google in the same way as a robots rule, but that is an inference you should confirm with your host. Compressed files must really be compressed, with one file inside, and a file larger than the stated limits fails.
A safe first investigation
Paste the file address into a private browser window. A download or raw text means the address works; a page, a login or an error means it does not. Note the final address after any redirect. Check the file's extension and open the first lines of a copy. Take a redacted screenshot of the data source's latest-update report. Do not send the address with a token in it, a login or the file itself.
How the paid job is accepted
The job merchant-center-feed-file-fetch-processing-errors is £245 for one data source and one hosted file. A request to the agreed address from outside your network must return the file itself with no intermediate page, made with no login for a public file or, if the source uses a login stored in your Merchant Center settings, made by your account holder with that login and sent to us with the secret removed; the next processed report must show no file-level errors; and the items read must equal the rows or items in the file. A host or permission change is made by your host administrator; we say exactly what to change. Prices are untested proposals, and payment follows the agreed checks and your sign-off. Nothing is booked or charged by an enquiry. Google's review and recrawl timing and decisions are its own, and approval is never promised.
Sources and limits
- Google Merchant Center Help: add products from a file Checked 2026-10-11.
- For a scheduled fetch the link must start with http://, https:// or sftp:// and point directly to the data source file; the file is fetched every 24 hours by default and the schedule can be adjusted.
- If the file needs a password, the login is entered in Merchant Center settings; the file's server permissions must let Google retrieve it.
- Google Merchant Center Help: troubleshoot my data source Checked 2026-10-11.
- Scheduled fetch failures are caused either by a URL blocked by robots rules or lacking permission for Merchant Center to download it, or by a URL that does not work or redirects to a page without the data source.
- The SFTP errors listed there concern uploading to Google's own server, partnerupload.google.com on port 19321, where the file name must exactly match the registered name.