Google Expands Short Title Attribute to Performance Max Visual Placements – What Do We Know?

Product titles have always been one of the most important parts of Google Shopping feed optimisation.

But as Performance Max expands products beyond traditional Shopping placements and into more visual environments, Google is increasingly asking product data to work differently depending on where and how a shopper encounters the product.

Google's Merchant Center guidance now states that the short_title attribute can be used for visual formats such as YouTube and Discover within Performance Max campaigns, as well as Demand Gen.

For ecommerce advertisers, this creates another useful opportunity to improve their product feed management and optimisation.

What is the Google Merchant Center Short Title attribute?

Merchant Center supports a short_title attribute alongside the standard title attribute.

The standard product title remains the primary title and plays an important role in helping Google understand the product and match it with relevant searches.

The short title has a different purpose.

Google describes it as a concise way of identifying the product, particularly in more visual and browsing-led advertising experiences.

For example:

Standard title:
Nike Air Max 270 Men's Running Shoes Black/White Size 10

Short title:
Nike Air Max 270

Both describe the same product, but they are designed for different environments.

What's changed with Short Titles in Performance Max?

Google's current Merchant Center guidance explicitly says short_title can be used for:

Demand Gen campaigns

and visual formats such as:

YouTube and Discover within Performance Max campaigns.

Importantly, Google says this does not affect product titles appearing on Search or Product Listing Ads.

So advertisers shouldn't view this as Google replacing their existing Shopping titles.

Instead, it gives Google an additional, more concise product name that can be better suited to visual Performance Max environments.

Why does Short Title matter for Performance Max?

Performance Max doesn't operate purely in a traditional Shopping environment.

A single campaign can reach customers across Google inventory including Search, Shopping, YouTube, Display, Discover, Gmail and Maps.

And the way someone consumes an ad on YouTube or Discover can be very different from the way they interact with a Shopping result.

Someone actively searching for a product may benefit from detailed information such as:

Brand + Product Type + Model + Colour + Size + Key Attribute

But someone scrolling through Discover or watching YouTube may only have a moment to understand what they're looking at.

That makes clarity increasingly important.

This development also sits alongside wider changes to how advertisers manage Performance Max, including Google's 2026 language targeting changes for Search and Performance Max.

How long should a Google Merchant Center Short Title be?

Google technically supports short_title values between 1 and 150 characters, with 5 - 65 characters recommended.

However, Google's best-practice guidance goes further and recommends aiming for under 40 characters where possible because titles can be truncated, particularly on mobile devices.

The objective isn't therefore to fit as many keywords as possible into the field.

It is to communicate the product quickly and clearly.

Don't simply truncate your existing product titles

This is an important distinction.

Suppose the existing title is:

Samsung 55 Inch OLED Smart Television 4K Ultra HD HDR WiFi Black

Automatically cutting this after 40 characters isn't really optimisation.

A deliberately created short title such as:

Samsung 55" OLED TV

may provide a much clearer visual experience.

The short title should therefore be considered as its own optimisation opportunity, rather than simply a shortened copy of the main title.

What information should advertisers prioritise in a Short Title?

Google recommends putting the most important product information first and including the product's brand where it is a meaningful differentiator.

Depending on the product, this could mean prioritising:

Brand → Product Type → Model → Important Differentiator

For example:

Dyson V15 Detect

Women's Leather Chelsea Boots

Oak Extendable Dining Table

Samsung 55" OLED TV

The precise structure should depend on the product category and what information helps someone understand the item most quickly.

What shouldn't be included in a Short Title?

Google says short titles shouldn't contain promotional information such as prices, sale information, sale dates, shipping details or delivery information.

These should be provided through the appropriate Merchant Center attributes instead.

The short title must also accurately describe the product shown on the corresponding landing page.

Does every advertiser need to add Short Titles?

No.

short_title remains an optional attribute, so this isn't an urgent feed requirement or migration.

But ecommerce advertisers running Performance Max should consider whether adding optimised short titles could improve the way their products are represented across Google's increasingly visual advertising inventory.

For large catalogues, we would recommend testing rather than immediately rewriting every product.

Start with a controlled product group or important category, develop a short-title structure, check the resulting product data and evaluate performance before expanding further.

The bigger product feed optimisation opportunity

For years, product title optimisation has largely been approached through the lens of search relevance.

Performance Max changes that.

The same product data now needs to support consumers who may be:

Searching → Browsing → Watching → Discovering

That means advertisers increasingly need to think about product information differently depending on the environment.

A useful way to think about it is:

Main Title
Optimise for detail, relevance and product understanding.

Short Title
Optimise for clarity, speed and visual discovery.

Both have a role.

They simply solve different problems.

ShoppingIQ Recommendation

We recommend that retailers using Performance Max:

Audit → Prioritise → Create → Test → Scale

Audit whether short_title is currently populated.

Prioritise high-value categories and products.

Create intentionally concise titles rather than mechanically truncating existing ones.

Test their use before applying large-scale feed changes.

Then scale successful structures across the wider catalogue.

As Performance Max continues bringing Shopping feeds into more visual environments, feed optimisation is no longer only about helping Google understand what someone is searching for.

It is increasingly about helping shoppers understand what they're looking at - quickly.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the short title attribute in Google Merchant Center?

The short title attribute is an optional Google Merchant Center product-feed attribute that provides a shorter, more concise version of a product name. It is designed for environments where shoppers need to understand a product quickly, including Demand Gen and visual Performance Max placements.

Is the short title used in Performance Max campaigns?

Yes. Google states that short title can be used in visual formats such as YouTube and Discover within Performance Max campaigns, as well as Demand Gen campaigns.

Does short title replace the normal Google Shopping product title?

No. The short title attribute works alongside the standard title attribute. It does not replace the main product title and does not affect titles shown on Search or Product Listing Ads.

What is the recommended length for a Google Merchant Center Short Title?

Google supports short titles from 1 to 150 characters and recommends 5–65 characters. For best results, Google recommends aiming for under 40 characters where possible so important information is less likely to be truncated, particularly on mobile.

Is the recommended length for a Google Merchant Center Short Title attribute required?

No. short title is currently an optional Merchant Center attribute. Retailers do not need to add it to remain eligible for standard Shopping activity, but it may provide an additional optimisation opportunity for visual Performance Max and Demand Gen placements.

What should a good Performance Max Short Title include?

A good short title should clearly identify the product while remaining concise. Depending on the category, retailers may prioritise the brand, product type, model and an important differentiating attribute. The most useful information should appear first.

Should retailers automatically shorten their existing product titles?

Not necessarily. Simply truncating an existing title can remove useful information or create an unnatural phrase. Retailers should ideally create short titles specifically for visual placements, focusing on clarity rather than mechanically cutting the standard title.

Can Short Titles include prices, discounts or delivery information?

No. Google advises against including promotional information such as prices, sale details, sale dates, shipping or delivery information in the short title. These details should be submitted through the appropriate Merchant Center attributes.