A disapproved product can’t show on Google Shopping or in free listings. Merchant Center tells you that a product has an issue, but not always what to do about it. This guide groups the most common reasons and the fix for each one.
Start with the issue list
In Merchant Center, open the products section and filter by products that need attention. Sort the issues by the number of products affected: fixing the one that blocks 500 products matters more than the one that blocks 3.
Data quality issues
Missing or invalid identifiers
Products made by a known brand need a valid GTIN and brand. Take the GTIN from the barcode or the manufacturer, never invent it. If the product truly has no GTIN, such as custom or handmade items, declare that it has no identifier.
Missing required attributes
Every product needs an ID, title, description, link, image link, availability and price. Apparel needs color, size, gender and age group in the countries where those are required, including the United States.
Invalid values
Prices without currency, availability values Google doesn’t accept, or text in fields that expect numbers. The fix is in how the feed is generated.
Mismatches with your website
Price mismatch
Google compares the price in the feed with the price on the product page. Scripts, currency switchers, caching or prices that change during the day are typical causes.
Availability mismatch
The feed says in stock, the page says sold out, or the other way around. Increase how often the feed updates and make availability visible on the page.
Landing page issues
- The product link returns an error or redirects to the homepage.
- The page is blocked for Google’s crawler.
- The page doesn’t show the product clearly, or asks the user to log in.
Image issues
- Placeholder images or the store logo instead of the product.
- Promotional text, watermarks or borders on the image.
- Images that are too small.
Policy issues
Some products are restricted or not allowed, and some issues affect the whole account. If many products fail at once together with an account warning, read our guide to misrepresentation suspensions.
After you fix it
Update the data at the source, let the feed refresh and wait for Google to process it again. Don’t delete and re-add products: they lose their history and go through review from scratch.
Shopify stores can find platform-specific causes in our Shopify and Merchant Center guide. For a full review, use the Merchant Center audit checklist, or ask our Google Merchant Center agency to do it, especially before Black Friday.
FAQs
How long until a fixed product is approved?
Usually a few business days after Google processes the updated data.
What does “limited performance” mean?
The product can show, but missing or weak data reduces how often. It is worth fixing even though the product isn’t disapproved.
