Google Merchant Centre Errors and How to Resolve Them

It can be a pain when you get disapprovals within the Merchant Centre, especially if you don’t know how to resolve them. Our Senior Client Success Manager for Productcaster, Will, has compiled a list of the most common errors the Productcaster team have seen within the Merchant Centre over the past few months and more importantly, he’s given us his top tips on how to fix them.  

Unable to view shop on mobile device 

Why is this happening: The landing page (submitted via the mobile link [mobile_link] attribute) cannot be accessed by Google when they crawl the page. These products will stop showing in ads and free listings until Google can access the landing page. Google routinely crawl your landing pages to ensure that they work properly. 

Fix: Update your online shop so that it can be viewed from mobile devices. Sometimes something as simple as a refresh of the feed can fix this issue. 

More information: https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/12158056?hl=en-GB  

Unable to view shop on desktop 

Why is this happening: The desktop landing page (submitted via the link [link] attribute) cannot be accessed by Google when they crawl the page. These products will stop showing in ads and free listings until Google can access the landing page. Google routinely crawl your landing pages to ensure that they work properly. 

Fix: Update your online shop so that it can be viewed from desktop devices. Again, this could be a syncing error and a refresh of the feed could resolve this issue. 

More information: https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/12158123?hl=en-GB  

False or misleading health claims 

Why is this happening: You may need to apply for preauthorisation with Google before advertising healthcare-related content, depending on the country you are advertising in. Weight loss, over-the-counter medication, pregnancy and fertility-related products are common products that are flagged. 

Fix: Review those products that are making false or misleading health claims on sites.  

More information: https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/6150151?hl=en-GB

Missing Value 

Why is this happening: One of the required fields that Google needs for each product is missing. 

Fix: Simply add the attribute to the feed or directly into the merchant centre. This has been enhanced in Merchant Centre Next. 

More information: https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/7052112?hl=en-GBb  

Mismatched Value 

Why is this happening: Google’s crawlers are flagging that the attribute on site does not match what is on the feed. Price and availability are common ones flagged in this instance. 

Fix: Ensure the data in your feed matches that on your website and turn on automatic updates for Price, Availability, and Condition. 

More information on value mismatch: https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/6098334   

More information on automatic updates: https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/12157888  

Limited Performance Due to Missing GTIN 

Why is this happening: The GTIN (Global Trade Item Number) is missing from your product. A valid GTIN helps identify a product and makes it easier for a consumer to find. This also helps identification when using the price competitiveness report. Products submitted without any unique product identifiers are difficult to classify and may not be eligible for all Shopping programmes or features. 

Fix: Add a GTIN to your feed (but only if you are sure that it is correct). When in doubt, do not provide a GTIN (for example, do not guess or make up a value). 

More information: https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/6324461?hl=en-GB  

Text on image 

Why is this happening: Some of your products have images with promotional text (retailer logos or calls to action) or watermarks, which can obstruct the view of your product. 

Fix: Upload a clear image with no promotional text, watermarks, roundels, call outs, awards. 

More information: https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/12158684?hl=en-GB  

I hope the above fixes for these common errors are useful. Let us know what common errors you see on your accounts and if you need any support fixing these within your merchant centre, get in touch with our Productcaster experts at info@productcaster.com. 

Written by Will Turner