Google Merchant Center Issues & Fixes: How to Resolve Feed Issues

Running successful Google Shopping campaigns starts with an error-free product feed in the Google Merchant Center (GMC). Whether you’re dealing with account suspensions, product disapprovals, price mismatches, or image issues, understanding and fixing these issues is crucial for your e-commerce success.

This blog will help you diagnose and resolve the most common Google Merchant Center issues, ensuring your products appear in Google Shopping results and drive maximum traffic to your store.

Understanding Google Merchant Center Issues

Google Merchant Center serves as the bridge between your product feed and Google Ads. When errors occur, they can severely impact your online visibility and sales potential. Common problems include account suspension, product disapprovals, price mismatches, image issues, and confusion with Google taxonomy.

The key to maintaining a healthy GMC account is understanding these issues and implementing quick fixes to keep your feed optimized and products visible to potential customers.

Types of Issues in Google Merchant Center

Before getting into specific fixes, it’s essential to understand the three types of flags Google raises:

– Errors 

• Icon: Red warning symbol
• Impact: Account suspension or immediate product disapproval
• Priority: Fix immediately to restore product visibility
• Result: Products will not appear in Google Shopping until resolved

– Warnings 

• Icon: Yellow warning symbol
• Impact: Affects feed quality and product performance
• Priority: Fix soon to maximize product reach
• Result: Products remain eligible but may have reduced visibility

– Notifications 

• Icon: Bell symbol
• Impact: Suggestions for better product information
• Priority: Consider implementing for enhanced performance
• Result: No immediate impact on product eligibility

Account-Level Issues 

– Google Merchant Center Suspension: Causes & Fixes

Google Merchant Center Account suspension affects your entire store, preventing all products from appearing in Google Shopping results. Understanding the common causes and implementing quick fixes is crucial for maintaining your online presence.

Common Suspension Causes:

Misrepresentation

• Misleading product descriptions or pricing
• Inaccurate business information
• False claims about product features or availability
• Syndicated reviews from other sources

Website Needs Improvement

• Missing essential pages (Privacy Policy, Terms of Service, Return Policy)
• Poor user experience or broken links/images
• Incomplete or confusing checkout process

Landing Page Issues

• Broken product links or non-functional landing pages
• Mismatched product information between the feed and the website
• Poor mobile optimization

Quick Resolution Checklist:

1. Add Essential Pages: Include About Us, Contact Us, Privacy Policy, Shipping, and Return Policy
2. Fix Checkout Flow: Ensure a smooth, secure, and complete purchase process
3. Verify Business Details: Confirm accurate store name, address, and contact information
4. Update Product Information: Ensure consistency between your product feed and website
5. Optimized landing page: Make sure you have an optimized landing page with no broken links or images.

Product-Level Issues

– Missing or Incorrect Attributes [Size, Color, Gender, Age Group]

Certain product categories, like apparel and accessories, require mandatory attributes to appear in Google Shopping. Missing these attributes leads to poor product feed quality and thus, reduced visibility.

How to Fix:

1. Correct Product Category: Ensure you’re using the appropriate Google Product Category
2. Add Required Attributes: Include size, color, gender, and age group for apparel
3. Review Category Requirements: Check Google’s taxonomy for specific attribute needs

– Missing Product Identifiers [GTIN, MPN(SKU), Brand]

Impact: Reduced product visibility and limited performance in Shopping campaigns.

Unique Product identifiers help Google understand and categorize your products effectively. While not immediately disapproving of products, missing identifiers significantly impact campaign performance.

How to Fix:

1. Provide Two Identifiers: Submit at least two among GTIN, MPN, or Brand
2. Custom Products: Mark identifier_exists as false for handmade or custom items
3. Brand Information: Always include the brand name when available
4. GTIN Accuracy: Use manufacturer-provided GTINs for better product matching

– Shipping & Tax Errors

Incorrect shipping and tax settings prevent product listings and can lead to customer dissatisfaction during checkout.

How to Fix:

1. For Shipping: Navigate to Shipping & Returns under the ‘Your Business’ section
2. For Taxes: Navigate to Settings > Business info > Sales tax
3. Match Feed Currency: Ensure shipping settings match your feed’s currency
4. Set Appropriate Rates: Configure accurate shipping costs for all regions
5. Account vs. Product Level: Choose between account-level or individual product shipping

– Mismatched Value (Page Crawl) — [Price/Availability]

Common Issues: Price mismatch, availability discrepancies

Google crawls your product data from three sources, namely, your website, product feed, and structured data, to verify consistency. Mismatched information leads to disapproval and a poor user experience.

How to Fix:

1. Maintain Consistency: Keep website, feed, and schema data synchronized
2. Enable Automatic Updates: Use Automatic Item Updates for real-time syncing
3. Regular Checks: Monitor product data regularly to avoid any glitches
4. Implement Structured Data: Add schema markup for better crawling accuracy
5. Redirection: Avoid redirection for price and availability

– Image Issues — Promotional Overlay or Low Quality

Common Problems: Promotional text, watermarks, borders, or low-resolution images

High-quality, clean product images are crucial for shopper confidence and Google approval. Images with promotional elements or poor quality get disapproved.

How to Fix:

1. Use Clean Images: Product-only photos without text, logos, or borders
2. Enable Auto-Improvement: Turn on automatic image improvements in GMC
3. Meet Size Requirements: Ensure images meet minimum resolution standards
4. Multiple Angles: Provide clear, well-lit product photos from different angles

– Product Titles & Descriptions Too Long/Short

Character Limits: Title (150 characters max), Description (5000 characters max)

Proper product title and product description length ensure complete information display while maintaining readability and search relevance.

Also, make sure to avoid using excessive capital letters for your title and description, as this also leads to the excessive capitalization warning for your products.

How to Fix:

1. Title Length: For effective product title optimization, keep under 70 characters while including key details. Google displays the first 70 characters in ads.
2. Comprehensive Descriptions: Provide detailed but concise information for an optimized product description.
3. Include Key Details: Brand, product type, variants, and essential features
4. Avoid Keyword Stuffing: Write naturally while including relevant search terms

Specific Issues to Address

– Website Needs Improvement Error — What Does It Mean?

This error typically indicates issues with your website, such as user experience, missing legal pages, or poor content quality.

Resolution Steps:

• Add comprehensive About Us, Contact Us, Privacy, Shipping, and Return Policy pages
• Improve site navigation and user experience
• Ensure mobile responsiveness and fast loading times
• Implement a secure checkout process

– Fix Invalid Store Name Error

Your store name must accurately represent your business and match your website’s branding.

Resolution Steps:

• Ensure the store name matches your website’s branding and URL
• Use your registered business name consistently
• Avoid generic or misleading names
• Update all business profiles to maintain consistency

– Availability & Feed Status Issues

Stock level mismatches between your website and feed can lead to availability errors and customer frustration.

Resolution Steps:

• Implement real-time inventory sync
• Use accurate availability values (in-stock, out-of-stock, preorder, backorder)
• Set up automated feed updates
• Monitor stock levels regularly

Pro Tips for Prevention

1. Enable Automatic Item Updates: Implement real-time sync for price and availability
2. Use Structured Data: Add schema markup to product pages for better crawling
3. Regular Diagnostics Review: Monitor the Diagnostics Tab in GMC weekly
4. Feed Management Apps: Use reliable tools to automate feed management and reduce manual errors
5. Stay Updated: Stay informed about Google’s policy changes and best practices

Streamline your GMC management with Simprosys

Managing Google Merchant Center issues manually can be time-consuming and overwhelming. The Google Shopping Feed app by Simprosys offers a comprehensive solution for streamlined e-commerce product feed management.

– Key Features:

• Real-time Error Sync: Automatically pulls errors and warnings from your Merchant Center and displays them in an easy-to-understand dashboard
• Feed Optimization: Automatically optimizes your product feed for maximum Google Shopping performance
• Expert Support: Our dedicated customer support team assists with complex error resolution

Fix Fast, Sell Faster

Resolving Google Merchant Center errors quickly is essential for maintaining your competitive edge in e-commerce. The faster you address these issues, the sooner your products will appear in Google Shopping results, which then drives traffic and sales to your store.

Remember that maintaining an error-free feed is an ongoing process. Regular monitoring, prompt error resolution, and adherence to Google’s guidelines will ensure your products remain visible and competitive in the marketplace.

Ready to optimize your Google Merchant Center performance? Start by addressing critical errors first, then work through warnings and notifications to maximize your shopping campaign’s success.

FAQs: Google Merchant Center Common Questions

How to fix an invalid store name on Google Merchant Center?

Ensure your store name matches your website branding and registered business name. Make sure to update it in your GMC settings to reflect your actual business identity.

Why are my products disapproved on Google Merchant Center?

Product disapprovals typically result from policy violations, missing required attributes, incorrect categorization, or inconsistent information between your feed and website.

How to fix Google Merchant Center price-mismatch errors?

Maintain consistent pricing and availability across your website, product feed, and structured data. Enable Automatic Item Updates and regularly sync your inventory system. Moreover, stop redirection for price and availability, avoid custom coding,  and show back-order status with the correct availability date. Also, avoid displaying the lowest price on the landing page, regardless of the actual price of a variant or price range.

What causes the ‘website needs improvement’ error?

This error indicates missing essential pages, poor user experience, broken functionality, or incomplete business information on your website.

What’s the difference between account-level and product-level errors in Merchant Center?

Account-Level Errors: Account-level issues impact all of your products in Merchant Center. These errors affect your entire account and all products within it. 

They typically occur from broader compliance issues with Google’s Shopping policies, website problems, or fundamental account setup issues like missing shipping settings or unverified business information.

Product-Level Errors: Product-level issues only affect individual products, not your entire account. Further, these are related to respective products and don’t impact the status of other products. 

Product-level errors usually occur due to data quality issues like price mismatches, missing product information, or policy violations for specific products.

Why am I seeing Google Merchant Centre errors with my product listings?

Google Merchant Center errors are issues with your product data feed that can prevent your products from being shown in Google Shopping or other Google network sites. Various factors, such as incorrect product information, missing attributes, or policy violations, can cause these errors.

What is the pending initial review error in the Google Merchant Center?

The “Pending initial review” error in Google Merchant Center means that your products have been submitted for the first time and are currently in a review process to ensure they comply with Google’s policies. However, this is a normal process that typically takes up to 3 business days. 

What is the mismatched shipping currency error in Google Merchant Center?

The mismatched shipping currency error occurs when the currency used in your shipping settings doesn’t match the currency used in the product data feed. To fix this, add the shipping rate in the correct currency that matches your data feed.