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Why is my Google Shopping product disapproved?

Nearly every Merchant Center disapproval comes down to a handful of data problems in your product feed. Here are the real causes in 2026 — ranked by how often they bite — and how to fix each.

1. Missing or invalid GTIN most common

If your product has a real barcode (GTIN/EAN/UPC), Google expects it — and it must pass a check-digit test. A single mistyped digit fails validation and disapproves the item. If a product genuinely has no GTIN (handmade, custom, own-brand), don't invent one — that gets your account suspended. Instead set identifier_exists = no and provide a brand where you can. Full GTIN fix guide →

2. Price mismatch or bad format

The price in your feed must match the price on your landing page (and its structured data), and it must be formatted as a number plus an ISO currency — e.g. 24.99 GBP, not £24.99 or 24,99. Comma decimal separators and currency symbols are the usual culprits.

3. Availability missing or invalid

Availability must be exactly one of in_stock, out_of_stock, preorder, or backorder. Values like available, in stock, or yes are rejected. It also has to match what a shopper sees on the page.

4. Image problems

Every item needs a working image_link (a full https:// URL). Broken links, placeholder/"no image" graphics, promotional text or watermarks on the image, and too-small images are all disapproval triggers.

5. Title and description issues

Promotional text in titles ("Free shipping", "Sale", "Best price"), ALL-CAPS titles, and titles over 150 characters all get flagged. Titles should describe the product, not advertise it.

6. Missing required fields

Every product needs a unique id, a title, a description, a link, an image_link, price, and availability. Miss any and the item won't be listed.

The fast way to find yours

Rather than reading Merchant Center's diagnostics row by row, export your product feed (a Shopify CSV export or your Google feed) and run it through Feed Doctor. It checks all of the above against Google's product-data spec and shows you a ranked list of exactly what to fix — in seconds, entirely in your browser.

Related: Fixing invalid GTINs · 10 common Shopify feed errors
Feed Doctor validates against Google's public product-data spec. Not affiliated with Google.