Google Merchant Center is the backbone of any Google Shopping campaign. It ensures that your product listings are correctly formatted, comply with Google’s policies, and reach potential buyers effectively. However, product disapprovals can disrupt your marketing efforts, causing listings to disappear from search results and negatively impacting sales. Understanding how to fix disapproved products in Google Merchant Center is crucial for keeping your products active and maintaining a high return on ad spend. This guide walks you through identifying, resolving, and preventing disapprovals so you can keep your listings compliant and visible.
Step 1: Identify disapproved products
The first step is identifying which products have been disapproved and understanding why. Google Merchant Center provides clear reports on product status and errors.
- Log into Google Merchant Center
- Navigate to the Products tab
- Click on Diagnostics to view all disapproved listings
- Expand the Item Issues section to see a detailed breakdown
Google classifies issues as either warnings, which need attention but don’t immediately disqualify your products, or disapprovals, which remove your products from Google Shopping until fixed.
Set up email alerts in Google Merchant Center to get notified about new disapprovals before they impact your sales.
Step 2: Understand the reason for disapproval
Google disapproves products for three main reasons
- Policy violations
- Selling prohibited items such as weapons, counterfeit goods, or tobacco products
- Making misleading claims in product descriptions
- Violating medical and healthcare advertising restrictions
- Data feed errors
- Mismatched prices between your website and Google Shopping
- Incorrect GTINs or missing required identifiers
- Availability mismatches, such as showing in stock on Google but out of stock on your site
- Formatting and content issues
- Low-quality images, such as generic placeholders or missing backgrounds
- Missing product attributes like brand, size, or material
- Unoptimized product titles that don’t match Google’s best practices
Identifying the specific issue in Google Merchant Center under Diagnostics will guide your next steps.
Step 3: Fix product data feed errors
Once you understand the issue, it’s time to correct your product feed.
- Ensure your product attributes match Google’s requirements. Verify that product titles, descriptions, and images meet Google’s guidelines. Use correct GTINs and MPNs for brand-name products. Fix price mismatches by using structured data markup on your website.
- Check and update your availability settings. Sync inventory updates frequently, and if a product is out of stock, update the feed immediately to avoid penalties.
- Optimize product images and descriptions by avoiding placeholder images and ensuring high-resolution visuals with a clean background.
- Use Google Merchant Center’s Feed Rules to automate corrections and prevent future errors.
Step 4: Resolve policy violations
If your product was disapproved due to a policy violation, you’ll need to adjust your listing or submit an appeal.
- Check Google’s policy center to understand the violation
- Modify your product details to remove prohibited elements
- Submit an appeal
- Go to Products > Diagnostics
- Find the disapproved product and click Request Review
- Provide details on how you corrected the issue
Appeals typically take three to five business days, but repeated violations can lead to account suspension, so always comply with policies.
Step 5: Submit products for review
Once you’ve fixed the errors, you need to resubmit your product feed for Google to review.
- Go to Google Merchant Center > Products > Feeds
- Click on Primary Feed and select Fetch Now
- If needed, manually request a review for specific products under Diagnostics
Google will re-evaluate your changes within 24 to 72 hours. If disapprovals persist, double-check for formatting errors or policy violations.
Best practices for maintaining product approvals
Preventing disapprovals is more efficient than constantly fixing them. Follow these best practices to keep your Google Shopping listings compliant.
- Regularly audit your product feed for compliance issues
- Use Google Merchant Center’s automated rules to catch errors early
- Sync pricing and availability with structured data markup
- Leverage Intelis for automated product monitoring and optimization
Automated price tracking and feed optimization tools like Intelis ensure your products stay competitive and compliant without constant manual oversight.
Conclusion: How to fix disapproved products in Google Merchant Center
Fixing disapproved products in Google Merchant Center isn’t just about meeting Google’s requirements. It’s about maximizing your product visibility and increasing sales.
By identifying errors early, correcting feed issues, and using automation to maintain compliance, you can keep your listings active and optimize your Google Shopping performance.
If you’re managing a high volume of SKUs, consider using a pricing optimization tool like Intelis to ensure ongoing compliance and pricing accuracy.
Need help optimizing your Google Shopping feed? Get in touch with Intelis today to maximize visibility and sales.
