Errors in Google Merchant

Know the most typical errors reported by Google Merchant and how to solve them

Through Google Merchant you can manage your product catalog to get the most out of it both in Google Shopping campaigns and in its free version.

Google is one of the most demanding platforms in terms of the specifications that a catalog must meet to perform correctly, and it will depend on whether or not you follow those specifications that Google prioritizes your products in users search results.

If you have not yet uploaded a catalog to Google, in this article you’ll find the must-haves to follow in order to be successful.

But in this article what we are going to review are some of the most common errors reported by Google Merchant when uploading a catalog to the platform.

Errors in the price and availability fields due to inconsistencies between the catalog and the website

This happens when Google Merchant detects inconsistencies between the information that we are giving via the catalog and what it detects on the advertiser's website.

In most cases, the information in the catalog is usually the same as on the web page, but it is possible that there may be a slight delay in this transfer of information from one place to another that sets off alarms in Google Merchant.

Although it is not a terminal error because sooner or later Google Merchant reviews the information again and verifies that it is the same in the catalog as on the web page, it is recommended to synchronize the display of information on both sites so that they always show the same updated information.

Invalid or missing GTIN field

The Global Trade Item Number (GTIN) is a unique and internationally recognized identifier for a specific product. The length of GTINs varies depending on the type of product and where it will be sold, for example in Europe it is usually a 13-digit number.

This field is essential to launch campaigns on Google, so you must ensure that you have added it to your catalog.

If you cannot provide it, you must provide the mpn and brand fields. Also, include the field identifier_exists (that must contain the value false if you are not providing a GTIN or MPN, and true if your are. Yes and No are also accepted values for this field).

Invalid Google Product Category field value

This error is very typical, and its solution is very easy: each product must be under a standard Google category (google_product_category).

Now, it is not so easy to apply because if this information is not well assigned when the product is created in the brand’s ecommerce, later it becomes an arduous task to apply modifications and rules to the catalog to obtain this mandatory field.

At Adsmurai we offer a solution via AI that automates the creation and completes the google_product_category field based on the content of fields such as title or product_type. Learn more about it and find out how to activate it for your account here.

Lack of information on shipping costs

Information on shipping costs is essential to launch campaigns on Google, but many advertisers have different options that do not depend on the product but rather on the total volume of the purchase that the user ends up making on the website.

This error can be corrected in two ways. Either this information is added to the catalog under the corresponding fields, or the brand's shipping cost policy is indicated in Google Merchant (Settings → Tools → Shipping and returns).