Fix Google Merchant Center errors

This page covers the Google Merchant Center errors merchants ask us about most. You see them in Merchant Center under Products > Needs attention, and in Omega Feed on the feed's Approval status card.

Omega Feed shows each error under its own short name. Search this page for the text you see in Merchant Center, or for the Omega Feed name given in each section.

1. Misrepresentation
2. Missing value [gtin]
3. Missing shipping information
4. Invalid product category
5. Missing color, size, gender or age group
6. Image too small
7. Incorrect language
8. Pending initial review
9. How long until an error clears

Misrepresentation

In Omega Feed this shows under Account as "Your Google Merchant account is suspended" or "Your account has policy issues".

Why it happens: Google doesn't trust your online store enough to show its products. It usually reviews the store, not the feed: missing contact details, no refund policy, a password-protected store or an unverified website.

Fix it in Shopify

No change in Omega Feed clears this error. Fix the store, then ask Google to review it again.

1. Add a phone number, email or address customers can see. Add contact methods.
2. Publish a refund policy and terms of service. Add refund policy and terms.
3. Remove the store password. Remove the store password.
4. Make sure prices, stock and checkout on your store match what the feed sends.

Fix it in Merchant Center

1. Verify and claim your website. Claim your website.
2. Open the account issue in Merchant Center and click the button to request a review.

Missing value [gtin]

" / "Limited performance due to missing identifiers"]

Why it happens: Google wants the manufacturer's barcode (GTIN, such as a UPC or EAN) for branded products. Omega Feed sends the Shopify variant Barcode as the GTIN, so an empty barcode means no GTIN.

Fix it in Omega Feed

1. Go to Feeds, open the feed and go to the Settings tab.
2. In Identifiers & defaults, check GTIN. It should be Barcode, unless your GTINs are stored in a metafield: then pick From metafield (Pro plan or higher).
3. Check Identifier exists. Keep Auto (based on GTIN): products with a GTIN send "yes", products without one send "no".
4. For products you make yourself (handmade, custom, your own brand without barcodes), choose No.
5. Save and click Re-sync.

Fix it in Shopify

Open each variant in Shopify and enter its real barcode in Barcode. Don't reuse one barcode across variants or invent one. Google rejects a GTIN that matches a different product, and Omega Feed flags an invalid one as "Invalid GTIN [gtin]".

Missing shipping information

Also shown as "Missing or incorrect shipping costs [shipping]". In Omega Feed: "Missing shipping info" or "Missing or incorrect shipping cost", under Account.

Why it happens: Google needs a shipping cost for every country you sell to. Neither your Merchant Center account nor the feed gives one.

Fix it in Merchant Center

This is the usual fix, and it covers every feed at once.

1. In Merchant Center, go to Products & store > Shipping and returns.
2. Add a shipping policy for each country your feed targets, with its cost and delivery time.

Fix it in Omega Feed

Use this when you want one flat shipping price per feed instead.

1. Open the feed and go to the Settings tab.
2. In Shipping, choose Set shipping in this feed.
3. Enter the Shipping price. Enter 0 for free shipping.
4. Save and click Re-sync.

Choose Use shipping set up in Google Merchant Center to go back to the account's shipping.

Invalid product category

Full text: "Invalid product category [google_product_category]". In Omega Feed: "Invalid Google product category".

Why it happens: the category sent with the product is not in Google's product taxonomy. This often happens when the category comes from free text, such as a product type or a metafield.

Fix it in Omega Feed

1. Open the feed and go to the Settings tab.
2. In Google category, set Google category source to Use your category mapping.
3. Click Edit mapping and pick a category from Google's list for each collection or product type. Map Google product categories.
4. Save and click Re-sync.

If you don't want to send a category, choose Leave blank - let the channel decide. Google then picks one itself.

Missing color, size, gender or age group

Merchant Center shows one of "Missing color", "Missing size", "Missing gender" or "Missing age group". In Omega Feed: "Missing color on apparel products" and the same for size, gender and age group.

Why it happens: Google requires these for clothing, shoes and accessories. The product still shows, but ranks lower until you add them.

Fix it in Omega Feed

• Gender and age group — open the feed's Settings tab. In Identifiers & defaults, set Gender and Age group for every product in the feed. Most stores use Adult for age group.
• Color and size — Omega Feed reads them from Shopify variant options named Color, Colors, Colour, Farben or Couleur, and Size, Sizes, Größe or Taille. If your options use other names, map them on the Attributes tab (Pro plan or higher). Map attributes.
• Only some products differ — set the value on those products with Bulk actions.

Then click Re-sync.

Fix it in Shopify

Add a Color or Size option to products that have none, so the value is there for every feed.

Image too small

Merchant Center may also show "Image too small for upcoming enforcement" or "Displaying previous image (new image is too small)".

Why it happens: the product image is smaller than Google accepts. Google's minimum is 100 x 100 pixels, or 250 x 250 pixels for apparel. Google recommends 800 x 800 pixels or larger for high-resolution images.

Fix it in Shopify

Upload a larger image to the product or variant. This is the best fix, because a stretched small photo looks blurry in ads.

Fix it in Omega Feed

1. Open the feed's Settings tab.
2. Turn on Resize and crop to a fixed size. The default is 1500 x 1500 px; you can enter 500 to 5760 px.
3. Save and click Re-sync.

Details: Images.

Incorrect language

In Omega Feed: "Language doesn't match target country".

Why it happens: the title and description are in a different language from the one the feed declares for its target country. For example, English text sent to Germany.

Fix it in Omega Feed

1. Open the feed's Settings tab and find the market settings.
2. Choose Target a specific market (Pro plan or higher) and pick the market whose language matches your translated content.
3. Save and click Re-sync.

Selling in several languages? Create one feed per language. Markets, currency and language.

Fix it in Shopify

Translate the product content for that market, for example with Shopify's Translate & Adapt app. Omega Feed sends the translation for the market the feed targets.

Pending initial review

In Omega Feed: "Free Listings review in progress" or "Shopping Ads review in progress".

Why it happens: Google is reviewing a new Merchant Center account before it shows any products. It usually takes 3–5 business days.

You don't need to do anything. Don't change your website or account settings during the review, because changes can restart it.

How long until an error clears

1. Omega Feed sends the fix when the feed syncs: after you click Re-sync, or at the next scheduled sync. How sync works.
2. Omega Feed reads the result about 20 minutes after an API sync and updates Approval status and Feed health. An issue found by Omega Feed's own check clears as soon as that sync finishes.
3. Google re-reviews the product on its own schedule. Account issues (misrepresentation, a new account) take days, not hours.

On a data file (XML) feed, Google fetches the file on the schedule set in Merchant Center, so check the result there.

Related articles

• Find and fix product issues
• Prepare your Shopify store
• Map Google product categories
• Customize product data in your feed

Need help? Chat with us from the app.

Updated on: 13/11/2026