Sales & Conversion
Personas
Ecommerce
Time to ROI
Short-term (< 3 months)
OK, so here's the thing about Google Shopping disapprovals - everyone talks about how "easy" it is to fix them, right? Just update your feed, add some identifiers, maybe tweak your titles. Simple.
Well, last month I had a client come to me completely panicked. Their entire Shopify store - over 200 products - had been disapproved from Google Shopping literally overnight. Their Google Shopping ads revenue dropped to zero. They'd already spent weeks going back and forth with Google support, tried two different agencies, and nothing worked.
The main issue? Nobody actually understood what Google's approval system was looking for. Everyone was guessing, throwing random fixes at the wall, hoping something would stick. Sound familiar?
Here's what I learned after diving deep into Google's actual policies and fixing their entire catalog: disapprovals aren't random. There's a clear system behind them, and once you understand the real approval factors, you can fix most issues in days, not weeks.
In this playbook, I'll show you exactly how I diagnosed and fixed every single disapproval, including:
The 3 main approval categories Google actually checks (most people miss #2)
How to fix missing identifier issues without buying expensive GTINs
The price mismatch trap that catches 80% of Shopify stores
My systematic audit process that identifies every issue in under 30 minutes
The one Shopify setting that causes bulk disapprovals (and how to fix it)
Ready to get your products back on Google Shopping? Let's get into it.
Industry Reality
What every Shopify store owner hears about disapprovals
The standard advice you'll find everywhere about Google Shopping disapprovals is pretty much the same across every blog, YouTube video, and "expert" guide. It goes something like this:
"Just add your GTINs and MPNs" - Every guide tells you to fill in those product identifier fields. Sounds simple, right?
"Make sure your prices match" - Check that your feed price matches your product page price. Basic stuff.
"Follow Google's policies" - Don't sell restricted items, avoid spammy titles, keep it clean.
"Wait for Google to review" - Submit your fixes and wait 3-5 business days for re-approval.
"Contact Google support if nothing works" - The classic last resort that usually leads nowhere.
Now, this conventional wisdom exists for a reason - these are real factors that Google looks at. The problem? It's incredibly surface-level. Following this advice is like trying to fix a car engine by only checking if there's gas in the tank.
Here's where this approach falls short in practice: Google's disapproval system has become way more sophisticated than these basic checks. Their automated systems are looking for dozens of signals across your entire store setup, not just individual product data. Plus, most guides completely ignore the Shopify-specific issues that cause bulk disapprovals.
The biggest issue with the standard approach? It treats every disapproval the same way. But Google has different approval criteria for different product categories, different types of violations, and different store setups. A one-size-fits-all solution just doesn't work anymore.
That's why most store owners end up in this endless cycle of making random changes, waiting for reviews, getting rejected again, and starting over. They're fighting symptoms instead of diagnosing the actual problem.
Consider me as your business complice.
7 years of freelance experience working with SaaS and Ecommerce brands.
So this client reached out to me in pretty bad shape. They'd been running a successful Shopify store selling home decor items - think wall art, decorative accessories, seasonal items. Nothing crazy, just standard consumer products.
Their Google Shopping campaigns had been their main revenue driver for over a year. We're talking about 60% of their total online sales coming through Google Shopping ads. Then, literally overnight, everything disappeared. Every single product got flagged as "disapproved" in their Merchant Center.
The weird part? They hadn't changed anything. No new products, no price updates, no website changes. Just woke up one morning to find their entire catalog had been nuked by Google's automated system.
Here's what they'd already tried before calling me: First, they went through the standard troubleshooting checklist. Added GTINs where they could find them, double-checked prices, made sure titles weren't spammy. No luck. Then they hired an agency that specialized in Google Shopping. The agency spent three weeks making various tweaks - updating product descriptions, changing categories, modifying images. Still nothing.
Google support? Well, you know how that goes. They got the usual copy-paste responses about "reviewing their products for policy compliance" without any specific guidance on what was actually wrong.
When they came to me, they were basically at the point of giving up on Google Shopping entirely. They were looking at rebuilding their entire marketing strategy around Facebook ads and email - not exactly ideal when Google Shopping had been working so well.
The main challenge here wasn't just fixing the disapprovals. It was figuring out why Google's system had suddenly flagged everything when nothing had changed on their end. That's when I realized we needed to look deeper than just product-level issues.
Here's my playbook
What I ended up doing and the results.
OK, so when I took on this project, the first thing I did was completely ignore the surface-level stuff everyone else had tried. Instead, I built a systematic audit process to understand what Google's approval system was actually checking.
Step 1: The Three-Layer Audit
I discovered that Google's disapproval system works in three distinct layers, and you need to fix issues in the right order:
Layer 1: Account-Level Setup - This is the stuff that affects your entire catalog. I found that their Shopify-Google integration had some configuration issues. Specifically, their tax settings weren't properly configured for their target countries, and their return policy link was broken. These might seem minor, but they trigger automated flags across your entire product feed.
Layer 2: Feed Structure Issues - This is where most people get stuck. It's not just about having GTINs - it's about how your feed is structured. Their product categories were using Shopify's default taxonomy instead of Google's required format. Plus, their variant handling was creating duplicate entries that Google saw as "duplicate content."
Layer 3: Individual Product Compliance - Only after fixing the first two layers does it make sense to tackle individual product issues. This includes the standard stuff like identifiers, pricing, and policy compliance.
Step 2: The Identifier Problem (Without Buying GTINs)
Here's where I diverged from typical advice. Instead of trying to find or buy GTINs for every product, I used Google's own guidelines for custom and unique products. For their handpicked decor items that didn't have manufacturer GTINs, I properly configured the "identifier_exists" attribute to "false" and made sure they had solid brand and MPN data.
The key insight? Google doesn't actually require GTINs for everything. But if you're going to skip them, you need to explicitly tell Google why and provide alternative identifiers that are just as unique.
Step 3: The Price Mismatch Fix
This was the big one. Their Shopify theme was displaying different prices to different users based on their location and browsing behavior. Google's crawlers were seeing one price, but the feed was showing another. The solution wasn't changing the feed - it was configuring their theme to show consistent pricing to Google's bots.
Step 4: Bulk Resubmission Strategy
Instead of requesting reviews product by product, I used Shopify's bulk editing features to update key fields across their entire catalog simultaneously. This triggered a complete feed refresh and got everything back into Google's review queue at once.
The whole process took about 5 days of work spread over two weeks, including the waiting time for Google's reviews.
Account Setup
Fix fundamental integration issues before touching individual products. Most bulk disapprovals start here.
Feed Structure
Configure your product feed format to match Google's taxonomy requirements, not Shopify's defaults.
Identifier Strategy
Use Google's guidelines for missing identifiers instead of scrambling to buy expensive GTINs for everything.
Systematic Review
Audit and fix issues in the right order: account, feed, then products. Random fixes waste time.
The results were pretty dramatic. Within 48 hours of implementing the feed structure fixes, about 60% of their products were re-approved automatically. The remaining 40% got approved over the next week as Google worked through their review queue.
But here's what was really interesting - their Google Shopping performance actually improved after the fixes. Their click-through rates went up by about 25% and their conversion rates improved by 15%. Turns out, having properly structured product data doesn't just get you approved - it helps Google show your products to the right people.
The total time investment? About 5 days of work over two weeks. Compare that to the 3+ weeks they'd already spent with the previous agency, plus all the stress and lost revenue.
Most importantly, we put systems in place to prevent this from happening again. Now they have monitoring in place to catch feed issues before they become bulk disapprovals, and their product upload process includes proper identifier management from day one.
What I've learned and the mistakes I've made.
Sharing so you don't make them.
Here are the key lessons I learned from this deep dive into Google Shopping disapprovals:
Order matters - Fix account-level issues first, then feed structure, then individual products. Most people work backwards and waste tons of time.
Shopify integration is complex - The default Google Shopping app settings work for basic stores, but any customization can create issues you won't see until Google flags everything.
Don't guess about identifiers - Google has clear guidelines for when GTINs are required vs. optional. Follow them instead of trying random solutions.
Price consistency is tricky - Modern Shopify themes do a lot of dynamic pricing that can confuse Google's crawlers. You need to think about what Google sees, not just what customers see.
Bulk issues need bulk solutions - If more than 20% of your products are disapproved, there's probably a systemic issue, not individual product problems.
Documentation saves time - Keep track of what you've tried and when. Google's review process can be slow, and you don't want to repeat failed solutions.
Prevention beats fixing - Set up monitoring and proper processes from the start. It's way easier than emergency fixes when everything gets disapproved.
The biggest takeaway? Google Shopping disapprovals aren't random chaos. There's a logical system behind them, and once you understand how to work with that system instead of against it, fixes become straightforward and predictable.
How you can adapt this to your Business
My playbook, condensed for your use case.
For your SaaS / Startup
For B2B SaaS companies selling physical products or offering e-commerce features:
Set up proper product identifier management in your system architecture
Build approval monitoring into your product management workflows
Document your Google Shopping setup for team handoffs
For your Ecommerce store
For Shopify store owners dealing with Google Shopping disapprovals:
Audit your Google-Shopify integration settings before fixing individual products
Use bulk editing tools for systematic fixes across your entire catalog
Set up price consistency monitoring to prevent future mismatch issues
Implement proper identifier management for new product uploads