Google is increasingly enforcing the use of Global Trade Item Numbers (GTIN) identifiers for brand name products submitted via the product feed into Google Merchant Centre so that they then display in Google Shopping. GTINs help Google understand exactly what you're selling and therefore can boost your ad performance. You can find GTIN's on product boxes / packaging or from the manufacturer.
To know whether you are affected, warnings are displayed in Google Merchant Centre under the diagnostics tab. If you have a managed product marketing service with us then your account manager checks this and will already have advised you about the tighter Google requirements for compliance by 16th May.
If you are affected, then to help update your products more easily, we have created a new GTIN export program that allows you to export your product data either by brand or in its entirety.
Go to Export System > Google Products GTINs
Select your brand or All
Click Generate GTINs CSV
Make and save changes to the GTIN field NB We only re-import the GTIN column data!
Go to Import System
Step 1 select REC CSV Import (with headings)
Step 2 select Google Products GTIN's
Step 3 select your modified GTIN CSV
Step 4 click Submit
Google Merchant Centre is then updated overnight, but it can take them a further 24 hours to update their system. Allow for this and log back into it and check there are no more warnings. If there are, repeat the process till all of them have been resolved.