All items suddenly gone from google shopping free listings

Start a Business

Topic summary

Multiple merchants report their products vanished from Google Shopping free listings starting around March 20, 2023, with some cases occurring later in April-May. Paid shopping ads continue working normally, and Merchant Center accounts show no warnings or errors—products appear “active” but generate zero impressions.

Common patterns identified:

  • All affected users experienced the issue on similar dates (primarily March 20)
  • No account changes were made before the disappearance
  • Google support attributes it to “algorithm” changes and offers no solutions
  • Products completely absent from search results, even when searching brand name + product
  • Issue appears tied to the Merchant Center account itself

Attempted solutions:

  • One user successfully recovered by deleting and recreating their GMC account, fixing SEO URLs, adjusting out-of-stock handling, and creating feed rules to exclude low-quality listings
  • Another user reported recovery after weeks without explanation
  • Creating new accounts sometimes resulted in products disappearing again after a few days

Google’s position:

  • Free listings are a “complimentary feature” requiring high-quality data
  • No reported bugs acknowledged
  • Support refuses to assist, citing fairness concerns

The discussion remains largely unresolved, with most merchants still experiencing the issue and expressing frustration over lack of transparency or recourse.

Summarized with AI on October 31. AI used: claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929.
92

I recently changed my shopify inventory setting to “continue selling when no stock”,
im not sure this is the reason cause the inventory issue.
GMC shown error “missing inventory data”, ‘unverify inventory’ error,

and their asisstance article are too technical for me.

I will try to untick "continue selling when no stock " and see hows it goes.
Recreate GMC account just a bit worry for me. Thats my last choice.
Thanks for sharing.