Multiple store owners are encountering Google Merchant Center rejections with the error âwebsite or online store needs improvement,â which limits product visibility. The issue stems from various policy violations that Google flags as reducing shopping experience quality.
Common causes identified:
Excessive discount displays without documented price history
Missing or incomplete business contact information (address, phone, business hours)
Using generic email addresses (@gmail.com) instead of domain-matched emails
Print-on-demand (POD) products, which violate certain Google policies
Missing stock availability indicators on product pages
Placeholder images, text overlays on product images, or low-quality visuals
Broken links or incomplete checkout processes
Virtual business addresses
Mismatches between product feed data and actual website content
Recommended solutions:
Add complete business details to footer and contact pages
Display clear stock status on product landing pages
Use professional, unique product images without text overlays
Ensure pricing consistency between feed and website
Implement clear return/shipping policies
Temporarily remove sale tags to build trust
Review all Google Merchant Center policy documentation
The discussion remains ongoing with participants seeking individualized feedback on their stores. One experienced contributor provides detailed policy links and site-specific recommendations throughout the thread.
Summarized with AI on October 25.
AI used: claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929.
Ive read through a few of your posts and have done everything I can think of to fix my limited visabilty issue with Google. Ive ran the site through multiple comparison sites, spent days on ChatGPT, Grok & Gemini trying to figure it out. Ive gone through it all and have made all recommendations. The only problem I can see left is my square image. I scaled it 1:1 [email removed] 927 x 927px which is well within the Google tolerance of between 500 & 2000px. Still disapproved. Converted it to SVG from PNG and has been disapproved again.
Other than the logo, is there anything else you might see?
My site is 5 months old, I canât get customers to give me reviews as I canât get customers in the first place.
It sounds like Google is flagging some trust and consistency issues rather than just technical ones. In my experience, making sure the website has clear return/shipping policies and that product data perfectly matches the feed often resolves these notices. Sometimes even a single broken link or placeholder image can cause the whole site to be flagged.
I completely understand how frustrating the âneeds improvementâ message can be. Thankfully, I donât face this issue with my own store my Merchant Center account has been running smoothly but Iâve learned a few important things along the way that might help.
One of the most serious (and often overlooked) aspects of getting consistent approval in Google Merchant Center is the accuracy and trustworthiness of your product listings. Itâs not only about image size or format Google looks at the overall quality of your product data:
Product titles & descriptions â Make sure they are clear, keyword-friendly, and match exactly whatâs on your landing page. Any mismatch can flag issues.
Pricing & availability â If your product feed shows something different than your store page (even for a short time), Google can mark it as low trust.
High-quality unique images â Even if the size meets guidelines, using generic, blurry, or watermarked images can trigger disapprovals. Custom lifestyle or in-use photos tend to perform better.
Store trust signals â Policies, refund information, and clear contact details all play a part in Merchant Center reviews.
From what Iâve seen, fixing âneeds improvementâ isnât just about checking technical boxes itâs about showing Google your store and listings are reliable, transparent, and customer-friendly.
Youâre already on the right track by reviewing everything carefully. Iâd recommend focusing next on strengthening the overall product data quality, as thatâs usually the deciding factor for long-term approval and visibility.