Issue: Google Merchant Center flagging products with a critical “duplicate Brand” error after theme updates or when using certain apps.
Root Cause: Multiple sources generating JSON-LD structured data with duplicate "@type": "Brand" fields—typically from both the Shopify theme and third-party SEO/review apps running simultaneously.
Apps Identified as Culprits:
Solutions Found:
Quick Fix: Uninstalling the conflicting SEO or review app immediately resolved the error for most users.
Judge.me Specific: Disable “Add JSON-LD snippets” under Marketing and Social > Google and SEO > SEO Rich Snippets, then revalidate in Google Search Console.
Alternative: Keep one JSON-LD source (preferably the SEO app if it includes priceValidUntil and other rich snippet fields) and remove duplicate code from the theme.
Edge Case: One user found a “featured product” widget on product pages caused duplication.
Status: Multiple confirmed solutions; Strong SEO now provides built-in duplicate prevention. Users should audit which apps/theme elements generate structured data and ensure only one source outputs Brand fields.
sassyshortcake.com<>
We installed a new theme last month and have some issues since. The duplicate brand issue has gone away but now SchemaPlus says their app is being blocked and seo manager is okay. Not sure if I need both or what and no one gives us a straight answer.
Thanks so much!