Shopify feed count doesn’t match Google Merchant Center — products missing after previously syncing correctly

Shopify Discussion
1

I’m running into an issue where the number of products in my Shopify feed doesn’t match what’s showing in Google Merchant Center, and I’m trying to figure out what changed.

Important context:
Everything was previously syncing correctly, and all products were showing in Merchant Center. This seems to be a recent issue.

Setup:

  • Shopify using the Google & YouTube app (API-based feed)

  • Products are active and published to the Google channel

  • Feed sync appears to complete without major errors

Issue:

  • Shopify shows X number of products in the Google channel/feed

  • Google Merchant Center shows fewer products, with some missing entirely

I initially thought this might be related to out-of-stock products not showing, but I’m not sure if that’s the actual cause.

Things I’ve checked:

  • Products are active (not draft or archived)

  • Most products don’t show disapprovals in Diagnostics

  • Inventory is set correctly (some items are out of stock)

  • Product pages are still live on my site

Questions:

  • Has anyone experienced products dropping out of Merchant Center after previously syncing fine?

  • Does Google filter out certain products (e.g., out-of-stock, missing identifiers) from the total count?

  • Where can I see exactly which products are being excluded and why?

  • Could this be a recent sync/API issue with the Shopify integration?

Any help would be greatly appreciated—trying to figure out if this is a known issue or something on my end.

2

Hi rglaubinger,

This usually comes down to one simple question:
are the products missing from Google entirely, or just not eligible to show?
Check this:
In GMC → Products → All products
If they’re not there → Shopify never successfully sent them (or filtered them out before sending)
If they ARE in “All products” but not in “Active”
Then Google has them, but excludes them (most often: out of stock, missing GTIN, or targeting issues)
In Shopify → Google & YouTube → Product status
Look for “Pending” or “Not approved” - that means they got stuck before reaching Google
That will tell you exactly where the drop happens - Shopify side or Google side.
Most mismatches come from comparing Shopify’s count with GMC “Active”, which are not the same dataset.

3

This is caused by the google and youtube app, and this is a bug for many years.

Uninstall the app, then re-install should work. Wait 24 hours, and they should appear.

4

if you check the community for other similar threads, you will find that many merchants face the issue with the official sales channel app.

one solution to deal with the app has already been provided. chances are, you might run into the same concern again with that app.

i would suggest, if you are okay, go with a third-party data feed solution.