Why am I still encountering a Google GTIN missing value issue on Shopify?

[claudinesc]

I'm not sure why I'm still having problem with Google GTIN missing value even though I've already inserted the EAN under barcode on Shopify. I've spoken to customer support on Google and they said this is Shopify's problem. It looks like Google can't read the data from Shopify. Can someone shed some light on this matter please? Setting identifier_exists to no doesn't help. 

[ilanadavis]

Hey @claudinesc 

Did you check the product feed to make sure the GTIN is included in the feed?

Also, you need to make sure the structured data includes the GTIN as well. If you run a Rich Results Test on a product, the GTIN should be included for all variants.

I'd be happy to do a free structured data test for you if you share your URL here or email me at support@ilanadavis.com to make sure the data is included.

[claudinesc]

Hello. My website is www.petite-belle.com

It would be great if you could help me solve this. I'm not really sure what you meant about structured feed. This is all pretty new to me. Many thanks!

[ilanadavis]

Hey @claudinesc 

It can be fairly confusing so hopefully, I can help provide some insight for you. Please don't hesitate to ask if you have any questions about the structured data.

The structured data is code for technical SEO to win search enhancements that Merchant Center also uses to validate your product feed and what's visually on the page. It's not the same thing as a product feed that is sent to Merchant Center. 

Think of structured data like a matching game in the code. It tells Google this field (e.g. product price) has this value.

Most themes have the structured data built-in but usually don't include all the information (e.g. GTIN or in Shopify's terms barcode) which is needed by Merchant Center.

I looked at a random product and did a Rich Results test. There are 3 sets of product data but none of them include the GTIN. Two of them use the MPN (manufacturer part number), which may be sufficient depending on your setup in Merchant Center. But I'm guessing that may not be the case based on your original post.

My app, JSON-LD for SEO will use the data you enter into the barcode field for the GTIN which would meet this specific requirement.

As mentioned though, you also need to make sure your GTINs are being included in your product data feed. If you use the Google Sale Channel, select Manage Products in the app. This should pop open a bulk editor for your products. Look for the Barcode column and make sure these are all filled out.

Then go to Merchant Center and export a product feed to make sure it's currently included in the feed. If not, you'll need to resubmit the feed or use a different product feed app. As mentioned by another commenter, the Google Sales Channel has issues with the GTIN sometimes where sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. You can also submit a supplemental feed or enter the data into Merchant Center directly.

I hope that helps.

[sampymishra]

Hi @claudinesc 

Based on your information, you've already entered the EAN (the European version of the GTIN) for your products in Shopify. However, you still get a GTIN missing value error in Google Shopping.

One possible reason could be that the EANs you've entered in Shopify must be appropriately synced with your Google Merchant Center account. This could be due to a configuration issue, or you must be sending data to your merchant center using the Google Channel app in Shopify. The app does not sync the GTIN data correctly, so you get an error. 

Please use any other app to sync your data from Shopify to the merchant center. You will notice the error goes away, and you can also upload the EAN/GTIN values manually to your Google merchant center.