What can be done about Google Search Console errors on Shopify?

josephbas
Tourist
3 0 1

hi on google search console I have 7 errors and I don't know what to do ? Can you please help me ?Screen Shot 2021-09-28 at 16.58.06.png

Replies 22 (22)

Moira
Shopify Staff
2040 223 323

Hey @josephbas,

I'll be happy to help you out with this!

If you click on the disapproved products via the Google Channel in your Shopify Admin, you can learn more about each individual error and how to fix them:

04-29-gjix1-zxd85

These errors refer to structured data, which is code that sits behind your content and gives data about your products in any way that makes it easy for Google and other search engines to understand. Google can use this to highlight things like price/availability etc. the search engine results. All the errors listed in the screenshot are warnings, so it would be good to add in the additional information, but won't stop Google from using the data that is already there.

You might want to go through the document below and add the attributes that Google Search Console reports as mandatory:

'No Global Identifier Provided'

I can see via the screenshot you shared that products were flagged due to "No global identifier provided". A GTIN will need to be added for each of the flagged product(s). If your product does not have a GTIN assigned, you'll want to submit an MPN(Manufacturer Part Number) attribute instead.

Any product that is marked as False for a custom product must have an internationally recognized barcode added to it. You can check with your supplier/manufacturer for these. If your products are custom or don't carry international barcodes, you can mark them as True for custom products which will prevent Google from looking for an identifier. If using barcodes, please ensure they meet the minimum requirements found on this page for GTINs or this page for MPNs. This information can be edited using the bulk editor in the channel and this video will show how to access it if needed.

20-08-7pqiz-7urpy

I'd also like to share Google's Product Categories so that you can find the exact category for your products and add this too using the bulk editor. This will help to improve your Ads performance once you start advertising.

Something to note here is that any products that fall under the Apparel & Accessories categories (clothing, shoes & jewelry would fall under here) will also need to have Size, Color, Age, Condition, and Gender added to each item.

  • Size (Can be left blank if included in the variants)

  • Color (Can be left blank if included in the variants)

  • Age - required

  • Gender - required

  • Condition - required

If you have a large catalog and you might also be interested in the Bulk Product Editor & Sync app. This would allow you to mark all products as true or false for custom products at once which will save you some time. It's free for up to 5 in-app edits per month so it could also help with some other attributes if you have multiple products in the same category for example.

If you have any questions please feel free to thread those below!

Moira | Social Care @ Shopify
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josephbas
Tourist
3 0 1
Thank you so much for your help
Moira
Shopify Staff
2040 223 323

My pleasure @josephbas, don't hesitate to reach back out if you require any further assistance as you continue to work on your store!

I don't know if you have anything planned for BFCM this year, but now is the time to make some preparations. BFCM is one of the biggest sales weekends of the year and sees the start of the holiday season as well. Every year my go-to is this BFCM Checklist. It allows me to make sure that I am making the best use of my time and resources and it really helps take the pressure off by starting early. It is well worth the read should you be interested!

All the best,

Moira | Social Care @ Shopify
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YOJ101
New Member
4 0 0

Hello,

 

I have the same errors, I have very small shop and very little products--

Notice that these errors were in fact in just 1 of my product--

 

So if anyone can please help and shed light on this, will really appreciate!!!

Thank you. @Moira  Please, please. Maybe a quick check on the url of this particular product?

I honestly why only this product is flag?

 

Appreciate any advise please....

Moira
Shopify Staff
2040 223 323

Hey @YOJ101,

 

I'd be happy to take a look at your product if you felt comfortable sharing the URL in this thread otherwise what type of product is it? 

 

@reelloops thanks for providing an update on your situation, was the malware able to be removed from your site?  

 

Moira | Social Care @ Shopify
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reelloops
Tourist
6 0 3
Yes, I was able to remove the malware. It was found in the code of my
products page. Once it was removed, I was able to move forward.
reelloops
Tourist
6 0 3

I've been meaning to update everyone on this.  So, the issue that was found had to do with that code being part of the HTML in my products pages (Hope that makes sense and if not... I'll try to explain.)  So whenever you add text in the product description box of your product's page,  you'll see tabs or menus above the text box (like the ones above this text box (when you're replying or starting a topic).  You'll see a menu that says HTML or "</>"  or something that would indicate a place to see the code.  Well upon clicking that, I saw that there was these long lines of code that had to do with urls that would possibly be malware (pingclock.js and some other nonsense). I deleted that code, and made sure that my other product pages didn't have that code in the html and once I did that and verified with google,  I was approved of running ads.   Crazy, but that was my solution.  after that I installed malwarebytes browser app and making sure I don't accidentally click on links that could lead to malware vulnerabilities.  Hope this helps.

 

Moira
Shopify Staff
2040 223 323

Thanks so much, @reelloops, this is really great to know moving forward!

 

If others come across this thread and would like to remove similar malware from their theme code, we always suggest you first duplicate the theme and work in the duplicate. That way you can always go back to your previous version if you accidentally remove pieces of code that mess up your website. 

Moira | Social Care @ Shopify
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YOJ101
New Member
4 0 0

@Moira Thanks! Will do. We are currently on password protect as we are on holiday. Can you check it out even passworded or shall i remove it first? Might need to hold off 2 weeks until we go back online if that’s alright?! Please… thank you for offering the help. Url of our website is qtpantry.co.nz and the product is the dark chocolate.

Moira
Shopify Staff
2040 223 323

No worries @YOJ101! I am unable to see past the password protection page via the community forums so feel free to reach back out when you are ready. 

All the best,

Moira | Social Care @ Shopify
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YOJ101
New Member
4 0 0

Hello @Moira 

 

Please, still needing some assistance please, (A bit embarrassing…) but, I cannot understand the advise above haha, so dont know what to do- this is the product url that’s been flagged with errors. Please advise thank you… 

 

https://qtpantry.co.nz/products/60-dark-chocolate-75g?_pos=2&_sid=9fae08891&_ss=r

 

 

Also, last question, why even thou I have removed password protect - our google search results yeilds  the preview of our holiday break msg? (Not a big fuss, but just wondering) thanks!

 

thank you so much!!!!

 

 

 

YOJ101
New Member
4 0 0

Hi @Moira 

 

getting a bit desperate… please need any input please… im happy to do any work but just need advise on how to go about, im not very technical and we are not really getting any sales at all because of the same issue as i couldnt run ad as well…

 

and our google search return is now stock to our password protect page- which we had on for our short break— now regretting doing that.

 

help please….

ilanadavis
Shopify Expert
181 24 56

Hi @josephbas 
You may have resolved this already, but I wanted to add some additional context.

From these warnings, it looks like your theme is missing recommended structured data causing Google Search Console to warn you these fields are missing - which is their technical way of asking you nicely to add it. These are not required which is why they aren't shown as errors.

I recommend adding them though to qualify for Google Rich Results which is a search enhancement that allows you to show your reviews, price and availability in search results.

The global identifier is only required if you are running Google Ads.

If you share your URL, I'd be happy to perform a structured data audit to see if you have enough structured data to ignore these warnings altogether. If not, I may recommend you install JSON-LD for SEO which will provide a higher-quality set of data. This won't remove the code from your theme, just provides a new set which Google will use and ignore the incomplete set of data.

You can also test your store structured data yourself using this article: https://www.ilanadavis.com/articles/test-json-ld-code-shopify

Ilana Davis, Shopify Superhero
JSON-LD for SEO, adds structured data to your theme, getting you more organic traffic with Rich Results.
Linking Llama, link complementary, comparable, or related products to improve SEO & UX.
josephbas
Tourist
3 0 1

Hi Ilana thank you so much your information. my website www.empirefinejewellers.com

if you can help I really appreciate it. 

ilanadavis
Shopify Expert
181 24 56

Hey @josephbas 

I think JSON-LD for SEO will help your store. While testing your store's structured data I found a few areas of concern.

1. Though your products are missing the data as mentioned previously, there may be a bigger issue at hand. It looks like all your products are $0 in the structured data. However, I think you've done this so that customers contact you for pricing.

The issue here is that Google may award you Rich Results an show your products as $0, effectively misleading your customers. Meaning a customer may find a product on Google, see it's free, get to your site, only to find out that they have to contact you for pricing. This in turn could dramatically impact conversions.

This is where JSON-LD for SEO could certainly help. We hide variant product data for those variants that are zero priced automatically. So if you decide to have both zero priced and some with prices, you'll still be eligible for Rich Results on the variants with prices. There's more details in this article.

https://www.ilanadavis.com/articles/json-ld-for-seo-now-hides-zero-priced-product-structured-data-by...​​​​​

You'll still need to remove the microdata from your theme so that Google doesn't use that product data. Then, these warnings will go away as well. Here's how to remove theme microdata if that's the path you choose.

https://www.ilanadavis.com/articles/removing-invalid-microdata-shopify-theme

​2. I couldn't find any product reviews for your products. If you don't have them, I'd strongly recommend installing a product reviews app as they add a lot of social proof and can get you some really great search enhancements. Google reviews don't count towards Rich Results. Here's a list of the product review apps that JSON-LD for SEO integrates with

https://www.ilanadavis.com/articles/review-apps-supported-json-ld-seo

3. The business data (Organization) is very limited only showing your url and logo. It should include your company name, address, phone, etc. This will make it very difficult for you from getting any kind of Google Knowledge Graph Card about your business in the search results. It's that large box you see on the right of the search results from time-to-time.

​4. Your Shopify Pages are missing some of the critical data which is needed to get Rich Results for your articles.

JSON-LD for SEO will automatically add structured data for all of these during the install. I think it could help your performance in the search results.

Here's a link to install it from the Shopify App Store: https://apps.shopify.com/json-ld-for-seo

Ilana Davis, Shopify Superhero
JSON-LD for SEO, adds structured data to your theme, getting you more organic traffic with Rich Results.
Linking Llama, link complementary, comparable, or related products to improve SEO & UX.
reelloops
Tourist
6 0 3

Sooooo I'm here due to the same issue and I've ignored these issues up until now because at the moment, I'm trying to run Google Ads.  It seems my issue is similar but also a little too complex for me to logically find a simple solution.  I will try to explain as best as I can.   Firstly, I have my google channel connected to my Shopify store and my products are approved for the google channel.  They are connected to my Merchant account (Not sure if that matters here but stating it just it case it does) so no problems there.   So now what I'm trying to do is run Youtube Ads via my google ads account and upon completing my campaign set up,  the next day my ad was "disapproved"  reason being, "Malicious software."  I'm confused as to why that would be the case but anyway, I proceed to troubleshoot the issue and from my gatherings via google ads help,  The issue seems to be related to the google search console security issues. However,  that's where I'm confused.  I see no security issues.  Below I've attached pictures related to what's going on.  If there is a way I could solve this on my own, I would love to hear what involved.  

 

Thanks

RL_GoogleApprovedProducts.JPG

RL_GoogleSecurity.JPG

RL_GoogleSecurity#2.JPG

GoogleIssuesCapture.JPG

Moira
Shopify Staff
2040 223 323

@reelloops

I have seen a few merchants experience this issue where Google Ads are being incorrectly disapproved because of supposed malicious software on websites. The only fix I have seen is by getting in direct contact with Google and requesting a review in the Security Issues report. This way you can let them know that your website isn't problematic or installing any unwanted software.

Sometimes third-party plugins may be injecting unwanted code into your site that may not be appearing via your Google Search Console. You also have the option to scan your website through a Malware Checker to see if there are any issues, I have linked one below:

Have you been able to get through to Google via Live Chat at all? If you click on Help in your Google Ads account you should be able to get straight to live chat. They will then scan your site and tell you what the Malware is.

If you're looking to become more confident with investing in Google Ads to grow your business, I recommend checking out this Shopify Compass course where you’ll learn the step-by-step process to launch three different Google Ads campaigns. Shopify Compass provides you with webinars and courses on things like store design, marketing, and more. It's 100% free for everyone and new content is being added all the time. This program will help you drive more traffic into your store and also convert that traffic into sales.

Let me know how you get on!

Moira | Social Care @ Shopify
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reelloops
Tourist
6 0 3

Everything you mentioned.. I've done with the exception of getting in contact with google support chat... Their chat feature is unavailable at the moment. Not for sure why but I sent them a support email and we shall see what happens.  However, this seems to be a problem that has been going on with many Shopify stores for a couple years now and Im not sure why this is an ongoing issue.  I will continue to troubleshoot and see what happens

 

 

Moira
Shopify Staff
2040 223 323

@reelloops 

I understand this can be frustrating. Google Ads being disapproved is handled entirely through Google, unfortunately, Shopify has no control over the outcome as we are an entirely separate platform. We can certainly help directly with the Google channel integration but approvals and disapprovals are outside our scope of support. We do our best to guide you in the right direction with the resources we have: 

I also suggest using Google's own verification tool on your website:

All the best,

Moira | Social Care @ Shopify
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- Was your question answered? Mark it as an Accepted Solution
- To learn more visit the Shopify Help Center or the Shopify Blog

reelloops
Tourist
6 0 3

So to catch those up to speed about this issue, I wanted to share an update (not a solution yet) in hopes that this may help someone struggling with the same thing.  So I spoke to the Google ads Support and they responded to let me know that they found malware on my site.  They gave me 2 links that my customers could be directed to (although I have not seen this to be the case) and Told me to contact my webmasters regarding the situation.   The 2 links that they said were on my site were "pingclock.net" malware (.js) files.  I reached out to Shopify and they currently opened a ticket and are keeping it open as we navigate through the path of removing these files.  I was advised (by Shopify) to reach out to my domain provider and I'm currently doing that now.  However, I'm stuck because these links are not showing in my security detection profile.  My profile shows that my site is clean of malware.  With that said.  The Saga Continues....  I will keep working on this and maybe someone here can help provide a more specific solution.


Thanks

 

vatsalgada
Visitor
1 0 0

@ilanadavis could this app help my site - https://slimjim.in/

ilanadavis
Shopify Expert
181 24 56

Hey @vatsalgada 
Are you asking if JSON-LD for SEO can help your site or referring to the other questions in this thread?

If you're asking about JSON-LD for SEO, yes I think the app can help you. I went through your store and found some areas of concern. If you'd like to test your store for yourself, here's how to do that:
https://www.ilanadavis.com/articles/test-json-ld-code-shopify


* Your products are missing data, which while aren't required for Rich Results or any other search enhancement, I recommend you have in place in case Google changes the Rich Results requirements in the future.

* Only one variant of your products are shown, instead of all of your variants which will prevent you from showing the full price ranges and could show wrong product availability (e.g. show an in-stock product as out-of-stock to searchers).

* There is no business data showing up which will make it very difficult to get any kind of Google Knowledge Graph Card about your business in the search results. It's that large box you see on the right of the search results from time-to-time.

* The WebSite data is missing which is sometimes used to get a sitelink search box which would add a search field to your homepage results like 
https://www.ilanadavis.com/articles/sitelinks-search-using-json-ld-for-seo-shopify

* Your Shopify Pages are missing some of the critical data which is needed to get Rich Results for your articles.

JSON-LD for SEO will automatically add structured data for all of these during the install. I think it could help your performance in the search results.

Here's a link to install it from the Shopify App Store: https://apps.shopify.com/json-ld-for-seo

Let me know if you have any other questions. If you do decide to install, I'd be happy to have you as a customer.

Ilana Davis, Shopify Superhero
JSON-LD for SEO, adds structured data to your theme, getting you more organic traffic with Rich Results.
Linking Llama, link complementary, comparable, or related products to improve SEO & UX.