Missing GTIN: what it means and how to fix it
A product in Merchant Center has a missing-GTIN warning and fewer impressions every week. Usually it is not a broken file but an empty barcode field in the shop. Here is when the code really matters, when one field is enough, and how to fix it.
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The message you see
“Limited performance due to missing value [gtin]”.
Google Merchant Center → Products → Diagnostics, on the product.
What Basketly does
Basketly lists every product without a GTIN and removes codes Google would refuse from the feed. It never invents a missing code.
Why Google cares
A GTIN (an EAN or UPC from the barcode) tells Google your product is the same item others sell. Without it Google matches the product to searches and price comparisons less well, so it shows it less often. The product is not refused, but it loses impressions. A wrong code is different: a GTIN with a bad check digit or from an in-store range is an error that can get the product refused.
When the code is needed, and when not
- The manufacturer assigned an EAN or UPC (on the packaging or from the supplier): enter it. This is the usual case for branded goods.
- The product has no manufacturer code (handmade, own brand without barcodes, made to order): set identifier_exists = no and give the brand. The warning goes away.
- Do not put a catalogue number, SKU or invented number in the GTIN field. Google treats it as a wrong code.
How to fix a missing GTIN by hand
The same steps work in any shop; in the app they sit right next to the product.
Check whether the manufacturer assigned a code
Look for the EAN or UPC on the packaging, the invoice or the supplier’s file. It has 8, 12, 13 or 14 digits.
Enter the code in the shop
Fill the EAN or GTIN field on the product in your shop so the feed sends it as gtin. If the code sits in another field, a feed rule can copy it.
No code: mark the product
When the manufacturer assigned no code, set identifier_exists = no and give the brand. Do not put the SKU in the GTIN field.
Check after the feed is fetched
After Merchant Center fetches the feed again, the warning should go. In the app the product’s score rises at once.
How Basketly handles it
- Products screen: the “No EAN (GTIN)” problem filter lists every such product, each with its 0–100 score.
- Product record: next to the problem, the “set identifier_exists = no” link opens a ready manual fix. The fix survives the next shop reads and reaches every feed with the product.
- Automatic feed fixes keep only digits in the GTIN and remove a code Google would refuse, so it does not block the product.
- Guidelines: Google’s GTIN rule with its help page link, the check date and how many of your products break it.
What Basketly does not do
- It does not invent or buy a missing GTIN; manufacturers assign codes.
- It does not guarantee impressions: Google decides on other product and site data too.
- It does not lift a Merchant Center account suspension; that is a judgement of the shop, not a file error.
Sources
- Google Merchant Center Help: GTIN [gtin] (checked )
Frequently asked questions
Your question is not here? Write to us
Usually not. A missing GTIN is a warning: the product is shown, but less. Refusal comes with a wrong code, for example a bad check digit or an in-store range.
No. The SKU is your internal number. Google checks the GTIN’s check digit and range, so it treats it as a wrong code. If the manufacturer assigned no code, set identifier_exists = no.
Set identifier_exists = no and give the brand. Google does not ask for a GTIN where the manufacturer assigned none, and the Meta catalogue accepts a product with a brand alone.
See also
- Product feedsYour shop’s feed fixed automatically and by your rules, every product diagnosed against Google Merchant Center and Meta catalogue requirements, served at its own address.Read
- Product statisticsImpressions, clicks and spend of every product in Meta catalogue ads, next to views, carts and sales in your shop.Read
- Product data guidelines of Google, Meta, TikTok and Pinterest: rules with sources and AI titlesProduct data rules of Google Merchant Center, the Meta catalogue, TikTok and Pinterest: how to see which ones your products break and how title suggestions work.Read
- Products Meta barely shows in catalogue ads: how to find them and give them a chanceHow to see which products Meta barely shows in catalogue ads, read impressions, product views and sales side by side, and turn them into a separate feed.Read
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