GTIN (EAN, UPC)
Definition: A GTIN (Global Trade Item Number) is a number identifying a product, usually from its barcode, assigned by the manufacturer. Common forms are UPC (12 digits), EAN (13 digits), ISBN for books (13 digits) and ITF-14 for multipacks (14 digits). Google recommends a GTIN for every product its manufacturer assigned one to.
A GTIN tells advertising systems that your product is the same item others sell. That is why a wrong number is worse than none.
Also called: GTIN, EAN, UPC, barcode number, Global Trade Item Number
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Why it matters for a shop
A product with a correct GTIN is easier to match to searches and price comparisons, and a wrong number can get it refused. Meta needs at least one of brand, GTIN or MPN on a product. In a shop the number usually sits in the EAN field, so problems start with filling it in.
How Basketly handles it
- Products: checks for a missing GTIN (warning), a wrong GTIN and a GTIN from an in-store range (errors), with the product’s 0–100 score.
- Automatic feed fixes keep only digits in the GTIN and remove a code Google would refuse; they never make up a missing code.
- On a product without a number the “ustaw identifier_exists = no” link opens a manual fix that survives later shop reads.
- Guidelines: Google’s GTIN rule with a link to its help page and the number of your products that break it.
Sources
- Google Merchant Center Help: GTIN [gtin]: https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/6324461 (read 2026-10-29)
- Meta for Developers: Catalog reference: https://developers.facebook.com/docs/marketing-api/catalog/reference (read 2026-10-29)
What GTIN (EAN, UPC) does not do
- Basketly does not assign or buy GTINs; manufacturers assign them.
- A corrected feed does not guarantee that Google or Meta will approve a product.
No. The SKU is your internal number. Google checks the check digit and range, so it treats it as a wrong code.
They are two forms of GTIN: UPC has 12 digits (mainly the US), EAN 13 (mainly Europe). Google accepts both.
If the manufacturer assigned no number, leave the GTIN field empty. Give the brand and set identifier_exists = no.
See also
- Product feedA file or address with the shop’s product list that Google, Meta and comparison sites read.Read
- Meta catalogue (Commerce Manager)A container of product information that Meta draws catalogue ads and shops from.Read
- Missing GTINA product without a GTIN (EAN/UPC): when you must give one, when not, and how to fix it.Read
- Invalid GTINA GTIN of the wrong length or with a bad check digit: what Google flags and how to fix it.Read
- Product statisticsImpressions, clicks and spend of every product in Meta catalogue ads, next to views, carts and sales in your shop.Read
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