How to Fix Brand Attribute Issues in Google Merchant Center

Why brand errors cause disapprovals

The brand attribute is one of Google’s three core product identifiers, alongside gtin and mpn. Google uses brand to match your products to its Shopping Graph. When brand is missing, inconsistent, or contradicts the GTIN, Google can’t reliably identify what you’re selling and flags the product.

The four types of brand errors

1. Missing brand

You haven’t provided a brand for a product Google believes should have one. Add the manufacturer’s brand name with consistent spelling and capitalization.

2. Brand-GTIN mismatch

The most damaging brand error. You’ve submitted a valid GTIN but the brand doesn’t match what GS1 databases record for that GTIN. Google treats this as data quality fraud.

Fix: Verify the GTIN against the product packaging. Search the GTIN at gepir.gs1.org to find the registered owner.

3. Incorrect brand for a variant

Different colorways and sizes of the same product can have different GTINs registered to different brands (licensed editions, OEM products). Verify brand at the variant level, not just the parent product.

4. Private-label brand naming issues

If you sell under your own store brand, submit your own brand name. Don’t:

• Leave brand empty

• Submit “Generic,” “N/A,” or “Unbranded” for branded products

• Use your store’s trading name inconsistently

For genuinely unbranded products (no manufacturer, custom one-offs), set identifier_exists: no and omit brand.

5. Restricted brand names

Certain brands have requested unauthorized sellers be prevented from using their names. If you’re an authorized reseller, apply for brand authorization through the brand’s official reseller program.

Brand vs. identifier_exists decision table

Prevention

• Source brand data from your supplier, not from your own product titles

• Standardize brand names at the data source level

• Run a brand consistency audit quarterly