Fix GMC Issues

How to Fix "Promotional Text in Title" Disapprovals in Google Merchant Center

Products disapproved for promotional text in the title? Learn what Google forbids in Shopping titles — FREE SHIPPING, SALE, emojis, ALL CAPS — and how to…

Updated 3 min readBoostora Team

What is “promotional text in title”?

Google’s Shopping data quality policy prohibits product titles from containing promotional language, marketing superlatives, capitalization abuse, or non-product information. This is a fixable data quality issue, not a policy violation requiring an appeal.

What Google explicitly prohibits in titles

Promotional phrases

  • “FREE SHIPPING” — belongs in Merchant Center shipping settings

  • “SALE,” “50% OFF,” “Buy 2 Get 1 Free” — belongs in sale_price + Google Promotions

  • “Limited Time Offer,” “Today Only,” “Deal of the Day”

  • “Clearance,” “Closeout,” “Liquidation” — belongs in availability

Marketing superlatives

  • “#1 Best Seller,” “#1 Rated,” “Top Rated”

  • “Best,” “Amazing,” “Incredible,” “Perfect”

  • “Award-Winning” without verifiable specifics

  • “As Seen On TV”

Capitalization abuse

  • ALL CAPS words for emphasis (“PREMIUM Leather Belt”). Acronyms (USB, LED, HDMI) and brand styling (iPod, LaCrosse) are acceptable.

  • Excessive initial caps — capitalizing every word like a headline can be flagged in some markets.

Emojis and special characters

  • Emojis: ✨🔥⭐👉 — categorically prohibited

  • Visual decorations: ”★★★★★” or ”→ Premium Belt ←”

  • Repeated punctuation: “Best Coffee Maker!!!”

Non-product information

  • Store name in titles

  • Website URLs

  • SKUs at the beginning

  • CTAs: “Buy Now,” “Order Today,” “Shop Now”

Before/after rewrites

Before:

🔥 BEST SELLER! Nike Air Max 90 - FREE SHIPPING - Buy Now - 50% OFF Today Only ✨

After:

Nike Air Max 90 Running Shoe — Men's — White/Black — Size 10

What a good title looks like

Google’s recommended formula: Brand + Product Type + Key Attributes (color, size, material, model). The first 70 characters carry the most weight for query matching.

Category formulas

  • Apparel: Brand + Gender + Product Type + Color + Size + Material

  • Electronics: Brand + Product Name + Model Number + Key Spec

  • Consumables: Brand + Product Name + Quantity/Weight + Key Attributes

  • Books: Title + Author + Format

  • Auto parts: Brand + Part Name + Compatible Models + Part Number

Where promotional info actually belongs

  • Sale price / discount → sale_price attribute (Google shows strikethrough + “Sale” badge automatically)

  • Free shipping → Merchant Center shipping settings

  • Promotional offers → Google Promotions in Merchant Center

  • Product rankings → Seller ratings (appear automatically with enough reviews)

Step-by-step fix workflow

  • Filter Diagnostics by title-related data quality issues.

  • Export affected titles.

  • Rewrite using Brand + Product Type + Attributes formula.

  • Move promotional info to correct attributes.

  • Update feed source.

  • Re-fetch — typically resolves within 24 hours.

Prevention

  • Set title generation rules in your feed tool to strip known promo phrases

  • Audit titles when running seasonal campaigns — use GMC Promotions, not titles

  • Normalize titles for newly imported supplier data

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