Free Listings Disapproved in Merchant Center: How to Fix

What this issue means

Free listings let your products appear across Google, such as the Shopping tab, Search and Images, without paying per click. They use the same Merchant Center account, product data and website review as Shopping ads.

When free listings are disapproved, it generally falls into one of three situations:

• Account suspended or under warning. A policy issue such as misrepresentation, missing contact information or a checkout problem has suspended the account, and Google's suspension stops products showing in ads and free listings alike.
• Account not yet approved. The account is new or still in review, so listings haven't started.
• Products disapproved. The account is fine, but individual products have issues that keep them out.

Google's policies note a few small differences between programs. For example, eBooks aren't allowed in Shopping ads but are exempt in free listings. In most cases, though, a problem in one program affects the other.

Why it happens

• An account-level policy issue, such as Misrepresentation, Website needs improvement, Insufficient contact information or Missing return and refund policy
• Unverified or unclaimed website, or an unverified phone number
• Restricted or prohibited products, such as healthcare, dangerous products or unsupported Shopping content
• The free listings program wasn't enabled, or was turned off when settings changed
• The account is newly created and still in its initial review
• Target country not supported or not set correctly for your products

How to fix it

1. Check account status first. In Merchant Center, go to Products, then Needs attention, and select View setup and policy issues. Any account-level issue here takes priority over everything else.
2. Confirm free listings are active. Check the account's marketing or programs settings to make sure free listings are turned on for the countries you target.
3. Fix any account-level issue. Use the specific fix pages for that issue. For trust and identity issues, our misrepresentation checklist is a good starting point.
4. Verify and claim your website and verify your phone number, if prompted.
5. Review disapproved products. Filter the products list by issue. Product data problems, like images or identifiers, are separate from account issues and need their own fixes.
6. Remove products that can't be fixed, such as unsupported or prohibited items, so they don't keep generating warnings.
7. Check target countries and make sure your shipping and policies cover them.

How to request a review

If there's an account-level issue, request a review from View setup and policy issues or the Review and fix banner once your fixes are live. A successful review restores both free listings and ads, provided the products themselves are approved.

If the problem is only at product level, edits trigger automatic re-review. You can appeal individual product disapprovals you disagree with from the same Needs attention area.

How long it takes

Google says initial reviews for Shopping ads commonly take 3 to 5 business days and may take longer for other programs. Account reviews after a request typically take about 7 business days, longer if complex. Product re-reviews after edits usually happen within a day or two.

Remember that review requests are limited for account issues, and repeated failures can lead to waiting periods. Fix everything first.

How to prevent it

• Check Merchant Center regularly. Free listings can stop quietly, since there's no ad spend to alert you.
• Keep policies, contact details and checkout in good shape.
• Don't upload product types you know aren't allowed.
• Recheck program settings after linking new apps or platforms.
• Treat free listings and Shopping ads as one system: fixing one usually fixes both.

Mercantads can find the real cause behind disapproved free listings, fix the account and products, and handle the review. Contact us or see our Merchant Center service.