Missing Description in Merchant Center: How to Fix It

What this issue means

The description attribute is required for all products. Google uses it to understand what you sell and to match your listing to searches, and shoppers see it when they click into a listing. A product without one is typically disapproved for Shopping ads and free listings.

Google's limits and rules for descriptions:

• Length: 1 to 5,000 characters. Google recommends putting the most important details in the first 160 to 500 characters.
• Content: describe the product itself: size, material, intended age range, features, technical specs, pattern, variants.
• Not allowed: links to your store, promotional text (prices, sale dates, shipping info, your company name), comparisons with other products, descriptions of other products or accessories, all caps for emphasis, and gimmicky symbols.
• AI-written text: if the description is AI-generated, Google asks you to submit it through structured_description with the AI source type.

Why it happens

• The product body is empty. Common with quick-listed products, imports from suppliers, or catalogs built from a spreadsheet with only title and price.
• The description is only images or video. Some themes and page builders put the entire description in an image or embedded media. Once HTML is stripped, nothing is left.
• Description stored in a theme tab or page builder. Content added through Elementor, a tabs app or a custom section may not live in the product's main description field, so the feed can't read it.
• WooCommerce short description vs. long description. The feed may be mapped to the field you didn't fill.
• Variants with their own empty description. In WooCommerce, variation descriptions can override the parent; an empty variation description may be sent instead of the parent's text, depending on your plugin settings.
• A supplemental source or rule cleared it.

How to fix it

1. List the affected products. In Merchant Center, go to Products > Needs attention, filter by this issue, and download the CSV. Sort by product type to batch similar items.

2. Write descriptions that actually help. For each product, aim for a few hundred words or less that cover:

   • What the product is and who it's for
   • Material, dimensions, capacity or fit
   • Key features and specifications
   • What's included (for bundles or multipacks)
   • Variant details (colors, sizes available)

   Keep it factual. Don't include prices, shipping promises, "best price guaranteed," or links. Write it in the same language as your feed.

3. Add the description at the source:

   • Shopify (Google & YouTube app): Fill in the product's Description field in the Shopify admin. The channel sends this text (HTML is removed). If your description is in a theme block or app tab, also put a text version in the main Description field. Changes sync automatically.
   • WooCommerce: Fill in the main product description (the large editor) and the short description, then check which one your Google feed plugin maps to description. For variable products, either fill each variation's description or set the plugin to fall back to the parent's description.
   • Feed files: Add a description column. If the store can't be updated quickly, upload a supplemental source with id and description to fill gaps.

4. Use a temporary fallback carefully. An attribute rule in Merchant Center can set description from another field (for example, using the title plus product type) when it's empty. This gets products approved fast, but thin descriptions perform poorly. Treat it as a stopgap while you write real copy.

5. Check the result in Merchant Center. Open a fixed product and confirm the description text appears in the product details. If it's still empty, the feed is reading a different field.

How long until it's fixed

Once the description reaches Merchant Center, disapprovals for missing values usually clear after Google reprocesses the item, generally within one to three days. Shopify and WooCommerce apps typically sync within hours, so most of the wait is on Google's side.

How to prevent it

• Require a written description before a product can be published.
• Keep descriptions as text in the main description field, even if your theme adds rich layouts.
• Map your feed plugin to the field your team actually fills, and document it.
• Spot-check new supplier imports for empty or image-only descriptions.
• Avoid duplicating a single generic paragraph across hundreds of products; it's technically valid but weak for matching.

Good descriptions also feed better keyword matching in Performance Max and Shopping. See our product feed optimization guide, run your feed through our Merchant Center feed checker, or contact Mercantads if you need descriptions written and fixed at scale.