Google Merchant Center · Product data

Product Title Too Long in Merchant Center: How to Fix It

Shown in Google Merchant Center: Text too long

How do I fix "Text too long" on product titles in Google Merchant Center?

"Text too long" on a title means your product title is over Google's 150-character limit, so it's being truncated when shown on Google. The fix is to shorten the title to 150 characters or fewer, ideally with the most important details (brand, product type, key attribute) in the first 70 characters, since that's roughly what shoppers see. The same issue can also apply to descriptions over 5,000 characters.

What this issue means

Google's title specification allows 1 to 150 characters. Anything longer gets cut off, and Merchant Center flags it with a warning. Google's help page for this issue notes that only around 70 characters display on Shopping ads and free listings, and recommends 70 or fewer where possible.

So the issue itself is usually a warning, not a disapproval. The real cost is that Google decides where your title gets cut. If your title starts with filler like "NEW 2026 Best Seller Premium Quality...", shoppers never see the product name.

For descriptions, the limit is 5,000 characters, with Google recommending roughly 500 to 1,000 and the key details in the first 160 to 500 characters.

Why it happens

SEO titles copied into the feed. Shopify and WooCommerce send the product title by default. Titles written for marketplaces like Amazon, often stuffed with keywords, easily exceed 150 characters.
Variant names appended automatically. Feed apps add color, size and material to the end of the parent title, pushing an already long title over the limit.
Feed rules that concatenate fields. A rule like "brand + title + color + size + material + gender" produces long strings when the base title already includes those words.
Supplier titles. Dropship and wholesale catalogs often come with titles that include full spec sheets.
Duplicated words. The brand appears twice, or "for men" appears in both the title and the appended gender.

How to fix it

Find every long title. In Merchant Center, go to Products > Needs attention, filter for "Text too long", and download the CSV. In a spreadsheet, add a =LEN() column to sort by length.
Rewrite with a structure, not by chopping. Cutting at 150 characters leaves broken phrases. Instead, rebuild titles using a pattern that fits your category:
- Apparel: Brand + Gender + Product type + Key feature + Color + Size. For example: Patagonia Women's Nano Puff Insulated Jacket, Black, Medium
- Electronics: Brand + Product line + Model + Key spec + Color. For example: Anker PowerCore 10000 Portable Charger, USB-C, Black
- Home goods: Brand + Product type + Material + Size or capacity. For example: Lodge 12-Inch Cast Iron Skillet, Pre-Seasoned
Put the words shoppers actually search first. Drop marketing phrases, repeated words and anything that belongs in other attributes, such as price, shipping or "free returns." Our product title builder helps you assemble titles in the right order and check length.
Apply the new titles:
- Shopify (Google & YouTube app): The app uses your Shopify product title. If you don't want to change your on-site title, many stores keep a shorter Google-specific title in a metafield and send it via a feed app, or override it with a Merchant Center supplemental source. Variant details like size and color are appended by the channel, so leave them out of the base title to avoid duplication.
- WooCommerce: In Google for WooCommerce or your feed plugin, check whether you can map title to a custom field. If not, shorten the product title itself, or override it with a supplemental source.
- Supplemental source: Upload a sheet with id and title. This replaces the title Google uses without touching your website.
Fix concatenation rules. If an attribute rule builds your titles, add conditions so it only appends color or size when they're not already in the title, and limit the parts used.
Check descriptions too. If the same issue lists description, trim it to under 5,000 characters and move the key specs to the first few hundred characters.

How long until it's fixed

Once corrected titles reach Merchant Center, the warning usually clears within one to three days. If you used a supplemental source, make sure it's linked to the right primary source and set to update on a schedule, otherwise the first upload might be the only one processed.

How to prevent it

Set a house rule: titles under 150 characters, core info in the first 70.
Write titles once in a structured format and let the feed add variant attributes, not the other way around.
Review titles whenever you import a new supplier catalog.
Avoid long promotional prefixes; promotions belong in Merchant Center promotions, not titles.

Titles are the single biggest lever for Shopping relevance, so shortening them is a chance to improve them. Our guide to product feed optimization covers title strategy in depth, and Mercantads can rewrite titles across your catalog as part of Merchant Center management.

Fix it yourself or have us fix it

	Do it yourself	Mercantads does it for you
Find the cause	Follow the steps on this page	We audit your feed, store and account
Make the fix	Edit products, feed rules or site pages yourself	We fix it, in bulk where possible
Reviews	Request the review and wait	We prepare and submit the review for you
After it's fixed	Watch for it to come back	Ongoing feed monitoring so it doesn't

Talk to us

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Google's help page describes it as truncation with a warning, not a disapproval. The product can still show, but with a title Google cut off.

Google encourages using the space for useful details, but only about 70 characters typically display. Use the extra length for real attributes like material or model, never for filler.

It can be shorter or reordered, but it must still accurately describe the product on your landing page. Don't add claims or details that aren't on the product page.

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