UK stores may need to pick a comparison shopping service to stay in Google's free listings
What they said
Read the original ↗“May experience disapprovals or limited visibility in free listings”
In plain English
PPC News FeedProduct feed A file or live connection listing your products with details such as title, price, image and stock, used by Google, Meta, TikTok and marketplaces to show your products. reports that Google's Merchant CenterMerchant Center Google's tool for uploading your product information so your products can appear in Google Shopping, Search, Images and ads. help page now says stores in the UK, the EEA and Switzerland should actively choose a comparison shopping service (CSS) for free listings. A CSS is the service that places your products on Google; Google Shopping is one option. Stores that haven't chosen one may see products disapproved or shown less in free listings.
Does this affect you?
- Stores in the UK, the EEA or Switzerland showing products in Google's free listings without a chosen CSS
- Paid Shopping ads
- Stores that have already chosen a CSS for free listings
Why it matters
Free listings are the unpaid product results on Google, so losing them means losing free traffic, right before Black Friday. Your paid Shopping ads aren't affected by this setting.
The fix takes a couple of minutes, and PPC News Feed reports it can take 24 to 48 hours for any disapprovals to clear, so it's worth checking now.
What to do
- 1Check your free listings settingYour marketing team
In Google Merchant Center, go to Settings > General > Comparison Shopping Services and look for Free listings in Europe.
- 2Choose a CSSYour marketing team
Pick Google Shopping or the third-party CSS you already use. Only one CSS can represent your website for free listings.
- 3Check for disapprovals in a couple of daysYour marketing team
Look at your products' free listings status after 24 to 48 hours to make sure any disapprovals have cleared.
Questions
What is a CSS in Google Merchant Center?
A comparison shopping service is a service that places your products on Google in the UK, the EEA and Switzerland. Google Shopping is one CSS; there are also third-party ones.
What happens if I don't choose a CSS for free listings?
According to PPC News Feed, Google's help page says products may be disapproved or have limited visibility in free listings.
Does this affect my paid Shopping ads?
No. This setting is about free listings only.
Found by our AI agent and checked by Peter Screeton, Founder of Create8. He confirmed the original source is genuine and that this summary matches what it said when published.