How to fix: Incorrect product identifier [mpn]

A product’s MPN is used to uniquely identify it among all of the products produced by a manufacturer. Potential customers may search for a specific MPN when looking to make a purchase. Consequently, providing the correct MPN can help ensure that your product is shown in relevant situations.

For one or more of your products you’ve submitted a value for the MPN [mpn] attribute that may be incorrect. As a result, these products have been warned, and may be disapproved for ads or free listings.

To resolve this issue, provide a valid value for the MPN attribute. Only use MPNs that have been assigned by the manufacturer rather than a reseller or a distributor. Also ensure that the corresponding brand name is correctly submitted via the brand [brand] attribute. If the product doesn’t have an MPN, clear the current value and leave the field blank.

Instructions

Step  1: See the affected products

1. Sign in to your Merchant Center account.
2. Select Products on the navigation menu, then click Diagnostics.
3. Click the Item issues tab to view current issues affecting your products.

To download a list (.csv) of all affected products for all issues:

• Click the download button next to the filter button , beneath the graph and above the list of issues.

To download a list (.csv) of all affected products for a particular issue:

• Find the issue under the “Issue” column, then click the download button at the end of the row.

To view a list of up to 50 products with this particular issue:

• Find the issue under the “Issue” column, then click View examples in the “Affected items” column.

Step 2: Update the MPN attribute value

1. Filter the downloaded report so that you only see products with:
   "Issue title" = Incorrect product identifier [mpn].
2. Search your product data for those products (using the ID) and:
   • Make sure you’re submitting a valid MPN value.
   • Don’t provide the MPN in the ID [id], title [title], or description [description] attribute. Instead, add it to the MPN [mpn] attribute.
   • Check that the brand [brand] attribute is correct.
   • If the product has no MPN, leave this attribute blank rather than provide an invalid value.

Step 3: Resubmit your product data

1. After you’ve updated your product data, resubmit it using one of these methods:
   • Upload a feed
   • Submit through the Content API
   • Import content from an ecommerce platform
2. Next, check that you’ve fixed the issue by making sure it’s no longer listed on the Diagnostics page.
   
   Keep in mind: It may take some time for your change to be reflected on the Diagnostics page.

If you’re working with a third-party platform, some of these instructions may not apply to you. Refer to your third-party platform for instructions on how to resolve the issue or complete the task. Learn how to find support if you use a non-Google platform.

Related links

• MPN [mpn]