Incorrect value [identifier exists]: Merchant Centre Disapproved Products

Incorrect Value [identifier exists] is a fairly common but very important error within Merchant Centres that will stop your products from showing on Google, in this Blog post we will be looking at what it is, what causes it and finally how you can easily fix this and get your products showing again.

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What is a GTIN and why is it important

However to fully understand this issue we must start at the beginning, and that starts with the GITN. But what is the GITN? The GITN is the Global Trade Identification Number. This is a unique number assigned to Millions of Different Products. Google then has a large Database with all the different GITNs on it, so it will know which products have a GITN and which products will not have one.

If a product that you are selling on the Merchant Centre does have a GITN number, it MUST be declared, failure to do so will cause this to flag up on Google’s end, and your product will not be allowed to show. This is not an optional field.

The Importance of Identifier Exists in Merchant Centre

There are two fields on the Google Merchant Centre which relate to this:

• GTIN
• Identifier Exists

These are both self-explanatory with the GTIN field containing the GTIN number, whilst Identifier Exists shows whether there is a GTIN Number, this will either be True or False. To find these you will need to go onto each individual product on the Merchant Centre and find the Raw feed Attributes near the bottom of the page. The GTIN number if Identifier Exists is set to true should be just below that line.

This is where the source of this error arises. If there is no GITN that means either that product does not have one, or it is not being imported from the feed, and in this case, the Identifier Exists option will be False. In the case of the GTIN not existing this is simple enough, there should be no issue.

Problems with Identifier Exists and How to Fix Them

It is not always straightforward and a couple of things could be causing this to flag:

The Product Could Have a GTIN But it is Not Being Submitted in Your Feed

In this case, when Identifier Exists is False Google will find the product on its database, see it has a GTIN and stop the product from showing from the Merchant Centre.

This is an issue which will need to be rectified in your Feed or the Review request will be rejected by Google.

The Product in May Not Have a GTIN: Identifier Exists = No

Your product could be very similar to another product. An example of this would be compatible products, like an ink cartridge which is similar to a product which does have a GTIN, which confuses Google.

You Make This Product: Identifier Exists = No

Alternatively, you could be a manufacturer of the product and you know for a fact that there is no GTIN and Google will incorrectly claim there is.

In this instance the best action would be to request a review, using the request a review option in the Item Status area. Simply click on it, click in the box and select Request Manual review, this should then get someone at Google to Check the GTIN and confirm that one in fact does not exist for your product.

However, there is a caveat to this process which can cause some issues, if the amount of products being affected by this issue is large, in some cases it can be in the thousands, there is currently no option to do this en masse. Each separate product review has to be requested individually.

There are methods to ease this process but you would still need a separate web page for each review request.

In Summary: Incorrect Value [identifier exists]

In conclusion, the “Incorrect value [identifier exists]” error in the Merchant Center is a common but important error that can prevent your products from showing on Google.

The error occurs when a product does not have a GTIN (Global Trade Identification Number), or when a GTIN is not being imported from the feed.

To fix this issue, you will need to go to each individual product on the Merchant Center and find the Raw feed Attributes near the bottom of the page. If the Identifier Exists option is set to no/false, you are declaring that the product does not have a GTIN – the error occurs when Google’s data suggests that is does.

To fix this issue:

• If the product genuinely does NOT have a GTIN, you will need to request a review using the Request a Review option in the Item Status area. However, if the number of products affected by this issue is large, it can be a time-consuming process as each product will need to be reviewed individually.
• If the product does have a GTIN, you will need to add that data to your data source/feed, and change Identifier Exists to True/Yes