If you’re checking your Merchant Centre today, you might notice a little message like this from Google about GTINs:

Don’t panic! Click Convert are here to help!

In 2015 Google began requiring Global Trade Item numbers (GTIN’s) for products from a list of 50 brands listed in merchant centre feeds.

These GTIN’s were introduced to enable Google to understand exactly what was being sold by using standardised product data which they claimed helped increase relevance and sales.

From 16th of May 2016 anyone selling products matching the criteria without a GTIN will no longer be able to advertise them until those details have been added.

What are GTIN’s?

GTIN’s are unique and internationally recognised identified of individual products.

It’s important to note that GTIN’s are different depending on the type of product and target location.

These are GTIN-12 (UPC-12) found in North America, GTIN-13 (EAN/UCC-13) found in Europe, GTIN-8 (EAN/UUC-8) found in Japan, ISBN (ISBN-13) found in books and GTIN-14 (GD1-128 or ITF-14) found in multipack products.

What does the GTIN Requirement mean for you?

If you are selling new, branded products that are sold by multiple merchants now it’s the time to check that the product data is up to date and correct. You need to ensure that all the relevant GTIN’s are there.

If on the other hand you sell products that are exclusive to you then these changes will not affect you.

If you are targeting Australia, Brazil, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, UK or the USA Google requests that you submit GTIN’s for your products but these must be the ones assigned by the manufacturers along with the corresponding details of the brand.

How you should prepare:

1. If selling branded products that are also sold by other merchants please make sure that your product data is correct and up-to-date.

2. If you sell products that are exclusive to you, second hand or vintage these changes will not affect you.

3. If selling to Australia, Brazil, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, UK or the USA you must make sure all GTIN’s are correctly added for all in stock products.

The GTIN Requirement changes will take place on May 16th therefore if you do not add the information before your products will not be shown under any ads until the information has been added.

If for any reason you cannot add your GTIN’s or do not have them, there is a way to get around this. Give us a call today on 08444 780 999 and speak to one of our account managers who will be happy to help you.