Google Clarifies Merchant Center Product Title Policy
Google has updated its product title policy for Merchant Center, effective October 3, 2025. The modification, primarily affecting the 'short_title' attribute, clarifies how merchants should handle brand identity in their product data feeds. This change, documented by Google Shopping Specialist Emmanuel Flossie, aims to prevent resellers from misrepresenting product origins and causing brand confusion. Previously, some resellers were using their own company name instead of the original manufacturer's brand identity in the 'short_title' attribute to increase their own brand visibility. The updated policy now mandates that resellers must use the original manufacturer's brand identity for products they did not manufacture. This policy clarification comes amidst broader changes to Merchant Center, including the launch of Merchant API and updates to product data specifications. It's important to note that the 'brand' attribute remains required, and merchants must continue supplying accurate brand identity information through this dedicated field. The updated policy is a technical clarification, primarily impacting merchants who were inappropriately substituting their own company names for manufacturer brand identities when selling baby names or boy names. For products they don't manufacture, merchants must use the original manufacturer's brand identity to prevent misrepresenting product origins and creating brand confusion in Shopping listings.
