I’ve noticed that Google has tightened their Merchant Center rules, now requiring a visible, but disabled buy button for products that are out of stock. This means the button should appear on the page, but users won’t be able to click it since it’s grayed out and inactive.
What’s happening. This shift represents a significant change from previous practices where retailers either let the ‘Add to Cart’ button remain clickable or removed it altogether. Both methods are now against Google’s guidelines.
How it works. The requirement is straightforward: a buy button must stay on the page but needs to be disabled. This usually involves a visual change to indicate it’s not active, making it unclickable yet visible.
The catch. It doesn’t stop at the button change. Google wants explicit availability messaging on product pages, like ‘in stock,’ ‘out of stock,’ ‘pre-order,’ or ‘back order.’ This labeling has to match perfectly with the product feed.
Mismatched information between the webpage and the product feed could lead to disapprovals.
The bigger shift. This policy eliminates a workaround many retailers used, where out-of-stock items could still be sold by keeping the buy button active. Now, if retailers wish to accept orders for unavailable products, they must list them as ‘back order’ and ensure this status is synced across the landing page and feed.
Bottom line. While this seems like a minor UI adjustment, it’s a significant policy shift. Retailers must audit their handling of out-of-stock items and make sure their pages and feeds are in perfect harmony to avoid any interruptions.
First seen. This update came to my attention thanks to a Google shopping specialist who shared the details on LinkedIn.
Dig deeper. For more details, check out the landing page requirements.
Inspired by this post on Search Engine Land.
Leave a Reply