The description attribute is a required field in every Google Shopping feed. Getting it wrong — through missing content, prohibited formatting, or content that conflicts with your landing page — can lead to product disapprovals. This article covers the specific rules that apply to description, distinct from the title attribute, and explains how to structure descriptions that meet platform requirements.
Length and Character Limits
The description attribute accepts a string of Unicode characters. According to the Google Merchant Center product data specification, description is a free-form text attribute that forms part of the basic product data — the foundation for creating successful ads and free listings. Because it is free-form, it does not use a fixed set of supported values; you write it in the language your feed targets.
The product data specification sets the maximum at 5,000 characters for the description field, as documented on the Google Merchant Center product data specification page. Do not pad descriptions to hit a length target; only include content that is accurate and relevant to the product. Descriptions that are too short may omit details shoppers need; descriptions that are artificially long or stuffed with repeated phrases will not improve eligibility and may trigger quality issues.
The character limit for description is separate from, and larger than, the limit for title. The title attribute has a hard ceiling of 150 characters, as stated in the Google Merchant Center title attribute documentation: "Title [title]: 1–150 characters." If your title is truncated by Google, you will receive a warning in Merchant Center. No equivalent automatic truncation is documented for description, but content beyond the display threshold may not appear on every surface.
Formatting Restrictions
Several formatting behaviours that are prohibited in title also apply to description, and the same editorial and professional standards govern both attributes. The Google Merchant Center product data specification is clear that "Incorrect, inaccurate, or missing product information can cause disapprovals, limited eligibility, incorrect displays for your products, or other Issues in Merchant Center."
Specific formatting rules — many of which originate in the shared editorial policy — include:
- No HTML tags. The
descriptionfield is a plain-text string. HTML markup is not rendered and may be treated as invalid content. - No ALL CAPS for emphasis. The Google Merchant Center title attribute documentation instructs merchants to "avoid gimmicky ways of drawing attention such as all caps, symbols, HTML tags, and promotional text," and the same professional standard applies to descriptions.
- No promotional text. Phrases such as "Best price guaranteed" or "Buy now" belong in dedicated promotion attributes, not in
description. - No symbols used as decorative characters. Characters such as stars or arrows used solely for visual decoration are not permitted. Foreign or special characters used for gimmicky purposes are treated as spam signals.
- No newlines or line breaks in XML or text feeds. Descriptions must be submitted as a single continuous string in text feeds.
For feeds submitted in XML format, special characters must be properly escaped (for example, use & for &). The product data specification confirms that correct formatting is essential for Google to parse submitted data accurately.
Prohibited Content and Accuracy Requirements
Beyond formatting, the content of your description must be accurate and consistent with the product shown on your landing page. The Google Merchant Center product data specification requires that "Providing accurate and correctly formatted product data is essential for creating successful ads and free listings, and for preventing product disapprovals or display issues."
Key content prohibitions:
- No cross-selling or cross-promotion. Mentioning other products you sell, unrelated categories, or competitor comparisons is not permitted.
- No business or policy information. Return windows, shipping speeds, and loyalty programme details do not belong in
description. Use the appropriate shipping, returns, and promotion attributes instead. - No misleading claims. If your landing page describes a product as sold individually but your
descriptionsays pack of six, you have a data conflict that can result in a disapproval. - Language consistency. The product data specification requires that free-form text attributes such as
descriptionuse the same language as the rest of the feed. Do not mix languages without a clear product reason, such as a product name that is naturally in another language.
For EU, India, and New York markets, an additional content consideration applies: if any part of your description was created or edited using generative AI, regional regulations may require disclosure labels. The product data specification notes that "AI regulations in the European Union, India, and New York require that ads with certain AI-generated or edited assets include disclosures and/or labels."
How to Structure a Compliant Description
A well-structured description follows a logical order:
- Lead with the product type and its primary function. Start with what the product is and what it does, not with brand boilerplate.
- Include key specifications. Dimensions, materials, compatibility, capacity, or other attributes that shoppers search for should appear in the body of the description.
- Describe variants if applicable. If the description applies to a specific variant, say so clearly. The same principle that applies to
title— as the Google Merchant Center title attribute documentation states, "Add the distinguishing details of each variant" — applies to descriptions to avoid ambiguity. - Close with use context. A brief, factual sentence about intended use or compatible environments is acceptable and useful.
Hypothetical Example
The following is a hypothetical example to illustrate compliant and non-compliant patterns. It does not represent a real product or a measured outcome.
Non-compliant description (hypothetical)
"BEST PRICE ONLINE — Our AMAZING ergonomic office chair — buy now before stock runs out!! Ships FREE today. Also check out our standing desks and accessories. Adjustable lumbar support."
Problems with this example: ALL CAPS, promotional claims, urgency language, cross-selling reference to other products, and no factual product specifications.
Compliant description (hypothetical)
"Ergonomic mesh office chair with adjustable lumbar support, 4D armrests, and a weight capacity of 275 lb. Seat height adjusts from 17 to 21 inches. Compatible with standard 5-star caster bases. Suitable for home office and commercial use. Available in black and grey."
This version is factual, plain-text, formatted consistently, free of promotional language, and accurately scoped to a single product.
Keeping Descriptions in Sync with Your Feed
Merchant Center will flag descriptions that conflict with landing page content. If your store platform — Shopify, WooCommerce, or a custom catalog — generates description values automatically from a template, audit the output regularly. Template-generated descriptions commonly insert promotional copy, incorrect specifications for variant items, or placeholder text that was never replaced.
Magicfeedpro is designed to help catalog operators review and manage attribute-level product data before it reaches Merchant Center, so issues like prohibited formatting or landing page mismatches can be caught during feed preparation rather than after a disapproval.
For a broader look at how disapprovals surface in Merchant Center diagnostics, see the guide to Google Merchant Center Errors: 12 Common Fixes.
Related articles
Variant Landing Page URLs in a Shopping Feed: link Rules
Learn how to set the link attribute for each variant item in a Google Shopping feed to meet Merchant Center requirements.
item_group_id for Variants: Requirements, Value Rules, and Feed Impact
When item_group_id is required for color and size variants, what value rules apply, and what happens when it is missing or mismatched.
AI Search Is Reshaping Google Shopping: Feed for SGE in 2026
Google AI shopping feed optimization now hinges on 6 feed attributes that decide which products appear in AI Overviews carousels. Fix your feed in one pass.