How to Exclude Products from Google Shopping

Ensuring that the products you showcase in Google Shopping match what you actually want to sell—and what you can sell—can be essential to the success of your online store.

If you display items you no longer have in stock or products that you don’t consider profitable, your website visitors may end up disappointed, and your budget might be wasted on irrelevant clicks. Removing products from appearing in Google Shopping can fix these issues by keeping your feed tidy and effective.

This process is sometimes overlooked. Online stores often focus on adding new items to their catalogs, boosting promotions, and expanding their marketing channels to new marketplaces. But if your feed contains items that shouldn’t be advertised, you risk losing focus, money, and opportunities for growth.

Below are various strategies to exclude specific products from Google Shopping. This includes a manual approach within Google Merchant Center, plus suggestions for using an automated feed management platform if you want to handle large catalogs.

By being careful with exclusions, you can ensure that your e-commerce operations concentrate on the products that matter.

Why Excluding Products Matters

There are many reasons you might decide to exclude products from your Google Shopping feed. Sometimes it’s simply a matter of having limited stock, and you don’t want to advertise items you can’t fulfill.

Other times, products may be irrelevant to your key audience, or you may need to stop selling an item for compliance or legal requirements in your region. In e-commerce, many updates can occur in a short span of time.

Trends may shift, and customers might move to different niches or prefer different marketplaces. Advertising unnecessary items not only causes clutter in your feed, it also reduces your ad performance by spreading your click budget across too many products.

Some online stores use a multi-channel strategy; they might appear on major marketplaces, run their own website, and use comparisons through various marketing channels.

Excluding irrelevant products can strengthen your brand on each channel by presenting a carefully selected product lineup. This approach can also help you remain more competitive when your ad dollars or promotional efforts are concentrated on the items that bring the most value.

Before You Begin: Basic Considerations

Before you start excluding products, it is a good idea to review your e-commerce data:

1. Review your current inventory levels.
2. Check product profitability and decide if the margin justifies ad spending.
3. Confirm legal or compliance rules for the product in each region.
4. Evaluate your historical performance metrics on Google Shopping or other marketing channels.
5. Identify which items are seasonal or outdated and no longer need to be advertised.

This kind of preparation is especially important if your feed is large. Going into your Merchant Center or feed management tool with a clear plan will save you time. Knowing which products you want to keep visible and which you want to remove helps you perform a precise reduction in feed size without losing items that might still be valuable.

Manual Exclusion in Google Merchant Center

Step 1: Access the “Products” Section

Log in to your Google Merchant Center account. On the left-side menu, click on “Products” to view your entire product feed. If you have multiple feeds because of sub-accounts, separate feed files, or local inventory, be sure you’re viewing the right feed that contains the products you want to exclude.

Step 2: Identify Product(s) to Exclude

In Merchant Center, locate the specific product listing. You can search by product title, SKU, or ID. If you have a small number of products, simply scroll until you see it. For a large catalog, use the search bar near the top for a quicker find.

Step 3: Edit the Product Details

Click the checkbox for the product you want to remove. Select “Edit” and look for any setting labeled “Exclusion,” “Exclude,” or a similar term. Although the interface may change over time, you are usually taken to a screen where you can unpublish or remove the product from ads.

Step 4: Choose a Reason for Exclusion

Depending on the current interface, you may see reasons such as:

• Out of stock
• Disapproved
• Inappropriate content
• Duplicate
• Other reasons

Choose the option that fits best. For example, if you are simply out of stock, select “Out of stock” so that your Merchant Center feed remains consistent with your inventory.

Step 5: Verify the Product’s Status

After confirming your changes, review the product listing.

If everything worked correctly, it should show an excluded status or appear as “not serving” in your feed. Changes can take several hours to propagate, so if your Merchant Center feed is large, allow time for a refresh before verifying the exclusions.

Scheduling or Automating Exclusions

Excluding products one by one may work for stores with smaller catalogs. However, if you manage a large feed with hundreds or thousands of SKUs, manual exclusions can become very time-consuming—especially when inventory changes often.

You might use built-in rules within Google Merchant Center or an external feed management platform to automate tasks based on specified attributes. Some businesses also integrate a spreadsheet or CSV file that uses conditional statements to mark products for exclusion.

Feed Rules in Google Merchant Center

If you prefer not to invest in an external tool, Merchant Center has a “Feed Rules” option. You can set up logical rules, for example: “You can set a rule such as: If inventory_quantity is less than or equal to 0, exclude product from the feed.”

Or:

“If brand is ‘X’, exclude all items from brand X.” This way, you avoid manually finding and excluding products each time. You simply define the conditions, and the system handles the rest. Feed Rules can also help with price updates, product categorization, or adding custom labels for bidding strategies. Combining these rules with regular feed updates helps keep your feed closely matched with your store’s current situation.

Price Intelligence and Competitor Analysis

Price intelligence involves monitoring competitors’ prices to inform your own pricing strategy. When deciding whether to keep or exclude a product, review whether your price remains competitive.

1. If your item is much more expensive than competitors’ listings, you may want to temporarily exclude it from Shopping ads while you adjust pricing.
2. If your product is priced too low, you could risk losing profits or attracting customers with unrealistic expectations.

Some advanced tools allow you to pause or exclude products automatically when your margins fall below a set threshold or when competitors undercut your price.

A Simple Table for Quick Reference

This table can assist when setting up an automated feed management system or in Merchant Center’s Feed Rules. Each row describes a factor that might trigger an exclusion along with a sample rule.

Using an Automated Feed Management Platform

For large e-commerce stores, a feed management tool might be preferable.

These platforms let you:

• Connect multiple shopping channels (Google Shopping, social ads, marketplaces).
• Update product data centrally before sharing it with various channels.
• Automatically remove products based on rules related to stock, pricing, category, or performance metrics.
• Quickly test new strategies by toggling products on or off in real time.

They also help keep your feed synchronized with your website’s inventory, reducing the need for adjustments in multiple places.

Step-by-Step in a Typical Automated Platform

1. Go to your main dashboard where your Google Shopping channel is connected.
2. Look for a section like “Exclude Products,” “Filter Products,” or “Rules Engine.”
3. Create a condition—for example, “If product stock equals zero, exclude item.”
4. Save the condition and ensure it applies to your Google Shopping feed.
5. Review a sample of excluded products to confirm that the rule worked.

Depending on your platform, you might also schedule the rules to take effect at specific times, or use advanced logic that checks multiple factors before excluding an item.

Monitoring Performance After Exclusions

Removing products may reduce the number of items shown in your ads. Often, this is a positive change if you are removing unprofitable or unavailable items. It remains important to check performance metrics to see if overall results improve.

• Watch the click-through rates (CTR) for the remaining products.
• Track conversion rates, especially if lower performers were removed.
• Monitor your cost per click (CPC), as your campaign may shift budget to the remaining items.

Reviewing historical data can help you decide if a product should remain excluded. Sometimes, even if an item has a temporary stock issue, it may still be essential during a specific campaign, like a holiday promotion. Other times, products such as older models of electronics might be removed entirely if demand has waned.

Handling Seasonal and Discontinued Products

Certain items are only relevant at particular times of the year, like winter coats, holiday decorations, or summer swimsuits. You may choose to hide them during off-seasons to avoid appearing in search results, and then quickly restore them by reversing the exclusion or updating the feed rules.

For discontinued or retired products, leaving them in the feed might frustrate consumers who click on an ad only to find that the product is no longer available. Removing these items avoids misleading shoppers and wasting ad budget.

Potential Pitfalls When Excluding Products

Excluding products seems straightforward, but here are some challenges to keep in mind:

1. Over-Exclusion
   • Excluding too many items may limit your opportunity for sales. Be careful not to create too broad rules.
2. Incorrect Data Fields
   • If the wrong attribute is referenced—for example, confusing color with size—you may exclude the wrong products.
3. Overlooking Channel Differences
   • Some marketplaces or ad channels have different requirements than Google. Verify that you are only excluding items from Google Shopping when that is your intention.
4. Breaking Automated Rules
   • Changes to your e-commerce platform or feed structure can disrupt your existing rules. Monitor your feed after updates to ensure everything works as expected.

E-Commerce Trends and Marketplace Considerations

If you also sell on marketplaces like Amazon, eBay, or specialized platforms, check whether a similar exclusion process applies there. Certain platforms let you switch listings on or off or manage stock visibility to hide items you do not wish to advertise. Google Shopping remains an important source of traffic for many retailers. As trends continue to change, Google Shopping might introduce new placements or promotional opportunities.

By managing your product feed carefully, you stay prepared for these adjustments. Monitoring how excluded products perform on other channels may also provide insights into whether to restore them on Google later. For example, if a product that was once removed becomes popular again on another platform, you might decide to include it in your feed once more.

Inventory Levels and Multichannel Marketing

Many online retailers use a multichannel marketing approach, advertising the same product across Google Shopping, social media ads, and various marketplaces. Keeping your inventory consistent across these channels is essential to prevent overselling. Automated inventory updates can reduce manual work. If your product inventory is current but your ad feed is not, you may end up promoting out-of-stock items.

Excluding items (or scheduling exclusions when stock reaches zero) prevents misleading potential customers. It is also important to share additional product details, such as consumer reviews or extra information that distinguishes your listing. When your feed is accurate and up to date, potential buyers are more likely to trust your store, which can lead to increased engagement and conversions.

Analyzing Data from Other Marketing Channels

When deciding whether to exclude a product, review its performance across all channels:

• Are sales high on other marketplaces?
• Do customers frequently return the product or have concerns about it?
• Does the product rank well in organic searches but perform poorly in paid ads?

These factors can inform your decision-making. If a product does well on one platform and has good margins, you might keep it on Google Shopping despite competitive pricing challenges. Conversely, if interest has dropped across channels, removing it from ads might be the best option.

Using Analytics to Refine Your Approach

After setting exclusions, continue monitoring your analytics tools—such as Google Analytics or other platforms—to track both paid and organic performance. If your overall store performance remains steady or improves, it indicates that your adjustments are working.

Balancing Exclusions with Bidding Adjustments

Sometimes completely excluding a product is not necessary. If an item still draws some buyers but struggles under normal bid strategies, consider these alternatives:

• Lower the bids for that item so that it continues to appear while consuming less of your daily budget.
• Use custom labels in Merchant Center to move it into a different campaign with reduced bids.

This allows the product to remain visible without consuming an excessive portion of your ad spend. Some online stores keep certain items in the feed because they help promote the brand, even if they do not drive strong sales volumes.

Keeping Up with Market Shifts

Consumer preferences and market conditions can change quickly. Marketplaces might offer new promotions, or a product might regain popularity. Suppliers can change pricing, impacting your margins. Competitors might discontinue items, allowing you to adjust your offerings. It is wise to periodically review your excluded products. Regularly checking your feed ensures that all listings are accurate and that opportunities to reintroduce items are not missed. Exclusion can be a temporary strategy until market conditions improve.

Inventory Levels and Multichannel Marketing

Many high-volume online retailers maintain a multichannel strategy by advertising on Google Shopping, social media platforms, and various marketplaces. Keeping your inventory synchronized across these channels is essential to avoid overselling. Automatic updates help reduce manual work. Even if your website inventory is accurate, an outdated ad feed can lead to promoting products that are no longer available.

Excluding those items, or scheduling their removal once stock runs out, helps avoid disappointing potential buyers. Accurate product data—including customer reviews and additional details—builds trust and can increase engagement and conversions.

Analyzing Data from Other Marketing Channels

When deciding on exclusions, it is useful to compare performance across all channels:

• Does the product sell well on other platforms?
• Are there frequent returns or complaints linked to the product?
• Is the product performing better in organic searches than in paid ads?

These points can help shape your decisions. If a product performs well elsewhere with healthy margins, you might maintain it on Google Shopping despite some challenges. In other situations, removing a product that shows low interest everywhere might be advisable.

Using Analytics to Refine Your Approach

Keep reviewing your analytics to assess both organic and paid performance. Testing exclusions over a short period may reveal that while costs drop, revenue remains stable—indicating that the removed items were not vital to your business.

Balancing Exclusions with Bidding Adjustments

Rather than excluding a product entirely, you might opt to reduce its bid if it still attracts occasional buyers. Adjusting bids allows you to keep the product visible while lowering its cost, which can help manage your overall ad spend more effectively.

E-Commerce Trends and Marketplace Considerations

If you sell on platforms like Amazon, eBay, or other specialized sites, check if similar exclusion processes are available there. Some platforms allow you to switch listings on or off or manage stock availability in ways that hide items you do not wish to advertise.

Google Shopping remains a significant source of traffic for many retailers, so keeping your feed accurate is crucial for adapting to new placements or promotional opportunities that might arise.

FAQ: Excluding Products from Google Shopping

Managing your Google Shopping feed effectively ensures that you only advertise products that are in stock, profitable, and relevant to your audience. Below are common questions about excluding products from your feed.

Why should I exclude products from Google Shopping?

Excluding products helps prevent unnecessary ad spend, avoids advertising out-of-stock items, and improves campaign performance by focusing on your most valuable offerings. It also ensures compliance with legal regulations and marketplace policies.

How can I manually remove products in Google Merchant Center?

Go to your Google Merchant Center account, navigate to the “Products” section, search for the item, and use the “Edit” option to exclude it from Shopping ads. Confirm the exclusion by checking its updated status in your product list.

Can I automate product exclusions?

Yes, you can use Google Merchant Center’s “Feed Rules” to exclude specific products based on attributes like stock levels, brand name, or price. Additionally, external feed management tools provide automation options for larger catalogs.

What are common exclusion rules used in automated feed management?

Merchants often exclude products if stock is zero, the price is no longer competitive, profit margins are too low, or the item is discontinued. Feed management platforms allow you to set dynamic rules based on these factors.

How often should I review my excluded products?

Regularly reviewing exclusions—monthly or quarterly—helps ensure that no profitable items are unintentionally left out. If market conditions change, previously excluded products may become viable again.

What happens if I exclude too many products?

Over-excluding can limit your market reach and reduce potential sales. It’s important to balance exclusions with bidding adjustments so that low-performing products don’t consume too much budget but still remain available when relevant.

Should I exclude seasonal or discontinued items?

Yes, you can exclude seasonal items during off-seasons and re-enable them when demand returns. Discontinued products should be removed to prevent shopper frustration from clicking ads for unavailable items.

How does price competitiveness affect exclusion decisions?

If competitors consistently offer lower prices on the same product, running Shopping ads may be unprofitable. Some businesses use dynamic exclusions based on competitor pricing to ensure ads only display when their prices are competitive.

What’s the best way to monitor the impact of product exclusions?

Track key metrics such as click-through rate (CTR), conversion rate, and return on ad spend (ROAS) after making exclusions. This helps you determine whether your changes are improving ad efficiency and profitability.

Can I re-include excluded products later?

Yes, if a product becomes profitable or relevant again, you can adjust your feed settings to include it. Regularly reassess exclusions to align your feed with current inventory and market trends.

By refining your Shopping feed and strategically excluding products, you can improve ad performance, reduce wasted spend, and ensure a better experience for potential buyers.