This is no longer 100% correct, find the updated info here: https://feedarmy.com/kb/google-updated-product-landing-page-requirements-heres-what-changed/
Hey everyone, it’s Emmanuel here from FeedArmy, and I want to talk about a new Google Merchant Center policy update that just dropped, and it’s a big deal for pretty much every online store out there.
The update is around product landing page requirements, specifically for out-of-stock items. I’d encourage you to navigate to the policy page yourself to confirm, but let me break it down for you here because there are a few important nuances you need to be aware of.
What Has Changed?
According to the updated policy, if a product is out of stock, the buy button on your product landing page must be grayed out.
Now, I know what a lot of you are doing right now, and I get it. When an item goes out of stock, the two most common approaches have been:
- Leave the “Add to Cart” button as-is and just let it sit there
- Hide the button entirely so customers can’t see it
Here’s the thing, both of those approaches are no longer acceptable.
Hiding the button is not allowed. Leaving it fully clickable is not allowed. What you need to do now is disable the button.
How to Actually Implement This
Now, when Google says the button must be “grayed out,” you need to do 2 things: gray out the button color and disable its functionality, in other words, it cannot be clicked.
The simplest way to do this in HTML is by adding the disabled attribute directly to your button element. Here’s what that looks like:
<!-- Active button -->
<button class="add-to-cart">Add to Cart</button>
<!-- Disabled button for out-of-stock items -->
<button class="add-to-cart" disabled>Add to Cart</button>That single word, disabled prevents the button from being clicked and typically causes the browser to render it in a grayed-out style automatically. Job done.
I know buttons can be built in all kinds of ways depending on your platform or framework, but the principle is the same: make sure the button state is disabled, not hidden, and not still clickable.
Don’t Forget the Availability Status
This is the part people often miss. Along with disabling the button, you also need to display the availability status clearly on the product landing page.
Somewhere between the product title and the add-to-cart button, you should be showing one of the following:
- ✅ In Stock
- ❌ Out of Stock
- 🔄 Pre-Order
- 🔄 Back Order
And whatever you display on the landing page must match what’s in your data feed. If your feed says “in stock” but your page says “out of stock,” you’ll run into policy violations and potential disapprovals. Keep them in sync.
The Bigger Implication — Back Order
Here’s where it gets really interesting, and this is the part of the update that will have the biggest ripple effect.
Before this change, you could have an out-of-stock product sitting on your landing page with an “Add to Cart” button still live, and customers could still purchase. Many stores relied on this to keep revenue flowing even when inventory was tight.
That is now gone.
If you still want customers to be able to buy a product that isn’t currently in stock, you need to switch your availability status to “back order.” That’s the correct and compliant way to handle it going forward, and yes, it needs to be reflected on the landing page and in your product data feed.
This is a meaningful operational change for many businesses, so I recommend you take some time and audit your out-of-stock products and ensure everything is set up correctly.
Final Thoughts
This update might seem small on the surface. Still, when you think about how many products go in and out of stock daily, and how many stores have been managing that with a hidden button or a live buy button, it’s actually quite a significant shift.
My advice: get ahead of it now before it starts affecting your product approvals or campaign performance.
If you have any questions about this or need help aligning your feed and landing pages, drop a comment below or feel free to reach out directly. I’m always happy to help.