Short answer. Merchant Center disapproves a product for “Excessive capitalization” when the title or description is written largely in capital letters, which Google’s editorial policy treats as untrustworthy. Rewrite in sentence or title case, keeping capitals only where they belong: brand names, acronyms, model numbers.
| Shown in Merchant Center as | Excessive capitalization |
|---|---|
| Attribute | title |
| Effect | Product disapproved |
| Where to find it | Products → Needs attention, then filter by this issue |
| Free check | Reported by the free feed check |
What Merchant Center means by “Excessive capitalization”
Google’s help page for the issue puts it directly: excessive capitalised text is frequently used in spam emails or by untrustworthy retailers, so shoppers perceive such ads as less trustworthy, and Google disapproves products whose titles or descriptions use it. The title specification says not to use capital letters for emphasis, while allowing them where they belong: abbreviations, phone numbers, countries, currency. The issue is listed among the data quality disapprovals.
The test is proportion, not presence. A brand acronym or a model code in capitals is fine. A title written entirely in capitals, or a description whose opening line shouts, is not.
Why it happens
- Supplier catalogues. Wholesale price lists and ERP exports often store names in upper case, and the store imports them unchanged.
- Emphasis for the storefront. “LIMITED EDITION”, “NEW ARRIVAL”, “BEST SELLER” prepended to titles to catch the eye on a category page.
- Marketplace habits. Titles written for a marketplace where capitals were tolerated, reused for Google.
- Descriptions pasted from packaging or from a manufacturer’s spec sheet in caps.
How to fix it
In Shopify
Bulk edit the Title column, or export products to CSV, convert the title column to title case in a spreadsheet, review the words that should stay capitalised (brand acronyms, model codes such as RTX4090), and re-import. Fix the source too: if titles arrive from a supplier feed, add the case conversion to that import so the next delivery does not undo the work.
In WooCommerce
Export via Products → Export, convert the Name and Description columns to sentence or title case, and re-import with “update existing products” checked. If a plugin generates titles from attributes, check its template: attribute values in caps propagate into every variation title.
In a CSV or XML feed
Convert the title column to title case and the description column to sentence case, then scan for acronyms and model codes to restore. Download the Needs attention CSV to confirm every affected id is covered. Keep the conversion in the export template rather than in the file, so it applies on every run.
How long until Merchant Center clears it
On the next fetch with corrected text the disapproval is reviewed and lifts within 24–72 hours. No review request is needed for an item-level editorial issue.
What FeedRobin does about it
The free check flags titles that are all capitals with enough letters to be a sentence rather than a model code (“iPhone 15 PRO” passes, “NIKE AIR MAX 90 MEN’S RUNNING SHOE” does not), reported with promotional text under one heading because the two travel together. The fix preview shows the de-shouted title next to the original: words with digits and one- or two-letter words are left as they are, so “RTX4090”, “XL” and “TV” survive. Three-letter acronyms inside an all-caps title are the known limit of that repair, and the preview lets you see them before anything is applied.
Questions merchants ask
My supplier’s catalogue is all in capitals. Do I have to retype it?
Not by hand. Convert the column to title case in a spreadsheet, then fix the words that should stay capitalised (brand acronyms, model codes). Our free check shows the converted title next to the original so you can see what changes.
Is “NIKE” in capitals allowed?
Yes. Google’s rule is about capitals used for emphasis, not about proper names, abbreviations, currencies or model codes. “NIKE AIR MAX 90 MEN’S RUNNING SHOE” is excessive; “Nike Air Max 90 Men’s Running Shoe” is not.
Does this apply to descriptions too?
Yes. Google’s help page for the issue covers titles and descriptions. A description with a shouted first line is enough.
Sources
- How to fix: Excessive capitalization — Google Merchant Center Help
- Title [title] and structured title [structured_title] — Google Merchant Center Help
- Fixing Merchant Center disapprovals for product data quality violations — Google Merchant Center Help