Many e-commerce stores rely on Microsoft Merchant Center to list products in Microsoft Shopping and run high-intent campaigns through Bing Ads. When your feed has errors, your products stop showing, and performance drops. This guide explains the most common feed issues and how to fix them with practical steps that work across Shopify, WooCommerce, and custom feeds.
Why Microsoft Merchant Center Feed Errors Happen
Feed problems usually appear when product data does not match Microsoft’s requirements or when catalog updates are not synced properly. Here is a clear breakdown of what causes these issues and how to avoid them.
1. Missing or Duplicate IDs
Every product must have a unique Offer_ID or SKU. Duplicate IDs force Microsoft Merchant Center to overwrite items, which leads to disapprovals.
Fix: Assign unique identifiers for each SKU and variant. If your platform autogenerates IDs, ensure they remain consistent across updates.
2. URL Mismatch or Invalid Protocol
Microsoft verifies product URLs against the domain connected to your store. URLs with the wrong domain or missing https are automatically rejected.
Fix: Check that all product links match the verified domain and load correctly with https. You can use the tracking validator to test whether your URLs and tracking tags are firing properly.
3. Price or Availability Conflicts
If the price shown on your website differs from the price in the feed, Microsoft flags the product. The same applies when availability does not match.
Fix: Sync your feed with your store automatically so pricing, stock, and visibility update without delay. Reviewing your product syncing setup can help you prevent price or availability mismatches.
4. Image Quality and Crawl Issues
Product images must meet Microsoft requirements and load properly. Incorrect dimensions, watermarked images, or slow-loading links often cause rejections.
Fix: Use clear, high resolution product photos without overlays and confirm that every image URL returns a valid response.
5. Invalid Attribute Values
Fields like color, size, material, and condition must contain clean, readable values. Internal codes, abbreviations, and symbols trigger errors.
Fix: Replace codes with standard values that customers use. Maintain a simple library of acceptable attribute terms.
6. Feed Expiration or Unscheduled Updates
Microsoft expires feeds that are not refreshed within 30 days, which removes products from Shopping placements.
Fix: Set up automatic feed uploads at least weekly. Daily is ideal for stores with frequent inventory changes.
How to Fix Microsoft Merchant Center Feed Errors Step by Step
Once you identify the cause of the error, move through the fixes in a structured way. These steps help you correct data quickly and reprocess the feed successfully.
1. Review and Correct Required Fields
Start by checking IDs, titles, descriptions, prices, availability, and image links to confirm everything is accurate. You can also use the feed status checker to validate product sync and status. Update missing or incorrect data directly in your product source or feed generator.
2. Validate and Repair Product URLs
Test several product URLs to confirm the domain matches your Merchant Center store and that links do not redirect improperly. Stick to https and avoid tracking parameters if possible.
3. Meet Image Standards
Replace placeholder or low resolution photos. Microsoft prefers clean, square images with a neutral background. Make sure links load quickly to prevent crawler delays.
4. Fix Untargeted Offers
If you see a message that all offers are untargeted, it means your Shopping campaign has no product groups selected. You can follow the Bing Ads tracking setup to properly map product offers to campaigns and resolve the issue.
Solution: Create a Shopping campaign or map the store’s product offers to an existing one.
5. Reupload and Reprocess the Feed
After making corrections, upload the new feed or trigger a sync. Reprocess inside the Merchant Center and check diagnostics again. Many errors clear in minutes, while image or domain validations may take longer.
6. Prevent Future Issues with Scheduled Updates
Automated uploads reduce manual fixes and prevent expiration. This is especially important for stores with dynamic stock levels, price changes, or seasonal catalog switches.
Best Practices to Avoid Feed Errors in the Future
A few habits keep your feed clean and your products active in Microsoft Shopping.
- Maintain stable SKUs for every variant.
- Sync pricing and availability daily.
- Use high quality product photos in the correct format.
- Standardize attribute values like color or size.
- Test product URLs whenever you change themes or hosting.
- Schedule automatic feed uploads to stay compliant.
Quick Troubleshooting Scenarios
These fast checks help you diagnose tricky cases.
- Feed shows empty: You may be using API based submission, which does not list items in the file view but still sends products to the store.
- 100 percent untargeted offers: Products exist but are not mapped to an active Shopping campaign.
- Image pending: Microsoft often needs time to crawl new image URLs. If the photos follow guidelines, this resolves on its own.
Conclusion
Fixing Microsoft Merchant Center feed errors is easier when you know where to look and how to correct the underlying data. A clean feed not only restores product visibility but also improves campaign performance. Once you apply the fixes and automate updates, your store stays in good shape without constant manual checks.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. Why is my Microsoft Merchant Center feed rejected?
Feeds are usually rejected when required attributes like Offer_ID, price, availability, or product URLs are incorrect or missing. Rejections also happen if the feed does not match the data on your website. Fixing the mismatched fields and reprocessing the feed normally resolves this.
Q. How often should I update my product feed?
If your catalog changes frequently, update the feed daily. For stable catalogs, weekly updates are fine. Microsoft expires feeds after 30 days, so scheduling automatic updates helps keep everything active.
Q. Why are my products not showing in Microsoft Shopping?
The most common reasons are untargeted offers, price conflicts, missing identifiers, or image problems. Start by checking the diagnostics page and focus on the issues marked as blocking.
Q. What does the untargeted offers message mean?
It means your products exist in Merchant Center but are not assigned to any Shopping campaign or product group. Once you map products to a campaign, the message clears and listings begin to serve.
Q. Why do I keep getting price mismatch errors?
This happens when your website price changes but your feed still has the old value. Use automated sync between your ecommerce platform and Merchant Center to keep prices aligned.
Q. How long does it take for feed fixes to be approved?
Simple fixes like ID corrections update within minutes. Image and domain validations may take several hours. Large catalogs may need a full indexing cycle before all products are active again.