A GTIN (Global Trade Item Number) is a globally unique number that identifies a product, usually shown as the barcode on its packaging. In SEO it matters because Google uses it in Merchant Center and in Product markup to match a product to the same product at other stores.
What formats does a GTIN have?
The GTIN is the number itself, and the barcode is the machine-readable symbol that encodes it. GS1 Germany says the manufacturer or brand owner typically assigns it, not the reseller. Four lengths exist: GTIN-8 for small items, GTIN-12 (the North American UPC), GTIN-13 (the EAN used in Europe and elsewhere) and GTIN-14 for cases and logistics units. Every UPC is a GTIN, but not every GTIN is a UPC.
Google’s Merchant Center help lists the accepted formats for the gtin attribute: UPC with 12 digits, EAN with 13, JAN with 8 or 13, ISBN with 13 and ITF-14 with 14 digits. UPC-E codes with 8 digits must be converted to 12-digit UPC-A, and ISBN-10 values to ISBN-13.
What does the GTIN mean for SEO?
Google recommends submitting the GTIN whenever the product has one, to help classify and display the product. In Product markup, gtin, mpn and sku appear among the recommended properties. Google notes that not every product has a GTIN. Products without a manufacturer-assigned GTIN need an MPN in the feed, and custom-made products can mark identifier_exists as “no”.
Use only numbers the manufacturer assigned. Google advises checking the source when a third party supplies GTINs.
Example
{
"@type": "Product",
"name": "Trail running shoe Alpine",
"gtin13": "4006381333931",
"mpn": "ALP-2026-42"
}
Common mistakes
- Making up a GTIN. Not every product has a GTIN. Google advises contacting the manufacturer if one is missing instead of inventing a number.
- Taking third-party data on trust. If a third party supplies GTINs, Google advises verifying that the source is legitimate.
- Submitting an unaccepted format. 8-digit UPC-E codes must be converted to 12-digit UPC-A, and ISBN-10 values to ISBN-13.
FAQ
What does GTIN stand for? Global Trade Item Number.
Is GTIN the same as SKU? No. According to reports, a SKU is an internal stock code that a seller defines. A GTIN is assigned by the manufacturer and is the same across all sellers.
Sources
- GTIN [gtin] – Merchant Center Helpsupport.google.com
- Product structured data – Google Search Centraldevelopers.google.com
- What is a GTIN? – Commport (secondary)commport.com
- GTIN vs. UPC, EAN, FNSKU, ISBN – Inflow Inventory (secondary)inflowinventory.com
- Global Trade Item Number (GTIN) – GS1gs1.org
- GTIN – GS1 Germanygs1-germany.de
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