Listing Content Standards and Listing Control

This page explains which listing fields the brand owner controls, which fields belong to the seller making the offer, the content standards every listing for your brand must meet, and what to do when a listing is wrong. This page summarizes the Brand Listing Content Standards, which governs.

Brand-controlled fields and seller offer fields

When you claim your brand, control is divided by the kind of field.

Brand-controlled fields are set by the brand owner and apply to every listing of the brand's products

• Product titles in the brand's standard form.
• Product description.
• Image set.
• Enhanced content.
• Brand name itself.

A seller may not rewrite your description to add keywords or replace your product photography with a different image. If a seller's listing shows the wrong title or images for your product, that is a content violation.

Seller offer fields belong to the seller making the offer

• Price, subject to Minimum Advertised Price where one applies. See Minimum Advertised Price.
• Quantity available.
• Handling and shipping time.
• Condition notes for the specific unit.
• Seller SKU.

The brand owner does not set offer fields and cannot override them through content tools. Pricing discipline is handled through Minimum Advertised Price, not through the description editor.

This division gives shoppers a consistent presentation of the same product no matter which seller fulfills it, while preserving each seller's control over their own offer. Listing control is governed by the Brand Listing Control Policy, which governs.

Content standards for every listing

Every listing carrying your brand must meet the following standards. As brand owner, you are the first line of review for your own products.

• Titles follow the standard form: brand, product line, item, and key attribute such as size, flavor, or count. No keyword stuffing, no text in all capitals, and no promotional text in the title.
• Images must show the actual product. The primary image shows the product on a clean background; lifestyle and explanatory images follow. No watermarks, no competitor logos, and no promotional badges placed inside the image.
• Descriptions describe the product as the manufacturer specifies it: ingredients, guaranteed analysis for foods, feeding directions, net weight, and warnings. Marketing claims must be substantiated. A claim such as "vet recommended" requires the recommendation to support it, and a claim such as "all-natural" must meet the applicable definition.
• Identifiers: GTIN or UPC where the product has one: must be accurate. An incorrect identifier breaks catalog matching and is treated as a listing-accuracy violation.

One product, one record

Where the catalog already holds a product record, seller listings attach to that record rather than creating duplicates. The same product from two sellers is one product with two offers, not two products. A seller who creates a duplicate product to avoid brand-controlled fields violates the catalog rules, and duplicates are merged.

What to do when a listing is wrong

Brand owners do not edit a seller's listing directly and do not have write access to a seller's offer fields. Use this process instead

1. Flag the listing through the brand complaint channel. See Complaints, Takedowns and Anti-Counterfeit. Identify the listing and the specific field that violates the standard.
2. Catalog operations reviews the complaint. Content violations such as wrong images or stuffed titles are corrected or suppressed.
3. If the same seller repeats the violation, the matter is handled as a conduct matter, not only as a content correction.

For counterfeit or infringing listings: not merely wrong content, but a fake or infringing product: use the takedown path in Complaints, Takedowns and Anti-Counterfeit, which runs on a faster schedule and carries repeat-infringer consequences. Takedowns are governed by the Brand Complaint & Takedown Policy (Brand Complaint and Takedown Policy), which governs.

How control is enforced

Brand-controlled fields are enforced by review and complaint. Monitor your listings, flag violations promptly with the specific field identified, and do not assume an edit you have not flagged has been prevented.