Merchant Center Website Requirements Checklist

Many Merchant Center warnings and suspensions have nothing to do with the product feed. They come from the website itself: missing contact details, an unclear return policy, a checkout that doesn’t work, or business details that don’t match the account.

This checklist brings together the requirements from Google’s Merchant Center guidelines, business information settings, return policy rules and the editorial site requirements in the Shopping ads and listings policies. Use it before you connect a new store, after a redesign, or before you request a review.

Where these requirements come from

Google’s requirements are spread across several help articles. This checklist combines them so you can audit a site in one pass.

Source	What it covers
Merchant Center guidelines	Contact info, return and refund policy, payment method, checkout, language, account sign-in
Add your business information	Business name, address, customer service details, store URL, checkout link, payment methods
Set up return policies	How return policies must be presented on the site and in Merchant Center
Shopping ads and listings policies	Editorial site requirements and data collection rules
Fixing warnings and suspensions	Common reasons for account issues and a website audit list

1. Contact information

Google requires visible contact information on the website. Its guidance on fixing account issues describes sufficient contact information as a legal business name, physical address, phone number and email address, consistent with Merchant Center. A contact form and social profiles can be added, but don’t rely on them alone.

• [ ] Legal business name visible (footer, contact or about page)
• [ ] Physical address shown
• [ ] Working phone number
• [ ] Email address (an address at your own domain matches what Merchant Center asks for)
• [ ] Contact page linked from every page
• [ ] Same details as in Merchant Center business information

2. Return and refund policy

The website must state a return and refund policy. Google says to state it even if you don’t accept returns. Missing return or refund policies are one of the common reasons Google gives for warnings and suspensions.

If you also set up return policies in Merchant Center, Google’s return policy requirements apply: the policy must be clear and conspicuous, cover general cases such as buyer’s remorse (not only defects), be accessible without a login, sign-up or personal information, be consistent across the site and Merchant Center, and state the time frame, method and any fees.

• [ ] Return and refund policy page exists and is linked from the footer
• [ ] States whether returns are accepted, the time frame, how to return and any fees
• [ ] Covers ordinary returns, not only faulty items
• [ ] Readable without logging in
• [ ] Matches the policy in Merchant Center, banners and product pages

For return policy issues on products, see how to fix missing return policy information, and for setup, how to configure return policies.

3. Shipping and privacy policies

Google’s website audit guidance for account issues says to link shipping, refund and privacy policies. Shipping costs on the site should also line up with Merchant Center: Google asks for shipping costs as close as possible to the website, and to overestimate if you can’t match closely.

• [ ] Shipping policy page with costs and delivery information
• [ ] Privacy policy page
• [ ] Both linked from the footer
• [ ] Shipping costs on the site consistent with Merchant Center shipping policies

Shipping setup is covered in how to configure shipping settings.

4. Payment methods and checkout

Google requires a conventional payment method and a working, secure checkout. Its audit guidance specifically mentions a functional HTTPS checkout.

• [ ] At least one conventional payment method offered
• [ ] Checkout completes end to end (place a real or test order)
• [ ] Every checkout step served over HTTPS
• [ ] Totals at checkout match the product and cart pages
• [ ] Optional extras are clearly optional
• [ ] Accepted payment methods entered in Merchant Center business information where available

5. Language

The website must be in a supported language. For product data, Google also expects the majority of a product title to be in the language of the data source, and additional languages need their own product source with translated data and landing pages.

• [ ] Site content in a supported language
• [ ] Product data language matches the landing pages
• [ ] Separate product source for each additional language (see multiple countries and currencies)

6. Merchant Center business information

Google requires basic, verifiable business and identity information in Settings > Business info. Formatting issues here can cause warnings, disapprovals or suspension.

Field	What Google asks for	Check
Business name	Short and professional	Matches the name on the site; displays correctly
Business address	Where the business is registered (Address line 1, City, Postal code)	Matches the site and your documents
Customer service	A working URL with contact info, an email at your domain, a valid phone	All three work
Adult content	Checkbox if relevant	Set correctly
Online store URL	The store’s URL, verified and claimed	Matches the domain in your product URLs
Checkout link	Link to checkout	Works
Accepted payment methods	Including US digital wallets	Matches the site

Google lists a business name not showing correctly and an unverified URL among common business information problems. One URL can be claimed by only one Merchant Center account, so if another account holds the claim, you’ll need to resolve that. See how to verify and claim a website.

7. Account activity

Google’s guidelines require signing in to the Merchant Center account at least every 14 months. Inactive accounts are at risk.

• [ ] Someone with access signs in at least every 14 months
• [ ] At least two people have access, so the account isn’t tied to one person (practitioner advice)

8. Editorial and site requirements

The Shopping ads and listings policies include editorial site requirements. These catch sites that aren’t finished or that behave in ways shoppers wouldn’t expect.

• [ ] Display URL accurately reflects the landing page domain
• [ ] No gimmicky words, symbols or characters (Google’s example is “F₹€€!!”)
• [ ] No pages under construction, parked or not working
• [ ] Back button not disabled
• [ ] Site viewable in common browsers
• [ ] No placeholder text, sample products or broken links (from Google’s account issue audit guidance)

9. Product pages

Product pages are checked too. They need to be reachable and to match your product data.

• [ ] Product URLs load without errors and with no more than two redirects (see landing page errors)
• [ ] Price on the page, in structured data and in your product data match exactly
• [ ] Price is in the initial HTML, not injected only by JavaScript after load
• [ ] Availability shown on the page matches your product data (active buy button for in stock, sold out or disabled for out of stock)
• [ ] Product URLs use the verified domain

Platform notes

On Shopify, most themes include a footer menu where policy pages and contact details can be linked. Check that the store’s policy pages are filled in, not left with default or template text, and that the domain in business info matches your product URLs (the Google & YouTube app can claim a different domain on stores with multiple domains).

On WooCommerce, policy pages are ordinary WordPress pages, so check that they’re published, linked in the footer and not blocked by a maintenance or coming-soon plugin. Confirm the whole site, including checkout, runs over HTTPS. Our WooCommerce SEO service covers this kind of technical setup.

When to get help

If you’ve worked through the checklist and still have a warning or suspension, the cause may be less visible: inconsistent details across pages, documents that don’t match the account, or product data issues. See the account suspensions guide, or ask our Merchant Center suspension service to audit the site. We can’t guarantee approval; Google decides.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• Google Merchant Center Help — Merchant Center guidelines
• Google Merchant Center Help — Add your business information
• Google Merchant Center Help — Set up return policies
• Google Merchant Center Help — Shopping ads and listings policies
• Google Merchant Center Help — Fixing warnings and suspensions (Shopify Google & YouTube app users)
• Google Merchant Center Help — Set up shipping settings for an entire account
• Google Merchant Center Help — About online store URL verification
• Google Merchant Center Help — How to fix: Product page unavailable
• Google Merchant Center Help — How to fix: Mismatched product price
• Google Merchant Center Help — Availability [availability]
• Google Merchant Center Help — Install and link the Google & YouTube app on Shopify
• Google Merchant Center Help — Title [title] and structured title
• Google Merchant Center Help — Show products in multiple target countries

Last reviewed October 10, 2026 against the official documentation listed above. Google changes Merchant Center features and policies regularly — always confirm details in your own account.