In short. Google Shopping ads require policy-compliant products and websites, linked Merchant Center and Google Ads accounts, and accurate product data.

Definition: Merchant Center advertising eligibility is the set of product, website, account and data requirements Google applies to Shopping ads. Google's Shopping ads and listings policies govern which products and practices are permitted.

Key facts

As of 17 October 2026, Google's Shopping ads and listings policies cover prohibited content, prohibited practices, restricted content and site requirements. Counterfeit products are prohibited; alcohol has restrictions.
Google's Shopping ads requirements require linked Merchant Center and Google Ads accounts for Shopping campaigns or Performance Max campaigns using a Merchant Center feed. A feed is a submitted collection of product information.
Google's Merchant Center guidelines require products to be available for purchase through the merchant's online store, with a working cart and checkout.
Google's product data specification identifies required and conditional attributes. Missing required attributes prevent a product from serving in ads and free listings.

What must the account and website provide?

Google's Shopping ads requirements apply to the business, products, promotions and website. They require product data updates at least every 30 days. In the European Economic Area and Switzerland, the same documentation specifies participation through one or several Comparison Shopping Services, services through which merchants place Shopping ads.

Before an initial review, Google's Merchant Center issue guidance requires a verified and claimed website URL, a verified business address and a data source for the target country. Shipping settings are required at account or item level where applicable; the guidance also lists tax settings for the United States.

Google's online store verification documentation distinguishes verification, which establishes website ownership, from claiming, which links the website address to the Merchant Center account.

The Merchant Center guidelines require visible contact information and a conventional payment method, such as a credit card. The site must disclose the full expense and purchase conditions. A return and refund policy must be easy to find, including when the merchant offers no returns or refunds. Personal information such as card numbers must be collected securely.

Which product data needs checking?

Google's product data specification requires a unique product identifier, a title or structured title, a description or structured description, a landing-page link, a main image link, availability and price. A landing page is the product page opened from the ad.

This checklist shows feed attribute names from the specification:

id
title
description
link
image_link
availability
price

The specification requires the link to use the verified domain. Price and currency must match the landing page and checkout. Availability must also agree with the submitted values. Product image URLs must allow crawling by Googlebot and Googlebot-image.

Other fields depend on the product or market. A Global Trade Item Number (GTIN) is a product identifier submitted as gtin. The specification warns against guessing this value and states that an incorrect GTIN causes disapproval. For variants, such as different sizes of a shirt, titles must include distinguishing features such as size or color.

How are eligibility problems checked?

Google's Merchant Center issue guidance separates product issues from account issues. Product issues affect individual offers; account issues affect all products. Merchant Center lists product problems under Products > Needs attention and provides View setup and policy issues for account problems.

The same guidance recommends correcting product data and uploading it again. Google's review instructions provide an I fixed the issue route and an I disagree with the issue route where available. Identity verification may be required before a review request becomes available.

FAQ

How often must I update product data?

Google's Shopping ads requirements specify at least every 30 days. Its product data specification also requires current prices and availability to match the website and checkout.

Can I advertise a product with a missing GTIN?

Google's product data specification says products that have a GTIN but are submitted without it may have limited visibility. Submit an accurate assigned identifier; an incorrect value causes disapproval.

Where can I request a review?

Google's review instructions place the option on the product detail page or in the account issue list when available. Your ads may not show while the account or products are under review.

Sources

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