Requirements for setting up Google Shopping

Published On - 03.05.2023

Before running merchant ads on an online store, you should ensure that your website complies with Google’s requirements, especially those of the Merchant Center service. This service allows you to upload data about your products and store.

To meet the Merchant Center requirements and launch successful shopping campaigns on the Google Ads platform, pay attention to the following points for your online store.

1. Contacts

A crucial aspect of preparing your online store for running shopping campaigns on your Google Ads account is providing accurate business contact information.

Google mandates that you provide sufficient contact details on your website to ensure that users can easily reach out to you if needed. This usually involves displaying your company’s email, phone number, and physical address.

Furthermore, if users are unable to contact your website’s representatives, it can lead to distrust and harm your company’s image.

2. Payment and order terms

Payment and order terms are crucial factors to take into account when getting your online store ready to launch Google Ads. If these terms are not clearly defined, it may discourage users from making a purchase.

As per the policies of Google Merchant Center, your website must unambiguously state the order and payment terms. It should specify the order rules, such as minimum quantity, delivery time, and cancellation policies.

Furthermore, your online store should offer the various payment methods that are commonly used in your country. Some of the popular payment methods include:

  • Cash on delivery
  • Card payments
  • Payment systems like PayPal, and others.

Your online store should have various payment methods available that are used in your country. In the USA, Canada, and Europe, this point is already covered by default because it’s impossible to register an online store without connecting to payment systems.

Ensuring that your website has clear and accurate ordering and payment information enables users to choose a convenient option quickly and with confidence in the safety of their purchases.

3. Delivery and return policy

The delivery and return policies are crucial details that must be prominently displayed on the website of an online store. Customers must be informed of the shipping and return terms that are applicable to their orders. These policies may include:

  • Delivery method
  • Delivery regions
  • Delivery costs

In addition, the website should clearly state the conditions for returning the goods, including details such as the return terms, refund conditions, and methods for returning the product. By providing clear information on the terms of delivery and return of goods, online stores can make the purchasing process more transparent and reliable for customers, which can enhance their confidence in the store.

4. Product information and purchasing process

Apart from the above-mentioned steps, you need to take additional measures to ensure that your site is ready for launching Google Ads:

  1. Smooth Purchasing Process – Make sure that the purchasing process on your website is working seamlessly without any glitches. This is critical because any issues with the checkout process can discourage visitors and result in lost sales.
  2. Product Description and Image Quality – Ensure that all products listed on your website have high-quality images and comprehensive descriptions to provide shoppers with all the necessary information before they make a purchase. It is essential to display the current price of each product on the site.
  3. Matching Product Data with the Data Feed – Before adding products to the product feed, verify that they exist on your site and match all the specifications stated in the feed. This implies that all product information in the product feed must be accurate and match the data on your site. If a product is no longer available on the website, it should be removed from the feed to avoid any discrepancies and maintain a positive user experience.

4. User security: SLL certificate and HTTPS protocol

Ensuring user safety is one of the most critical factors when preparing your online store to run shopping campaigns through your Google Ads account. It is crucial for the success of any website. To achieve this, you need to first utilize an SSL certificate, which is a specialized type of certificate that encrypts the information transmitted between your site’s server and the user’s browser.

By installing an SSL certificate, all data transmitted from your server to the user’s browser is encrypted using the HTTPS protocol, ensuring secure exchange of information between your site and the user’s browser, and preventing potential attacks, such as MITM attacks, where an attacker could intercept and modify the transmitted data.

Failing to comply with security requirements can result in severe consequences, including the compromise of users’ confidential information and damage to your online store’s reputation. Furthermore, you should ensure that your online store has sufficient protection against malware and viruses. Additionally, it is recommended to check your site’s resistance to attacks by web hackers.

The use of HTTPS is also viewed positively by Google Ads as it indicates the security of your site.

Creating a Google Merchant Center account

To use Google Merchant Center, you need to submit your product data to Google. To do so, you must first create an account in the Merchant Center.

Creating an account is a straightforward process. You can begin by visiting the Google Merchant Center website and clicking on the “Sign Up” button. You’ll be asked to provide basic information about your business, including your name, address, and contact details.

Once registered, you’ll need to verify your Google Merchant Center account by adding a confirmation code to your site or uploading a special file to your hosting. After that, you can begin creating a product feed list and uploading it to your Merchant Center account, but this topic will be covered in another article.

Product categories allowed and prohibited for Google Shopping Ads

It’s essential to be aware of Google’s strict guidelines regarding the products that can be advertised in Google shopping campaigns. Failure to adhere to these rules could result in the suspension of your Merchant Center account or the disapproval of your item for advertising on Google Shopping.

Google Shopping campaigns allow advertising for certain product categories, such as:

  • Clothing and Accessories
  • Electronics
  • Beauty and Health
  • Food and Drink
  • Home and Garden
  • Sports Goods
  • Children’s Products
  • Pet Supplies

However, it’s worth noting that product categories that are allowed for advertising may vary by region or country. Moreover, there might be additional product requirements, such as labeling or certification, that need to be met for certain categories or products.

Examples of prohibited product categories for Google Shopping Advertising:

  • Prohibited or illegal goods, such as drugs, weapons, pirated software, alcoholic beverages, and tobacco products
  • Infringing goods, including products that contain counterfeit trademarks, copies of other people’s products, or illegal content
  • Public keys for games or programs that do not belong to the advertiser
  • Goods that are not physically available or have already been sold
  • Parts or equipment for building weapons or other dangerous goods
  • Devices or equipment for the manufacture of drugs
  • Hazardous or unsafe products, including foods and cosmetics with harmful chemicals or unsafe children’s toys
  • Products that may harm the environment, such as certain chemicals that can pollute the air, water, or soil
  • Signal altering or blocking devices without the required licenses
  • Services that violate the law, such as computer or phone hacking services
  • Products containing personal information or data such as passwords, public keys, or credit card numbers
  • Subscriptions for goods not yet released to the market, excluding software and e-books
  • Products containing discriminatory or offensive language
  • Deceptive advertising, such as products making false or misleading claims
  • Manipulative advertising methods to increase clicks on ads
  • Goods that require a special license or authorization to sell
  • Copyright infringing goods, including counterfeit products and assets from other games
  • Products that do not meet quality or safety standards.

The Google documentation provides a comprehensive list of products that are allowed and prohibited for advertising in Shopping campaigns. For detailed information on what items are allowed and prohibited, you can refer to the following resources:

Please note that these lists may be updated from time to time, so it is recommended to check the Google Merchant Center for the latest documentation.

Additionally, it has been announced that Google will soon introduce new rules for advertising products related to health, beauty, and financial services. These updates will primarily affect advertisers in the US and EU.

Blocking of your Google Merchant Center account

Google may block your Google Merchant Center account if you violate the Google Shopping Advertising Policy. There are several reasons that can lead to account blocking:

  1. Illegal or Prohibited Products: If you promote products that violate Google’s laws or policies.
  2. Incorrect Product Information: If the information about your product is incorrect or out of date.
  3. Poor Quality of Goods: If your products do not meet quality standards.
  4. User Security Violation: If your site contains malicious code or other user security threats.

If your Merchant Center account is suspended, you will not be able to advertise your products on Google Shopping. To unblock your account, you need to fix the issues that led to the block and submit a review request to Google Support.

Unlocking your Google Merchant Center account

To regain access to your Google Merchant Center account, you can take the following steps:

  1. Ensure that you are not violating Google Shopping Advertising Policies.
  2. Review your Merchant Center account to ensure that your product information is accurate and up-to-date.
  3. Address the issues that caused your account to be suspended.
  4. Request an account verification from Google Support.

If your account has been suspended, you will receive an email from Google explaining the reason. If the cause is related to a policy violation, you will need to rectify any violations and ensure that your website adheres to the Google Merchant Center guidelines.

Your account may also be suspended due to suspicion of fraud or the use of malware. In such cases, it is necessary to audit your site and remove all possible virus programs. Additionally, you should contact Google support, submit a ticket for review, and explain what was done to fix the problem. However, this process can take some time, so be prepared for the fact that you won’t be able to run your ad campaigns for a while.

To avoid account suspension, it is best to comply with Google’s policies and requirements and keep your site safe and protected from malware and other threats. Moreover, regularly check your account and website for any violations and correct them in time to avoid account suspension.

* * *

Overall, preparing an online store website for the launch of a shopping campaign is a crucial process that requires attention to detail and proper preparation of the product feed. A well-prepared online store and advertising campaign can lead to significant sales and profits for your business.