Google Merchant Center New Store Checklist: Launch Without Getting Suspended
Most new stores get suspended within the first 30 days because they skip the compliance steps Google checks before approving Shopping Ads. Here is the complete pre-launch checklist.
Getting suspended immediately after launching a new Google Shopping campaign is far more common than merchants expect. Google reviews new accounts more stringently than established ones, and the misrepresentation checks that might pass on an older account will often fail on a store that has not been fully configured. This checklist covers every compliance requirement you should verify before submitting your first products for review.
Do this before you connect your feed
Most merchants connect their product feed to Google Merchant Center as the first step. Do not. Complete every item on this checklist first. Once Google crawls your feed and finds compliance issues, you are already in the suspension queue — it is much harder to fix than preventing the flag in the first place.
Business Identity Requirements
- Legal business name visible on the About page and in the site footer
- Physical business address on the Contact page (a PO box is not sufficient for most categories)
- Working phone number or email address on the Contact page
- About page that describes your business — who you are, what you sell, and why customers should trust you
- Contact page accessible from the main navigation or footer of every page
- Business name in your Merchant Center account matches the name on your website
Policy Page Requirements
- Refund policy page with a clear return window stated in days (e.g. "30-day returns")
- Refund policy linked from every product page — not just the footer
- Shipping policy with specific delivery timeframes stated (not "ships fast" — actual day ranges)
- Privacy policy that accurately describes all data you collect, including any third-party analytics or advertising pixels
- Terms of service page
- All policy pages returning 200 status codes (not 404 or redirecting to another page)
Product Page Requirements
Every product page that will be submitted to Google Shopping needs to pass a consistency check before you submit. Run through this for your top 20 products as a representative sample:
- Product title matches the feed title (no promotional text like "SALE" or "FREE SHIPPING" in the title)
- Product price on the page matches the price in your feed exactly — including currency and tax treatment
- Stock availability status matches what you will send in the feed (in_stock, out_of_stock, preorder)
- Return policy terms on the product page match the policy page exactly — if the product page says "free returns", the policy page must also say free returns
- Shipping timeframe on the product page (if shown) matches the shipping policy page
- No unsubstantiated claims: "best", "#1", "guaranteed", "cheapest" without proof
- Main product image shows only the product on a clean background (Google rejects promotional overlays, badges, or watermarks on the primary image)
Checkout and Pricing Requirements
- Checkout total matches product page price — no surprise fees added at checkout that were not disclosed
- Shipping cost shown at checkout matches or is consistent with your shipping policy
- Any subscription or recurring billing terms clearly disclosed before the Add to Cart step
- SSL certificate active (https:// on all product and checkout pages)
- Payment options clearly visible on the checkout page
- No cart abandonment popups that change the price or add items without customer action
Run a pre-launch audit on your new store to catch compliance issues before Google does. Free for your first scan.
Run pre-launch auditFeed Setup Requirements
- All required attributes present: id, title, description, link, image_link, price, availability, condition
- Prices in the feed include or exclude tax consistently with how prices are shown on your website
- Availability values are accurate: "in_stock" only for items you can actually ship
- Product identifiers (GTIN, MPN, brand) included for all branded products
- No promotional text in titles or descriptions
- Feed scheduled to re-fetch at least daily so price and availability stay in sync
Google Merchant Center Account Setup
- Business information in your GMC account matches your website (name, address, phone)
- Website claimed and verified
- Shipping settings configured to match your actual shipping policy
- Return settings configured to match your actual return policy
- Tax settings correct for your target markets
- Business address in GMC is a real, verifiable address
Final Pre-Launch Check
Before you submit your feed, do a manual crawl test. Use Google's URL Inspection tool in Search Console to see what the crawler sees on your homepage, a product page, and your refund policy page. Check that all three load correctly, show the right information, and link to each other as expected. Fix any issues before connecting your feed.
The goal
A new store that launches clean — with complete business identity, consistent policies, accurate feed data, and no checkout surprises — typically sails through Google's initial review. The merchants who get suspended on day one almost always missed something on this checklist.
Ready to fix your store?
Run a free GMC audit to get your trust score, identify every policy conflict, and build your appeal pack.