Google Merchant Center Policy Violations: A Complete Audit Checklist (2026)

Updated: June 2026 • 8 min read

How to use this checklist. Work through each section before submitting a new product feed or appealing a suspension. A single unchecked item in any section can cause a disapproval or trigger an account-level review. Print it, save it, or run through it with your developer before going live.

Google Merchant Center enforces policy across six major areas. Most merchants who get suspended or hit with wave-disapprovals have violations across multiple sections, not just one. This checklist covers all six.

Section 1: Product Data Quality

Product data quality violations are the most common reason for item disapprovals. Google crawls your feed and your landing pages and compares them. Inconsistencies trigger flags automatically.

Title format

• ☐ Product titles use standard title case or sentence case, not ALL CAPS
• ☐ No promotional text in titles ("FREE SHIPPING", "BEST PRICE", "LIMITED OFFER")
• ☐ No excessive punctuation in titles (no "!!!", no "???", no "***")
• ☐ Titles are between 1 and 150 characters
• ☐ Titles include the most important attributes first: brand, product type, key feature, size/color where relevant

Description requirements

• ☐ Descriptions are factual and match the product page content
• ☐ No HTML tags in the description field (use plain text only)
• ☐ No comparative language ("better than", "number one in category") without substantiation
• ☐ Descriptions are between 10 and 5000 characters
• ☐ No contact information (phone numbers, email addresses, website URLs) inside the description field

Unique product identifiers (GTIN, MPN, Brand)

• ☐ All products with an existing GTIN (barcode/EAN/UPC/ISBN) have that GTIN in the feed
• ☐ GTINs are valid and match the actual product (Google checks GTINs against a product database)
• ☐ Brand field is the manufacturer brand, not your store name (unless you are the manufacturer)
• ☐ MPN is included for products without a GTIN that are brand-name products
• ☐ Products without any GTIN/MPN have identifier_exists set to FALSE in the feed

Section 2: Image Requirements

Image violations are the second most common cause of item disapprovals and one of the most common triggers for account-level warnings. Google's crawler checks images at the URL level, not just at submission time.

• ☐ Main product image is at least 100x100 pixels (minimum accepted); 800x800 or larger is strongly recommended
• ☐ Apparel products use a white or light neutral background for the main image
• ☐ No watermarks, logos, or branding overlaid on the product image
• ☐ No promotional text overlays on images ("Sale", "20% off", "New Arrival")
• ☐ No generic placeholder images (grey boxes, "image coming soon" graphics)
• ☐ Images show the actual product being sold, not a similar or representative product
• ☐ Product image URL returns a direct image file (JPG or PNG), not an HTML page or redirect
• ☐ Image URLs are accessible to Google's crawler (not blocked by robots.txt or authentication)
• ☐ No borders, frames, or excessive padding around the product in the main image

Section 3: Landing Page Compliance

Landing page issues account for a significant portion of both item disapprovals and account-level suspensions. Google checks whether the page your ad sends users to matches what the ad promises.

• ☐ The product URL in the feed goes directly to the specific product page, not a category page or homepage
• ☐ The landing page loads within 5 seconds (test from a clean browser with no cache)
• ☐ No interstitial popups blocking the product content when the page first loads
• ☐ The product is in stock and available to purchase on the landing page
• ☐ Return and refund policy is clearly visible on the site (footer link is sufficient; does not need to be on the product page itself)
• ☐ The landing page is accessible without login or account creation
• ☐ No country-based redirects that send Google's crawler (typically crawling from the US) to a different page than the product page
• ☐ Page does not return a 404, 301 redirect to an unrelated page, or a server error for Google's crawler
• ☐ The product's key attributes (title, image, price) on the landing page match what is in the feed

Section 4: Price Accuracy

Price accuracy violations are nearly always automated detections. Google's crawler checks your landing page price against the price in your feed at crawl time. Even a small mismatch can trigger a disapproval.

• ☐ The price in the product feed exactly matches the price shown on the product landing page
• ☐ Tax display is consistent: if your feed shows price including VAT, your landing page shows price including VAT
• ☐ The currency in the feed matches the currency displayed on the landing page
• ☐ Sale prices in the feed have a sale_price field and a sale_price_effective_date range
• ☐ Promotional prices are updated in the feed before they go live on the site (not after)
• ☐ Feed refresh schedule is frequent enough to capture pricing changes within 24 hours
• ☐ No hidden fees added at checkout that change the total advertised price (shipping is excluded from the price field but must be accurate in the shipping field)

Section 5: Prohibited and Restricted Content

Prohibited content violations result in permanent item disapprovals with no appeal path. Restricted content can be advertised with prior certification. Know which category your products fall under before submitting.

Prohibited content (cannot advertise under any circumstances)

• ☐ No counterfeit goods or products misrepresenting brand origin
• ☐ No firearms, firearm components, or ammunition for sale to general consumers
• ☐ No explosive devices, materials, or instructions
• ☐ No products marketed for illegal drug use or drug paraphernalia
• ☐ No products designed to enable harmful surveillance (stalkerware, hidden tracking devices marketed as such)

Restricted content (requires certification or approval)

• ☐ Prescription pharmaceuticals have LegitScript certification applied to the account before listing
• ☐ Over-the-counter medications comply with pharmacy advertising policies for target countries
• ☐ Alcohol products have country-level compliance confirmed and Google alcohol certification in place
• ☐ Adult content products have account-level adult content enablement active in Merchant Center settings
• ☐ Financial products (loans, credit, insurance) have Google's financial services certification

Section 6: Business Model Transparency

Transparency requirements became stricter in 2024. Google now expects merchants to identify themselves clearly and provide basic business information that any legitimate retailer would have publicly available.

• ☐ The website clearly identifies the business name (not just a domain name)
• ☐ A physical business address is visible somewhere on the site (footer, About page, or Contact page)
• ☐ Contact information is present and functional: at minimum, an email address or contact form
• ☐ The business name in your Merchant Center account matches or is clearly related to the business name on the website
• ☐ Terms of service are accessible from the site (footer link is sufficient)
• ☐ Privacy policy is accessible and covers data collection practices (required for any site running Google tags)
• ☐ The store does not misrepresent the business as a manufacturer when it is a reseller, or as a reseller when products are listed as new but are refurbished

After You Complete the Checklist

Work through every section before submitting or appealing. A single unchecked item is enough to cause a new round of disapprovals or a rejected appeal. If you are appealing an account suspension, document your fixes with screenshots and timestamps. Google's review teams look for evidence that violations have been corrected, not just assurances that they have been.

For item disapprovals, fix the feed and landing page first, then submit the affected products for re-review through the "Fix issue" button in the Products tab. Do not submit for re-review before fixing the underlying issue; a failed re-review can slow down future reviews.