Google Merchant Center Audit Checklist 2026: 47 Points to Check Before Launching Your Campaigns

Introduction

Launching Google Shopping campaigns without auditing your GMC compliance is building on sand. A non-compliant product page can trigger an account suspension within days — with corrections and a review procedure that sometimes takes weeks.

Yet the vast majority of GMC suspensions are avoidable. They occur because violations — often technical and not visible to the naked eye — weren't detected before launch.

This checklist brings together the 47 essential control points for a complete Google Merchant Center compliance audit in 2026. It's organized by priority and category, allowing you to address the most critical issues first.

How to use this checklist:

Go through sections in order (critical first)
Check each point after verification
Use the MyGoogle automatic audit for technical verifications (structured data, price consistency, images)
Re-run the audit after each major catalog change

Category 1: Legal pages and trust information
Category 2: Price consistency and availability data
Category 3: Product data and feed attributes
Category 4: Product images
Category 5: Schema.org structured data
Category 6: GMC account configuration
Category 7: Performance and accessibility
Compliance score and interpretation
FAQ

Category 1: Legal Pages and Trust Information {#legal-pages}

Priority: Critical — violations in this category trigger the most frequent suspensions.

1.1 Legal notices

Legal notices page exists and is accessible from the footer of all pages
Company registration number present and valid
VAT number present (required for European e-commerce businesses)
Legal representative identified (full name)
Registered office address complete (street, postal code, city, country)
Share capital indicated (for limited companies)

1.2 Return policy

Return policy page exists and is accessible from the footer
Return deadline clearly stated (e.g., "30 days after receipt")
Return conditions specified (product condition, original packaging, etc.)
Return procedure explained (who to contact, form, return address)
Refund or exchange : both options are clarified
Return policy is configured in GMC (Settings → Shipping and returns → Return policies)

Critical point: having a return page on your website is not enough. The policy must also be configured in the GMC interface — this is one of the most frequent and least intuitive causes of suspension.

1.3 Contact page

Complete postal address (street, postal code, city, country) — a PO box alone is not sufficient
Professional email address (not gmail.com or hotmail.com for an e-commerce site)
Phone number present
Contact page accessible from the menu or footer

1.4 Privacy policy

Privacy policy / GDPR page exists
Data collected identified (name, email, address, payment data)
Processing purposes explained
User rights mentioned (access, rectification, deletion)
DPO or contact for GDPR requests indicated

Category 2: Price Consistency and Availability Data {#price-availability}

Priority: Critical — misrepresentation is the #1 suspension reason on GMC.

2.1 Price consistency

Price displayed on product page is identical to price in GMC feed — down to the currency and cent
Currency is correct (EUR for European markets, etc.)
Price includes VAT for markets that require it (EU)
No price differences depending on the source (price must be the same whether user arrives via Shopping or directly)
Sale prices in the feed correspond to actual prices practiced on the product page (not just in the feed)

2.2 Strikethrough prices and promotions

No fictitious strikethrough prices — the strikethrough price must correspond to a price actually previously charged
Ongoing promotions in the feed reflect real promotions on the site
Promotion dates are consistent (a promo "until December 31st" that lasts all year = violation)

2.3 Availability data

Availability status in the feed corresponds to actual state ("in stock" only if the product is genuinely in stock)
No false urgency messages like "Only 2 left in stock!" displayed permanently without reflecting actual stock
No artificial countdown timers that reset on each visit
Out-of-stock products are marked "out of stock" in the feed (not silently removed)

Category 3: Product Data and Feed Attributes {#product-data}

Priority: High — incorrect or missing attributes disapprove products individually and can trigger account-level suspension at scale.

3.1 Product titles

Title length: between 25 and 150 characters (ideally 70-100)
Main keywords included in the title (brand, product type, key attribute)
No excessive capitalization (ALL CAPS = violation)
No promotional text in the title ("PROMO", "SALE", "BEST PRICE" = violation)
No irrelevant special characters (!, ?, *, etc. repeated)

3.2 Product descriptions

Length: minimum 100 characters, ideally 300-1000 characters
No HTML in the description (<br>, <p> tags etc. must be removed from the feed description field)
No promotional text in the description
Description genuinely matches the product and isn't a generic copy-pasted description

3.3 Product identifiers (GTIN, MPN, brand)

GTIN present and valid for all branded products (EAN 13 digits, UPC 12 digits, ISBN for books)
GTIN matches the exact product (color or size variant = different GTIN)
Brand filled in and corresponding to the actual manufacturer's brand (not your own brand if reselling a third-party product)
identifier_exists: false correctly used for products without GTIN (handmade, vintage products, etc.)

3.4 Categories and specific attributes

Google Product Category (GPC) filled in and precise
For clothing and accessories: color, size, gender filled in
For products with variants: each variant has its own SKU in the feed with its specific attributes
Product page link (the "link" attribute) points to the correct page, with the correct variant selected

Category 4: Product Images {#images-en}

Priority: High — non-compliant images are the 3rd most common cause of product disapproval on GMC.

4.1 Resolution and dimensions

Minimum resolution: 100×100 px (250×250 px recommended, 800×800 px ideal)
For clothing and accessories: 250×250 px minimum
File size: less than 16 MB per image
Accepted formats: JPEG, PNG, WebP, GIF (non-animated), BMP, TIFF

4.2 Image content

No overlaid text on the main image (prices, promotions, "NEW", "SALE", etc.)
No watermarks or logos overlaid on the main image
No decorative frames or borders on the main image
Product clearly visible and occupying a significant portion of the image
White or neutral background for the main image (recommended, required for certain categories)
For clothing: product must be worn by a model or laid flat (no generic stock image)

4.3 Additional images

Multiple images available (minimum 3 recommended)
Detail images (zoom on material, stitching, finishes)
In-use images (the person or object in context)
image_link and additional_image_link attributes correctly filled in the feed

Category 5: Schema.org Structured Data {#structured-data-en}

Priority: High for GMC, Critical for GEO — structured data is the #1 visibility factor in AI engines in 2026.

5.1 Schema.org Product (required)

"Product" schema type present on all product pages
name: product name corresponding to the page title
description: product description
image: main image URL (matches image_link attribute in feed)
brand > name: product brand
sku or mpn: unique product reference

5.2 Schema.org Offer (critical for GMC)

Offers > priceCurrency: currency in ISO format (EUR, USD, GBP)
Offers > price: numeric price without currency symbol, identical to displayed price and feed
Offers > availability: "https://schema.org/InStock" or "https://schema.org/OutOfStock"
Offers > priceValidUntil: price validity date if applicable (recommended)
Offers > url: product page URL

5.3 Schema.org AggregateRating (strongly recommended for GEO)

ratingValue: average rating
reviewCount: number of reviews
bestRating and worstRating defined (default 5 and 1)

Category 6: GMC Account Configuration {#gmc-config}

Priority: High — incorrect GMC configurations block delivery even with a compliant site.

6.1 Account verification

Domain verified and claimed in GMC (Settings → Domain)
Google Ads account linked to GMC if using paid campaigns
Account access: necessary administrators have correct access levels

6.2 Product feed

Feed updated within the last 30 hours (ideally every 24h)
Feed error rate below 5% (Products → Diagnostics)
No critical errors in the feed (missing required attributes, incorrect formats)
Feed covers the entire active catalog (no active product missing from feed)

6.3 Shipping settings

Shipping policy configured in GMC (Settings → Shipping and returns)
Realistic delivery timelines matching what's stated on the site
Geographic delivery zones correctly defined

6.4 Notifications and alerts

No active warnings in Dashboard → Notifications
No active account issues requiring action
GMC notification emails enabled to receive alerts in real time

Category 7: Performance and Accessibility {#performance-en}

Priority: Medium — performance issues don't cause immediate suspension but penalize conversions and can trigger warnings.

7.1 Loading performance

Load time under 3 seconds on mobile (test with PageSpeed Insights)
Core Web Vitals in green thresholds (LCP < 2.5s, CLS < 0.1, FID < 100ms)
Optimized images (WebP format, compression without visible quality loss)
Site loads without errors on mobile and desktop

7.2 Mobile accessibility

Responsive site: all pages display correctly on mobile
"Add to cart" buttons clickable without zooming on mobile
Readable text without zooming on mobile

7.3 Security and technical accessibility

HTTPS active on all pages (HTTP = GMC violation)
No intrusive interstitial pop-ups blocking content access on mobile
Googlebot can access pages (robots.txt and meta robots correct)
No redirect loops on product pages

Compliance Score and Interpretation {#compliance-score}

How to interpret your compliance level

Once the checklist is complete, count your points for each category:

Score per category	Interpretation	Action
All points checked	Category compliant	Maintain, monitor GMC updates
1 to 2 points unchecked	Partial compliance	Fix within 7 days
3+ points unchecked	Violation risk	Fix immediately before launch
Critical points unchecked	Likely active violation	Don't launch without fixing

When to re-run the audit

Before any Shopping campaign launch: mandatory
After each major catalog change (new products, price changes, promotions)
Monthly for ongoing monitoring
Immediately after receiving any GMC warning

FAQ {#faq-en}

How many points in this checklist are mandatory to avoid GMC suspension? The "Legal pages" and "Price consistency" categories are near-mandatory — a violation in these categories triggers suspension in the vast majority of cases. "Images" and "Product data" categories cause individual product disapprovals, which can escalate to account suspension if the number is high. Structured data and performance don't cause direct suspension but significantly impact visibility.

Does the return policy need to be configured both on the site AND in GMC? Yes, both are required. Having a return policy page on your website is necessary but not sufficient — the policy must also be configured in the GMC interface (Settings → Shipping and returns → Return policies). This is one of the most frequent and least intuitive suspension causes.

How often should I run a GMC compliance audit? Minimum monthly for stores with a stable catalog. For sites that update prices daily or add new products frequently: weekly. The audit should be systematic before any Shopping campaign launch and after receiving any GMC warning.

Is GTIN really required for all products? GTIN is required for all branded products available on the market. For custom-made products, vintage items, handcrafted articles without an official GTIN, or spare parts without a universal code, you must use the "identifier_exists: false" attribute in the feed. Don't leave the GTIN field blank — this generates a different error from an intentionally absent GTIN.

How do I quickly check if my structured data is compliant? Three complementary tools: (1) Google's Rich Results Test (search.google.com/test/rich-results) for Schema.org syntax, (2) MyGoogle for consistency between structured data, GMC feed, and page content, (3) the GMC Diagnostics section for structured data errors reported directly by Google.

Automated Audit: Check All 47 Points in 30 Seconds

Manually checking this checklist across a 500-product catalog takes days. Some violations — particularly feed/page price consistency or structured data errors — are nearly impossible to detect without an automated tool.

MyGoogle automatically scans each product page and checks all the criteria in this checklist in 30 seconds. You get a compliance score, the precise list of violations by category, and prioritized recommendations to fix what's most likely to trigger a suspension first.

Launch the free audit — no installation required, immediate results.