How to create a Google Merchant Center account

1. 1

   Create the account

   Go to Google Merchant Center and sign in with the Google account you want to own the store data. Google asks for your business name, country and time zone. Use the same business name that appears on your storefront, because Google compares them later.

   Pick the Google account carefully. Whoever owns it owns the Merchant Center account, and moving ownership later is more work than getting it right now.

2. 2

   Add and verify your store URL

   Enter your storefront URL, then verify that you own it. The quickest route is usually the HTML tag or the Google Analytics / Tag Manager option if you already have either installed. Verification proves ownership; claiming ties the verified URL to this Merchant Center account.

   Use the same host your customers land on. If your apex domain redirects to www, verify the destination, not the redirect.

3. 3

   Set shipping and returns

   Merchant Center will not approve products without shipping information, and returns policy is required in most countries. Add at least one shipping service covering the countries you sell to, and a returns policy that matches what your site says.

   Mismatches between your policy pages and your Merchant Center settings are a common source of account-level warnings.

4. 4

   Get your products in

   Most platforms have an official app or extension that pushes products for you: Google & YouTube for Shopify, Google Listings & Ads for WooCommerce, the Google Shopping extension for Magento. Otherwise submit a feed by scheduled fetch of a file you host.

   Whichever route you take, the feed becomes one of the three sources that has to agree with your markup and your live page.

5. 5

   Wait for the first review, then check what broke

   Google reviews new accounts and new products, which typically takes a few working days. When it finishes, some products will be disapproved. That is normal and it is the point at which an audit becomes useful.

   This is where Webshop Vitals comes in: connect the account and every disapproval is grouped by cause and ranked by how much of your catalogue it blocks.

Merchant Center is a Google product. Webshop Vitals is independent and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Google, and this guide reflects the console as of 2026. If a screen does not match, Google’s own help centre is the authority.