Product data determines eligibility and relevance
Google uses Merchant Center product data to create and match Shopping ads. Missing, inaccurate or inconsistent attributes can limit or prevent visibility before bidding strategy becomes the problem.
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Audit the product feed before you spend harder.
Review 30 Merchant Center checks across account ownership, product data, landing pages, diagnostics, feed quality and campaign measurement. Your progress and critical blockers update instantly.30 checks · six categories
Mark only what you have verified.
This is a self-audit, not a live connection to Merchant Center. “Checked” means you inspected the current account, feed or storefront and found the statement true.
Why the feed matters
Shopping performance begins before the campaign.
The storefront must agree with the feed
Price, availability, product identity and customer-facing policies must remain accurate across submitted data, landing pages and checkout. Structured data can assist updates but does not replace a current product source.
Diagnostics require commercial prioritisation
The number of warnings is not the business impact. Start with account issues, disapproved products, required attributes and high-value catalogue coverage, then improve the quality signals that influence customer decisions.
A clean feed is not proof of profitable advertising
Product approval establishes eligibility—not unit economics. Conversion value, delivered orders, returns, margins and product-level performance still determine whether paid growth is commercially viable.
First-party references
Check the current Google requirements.
Product visibility and status↗
Tips to optimise product data↗
Structured data for Merchant Center↗
2026 product data specification update↗
Questions about the checklist
Merchant Center feed audit FAQs
What is a Google Merchant Center feed audit?+
A Merchant Center feed audit checks account ownership, business information, product attributes, identifiers, price and availability consistency, landing pages, diagnostics, data freshness and the measurement required before Shopping or Performance Max campaigns are trusted.
Does this checklist connect to my Merchant Center account?+
No. It is an ungated self-assessment and does not request account access or product data. Mark an item only after you have verified the current account, feed or storefront evidence yourself.
Does completing every item guarantee product approval?+
No. Google controls approval and applies product, policy, country and destination requirements that can change. The checklist helps organise a review; it does not certify compliance or campaign eligibility.
Should I fix every warning before running Google Ads?+
Prioritise account-level issues, disapprovals, required data, price or availability mismatches and the products with the greatest commercial impact. Some warnings are improvement opportunities rather than universal blockers.