Google Ads reads the landing page and the footer the way a suspicious customer would. The scan checks identity, policies, claims and whether the destination works.
| Check | What it looks for | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| No restricted or prohibited content | No supplements with health claims, weapons, replica or 'inspired by' brand goods, tobacco, or other content the platforms restrict. | Google's Shopping ads and listings policies (prohibited and restricted content) |
| Contact details visible | A phone number or email address, and a physical business address, on the contact page or in the footer. | Shopping ads policies: Misrepresentation (Unacceptable business practices) |
| Store reachable and working | HTTPS, no password page, cart reachable, no dead links in the main menu. | Shopping ads policies: Editorial and professional requirements |
| Business identity consistent | The store name appears in the policies and footer, and the contact email is on the store's own domain. | Shopping ads policies: Misrepresentation (Unacceptable business practices) |
| No template leftovers | No placeholder text such as 'Your Store Name', '123 Main Street', 'lorem ipsum' or unedited policy templates. | Shopping ads policies: Misrepresentation (Unacceptable business practices) |
| No fake urgency | No countdown timers, fake 'people viewing' counters or fabricated recent-sales pop-ups from the common apps. | Shopping ads policies: Misrepresentation (Dishonest pricing and transaction conditions) |
| No unverifiable claims or badges | No '#1 in the USA', 'FDA approved', 'clinically proven' or similar claims without proof. | Shopping ads policies: Misrepresentation (Unreliable claims) |
| Refund policy states a window, conditions and a process | The refund or return policy exists and says how many days a customer has, what condition items must be in, and how to start a return. | Merchant Center: Set up your return policies for Shopping ads and free listings |
| Shipping policy states costs, regions and delivery times | The shipping policy exists and gives costs, where you ship and how long delivery takes, and product pages do not promise faster delivery than the policy. | Shopping ads policies: Misrepresentation (Dishonest pricing and transaction conditions) |
| Privacy policy and terms of service published | Both pages exist and are reachable. | Shopping ads policies: Editorial and professional requirements |
| About page with real content | An About page that says who runs the store, with more than a sentence or two. | Shopping ads policies: Misrepresentation (Unacceptable business practices) |
| No permanent or inflated sales | Not every product is permanently 'on sale', and compare-at prices are not several times the selling price. | Product data specification: sale price [sale_price] |
| Domain age | How long ago the domain was registered. Not a rule, but every reviewer weighs it, and merchants report that very new domains are suspended on thin evidence. | Shopping ads policies: Misrepresentation (Unacceptable business practices) |
| Price consistent between page and markup | The price in the product's JSON-LD matches the store's own product data. | Product data specification: price [price] |
| Availability consistent | In-stock status in the JSON-LD matches the variant data. | Product data specification: availability [availability] |
| Product images present | Every product has at least one image. | Product data specification: image link [image_link] |
| Titles without promotional text | No all-caps titles, no 'FREE SHIPPING', 'SALE!!!' or similar in product titles, titles within 150 characters. | Product data specification: title [title] |
| Product structured data present | Product pages carry Product JSON-LD with an offer, so Google can verify price and availability automatically. | Google Search Central: Product structured data |
| Products clearly described | Sampled products carry a real description of what is sold, not a name alone. | Stripe: Website checklist |