Welcome to Google's Shopping ads and policy center
Overview Shopping ads and listings policies and how we enforce them
These policies are designed to ensure a safe and positive experience for our users and abide by applicable laws. This means that our policies prohibit content that is harmful to users and the overall shopping ecosystem.
Our Shopping ads and listings policies cover four broad areas:
| Prohibited content: Content you're not allowed to list on the Shopping ads Network | |
| Prohibited practices: Things you can't do if you want to list products with us | |
| Restricted content: Content you can list, but with limitations | |
| Site requirements: Standards for your listings and website |
Click through the policies below for policy definitions, examples, and troubleshooting steps.
We use a combination of Google AI and human evaluation to ensure that Shopping ads and listings comply with these policies. Our enforcement technologies use Google AI, modeled on human reviewers’ decisions, to help protect our customers and keep our Shopping platform safe. More complex, nuanced or severe cases are often reviewed and evaluated by our specially-trained experts.
We take action on content that violates our policies. This may include disapproving violating Shopping ads and listings so they don’t serve, temporarily capping impressions for some accounts flagged by Google AI, and suspending accounts for repeat or egregious violations.
We will provide you with information on our decision for any policy violation enforcement actions we take. If one of your Shopping listings is disapproved, you can fix that listing or appeal the decision. You can also appeal an account suspension decision (for this link to work, you’ll need to be signed into your Google Merchant Center account).
Prohibited content
Counterfeit products
Google prohibits the sale or listing of counterfeit products. Counterfeit goods contain a trademark or logo that is identical to or substantially indistinguishable from the trademark or logo of another. They mimic the brand features of the product in an attempt to pass themselves off as a genuine product of the brand owner.
This policy applies to the content of your Shopping listings and your website.
Dangerous products
Google wants to help keep people safe both online and offline, so we don’t allow listing some products that cause damage, harm, or injury.
Examples of dangerous content: Recreational drugs (chemical or herbal); psychoactive substances; equipment to facilitate drug use; weapons, ammunition, explosive materials and fireworks; instructions for making explosives or other harmful products; tobacco products.
Enabling dishonest behavior
Google values honesty and fairness, so we don’t allow listing products that are designed to enable dishonest behavior.
Examples of products that enable dishonest behavior: Hacking software or instructions; fake documents; academic cheating products.
Inappropriate content
Google values the safety of our users, especially children. Google also values diversity and respect for others, and we strive to avoid offending users, so we don’t allow listings or destinations that display shocking content or promote hatred, intolerance, discrimination, or violence.
Examples of inappropriate or offensive content: Child sexual abuse content, bullying or intimidation of an individual or group; racial discrimination; hate group paraphernalia; graphic crime scene or accident images; cruelty to animals; murder; self-harm; extortion or blackmail; sale or trade of endangered species.
Unsupported Shopping content
Google aims to enable businesses to list a wide variety of products, but some Google products and platforms may not be optimized to appropriately support all content types.
For this reason, Shopping ads and listings don't allow the listing of certain content where we don't offer an optimal user experience.
Note that because these limitations are specific to Shopping ads and listings, they do not impact policies on other Google products or platforms, where functionality differs or additional support mechanisms are in place.
Prohibited practices
Abusing the Shopping network
Google wants Shopping ads and listings to be useful, varied, relevant, and safe for users, so we don’t allow any of the following:
- Malicious content
- Sites that offer little unique value to users and are focused on traffic generation
- Retailers who try to gain an unfair advantage in Shopping campaigns
- Retailers who try to bypass our review processes
Data collection and use
Google wants users to trust that information about them will be respected and handled with appropriate care. As such, our merchants should not misuse this information, nor collect it for unclear purposes or without appropriate security measures.
Examples of user information that must be handled with care: Full name; email address; mailing address; phone number; national identity, pension, social security, tax ID, health care, or driver's license number; birth date or mother's maiden name in addition to any of the above information; financial status; political affiliation; sexual orientation; race or ethnicity; religion.
Examples of irresponsible data collection and use: Obtaining the following data over non-secure SSL (https://) server connections:
- Username or email in combination with passwords
- Credit and debit card numbers
- Bank and investment account numbers
- Checking account numbers
- Wire transfer numbers
- National identity, pension, social security, tax ID, health care, or driver's license number
Misrepresentation
Google doesn't want users to feel misled by the content in Shopping listings, and that means being upfront, honest, and providing them with the information that they need to make informed decisions. For this reason we don’t allow the following:
- Listings that prompt users to initiate a purchase, download, or other commitment without first providing all relevant information and obtaining the user’s explicit consent
- Listings that represent you or your products in a way that is not accurate, realistic, and truthful
Restricted content
The policies below cover content that is sometimes legally or culturally sensitive. Online listings can be a powerful way to reach customers, but in sensitive areas, we also work hard to avoid showing these listings when and where they might be inappropriate.
For that reason, we allow listings of the content below, but on a limited basis. These listings may not show to every user in every location, and merchants may need to meet additional requirements before their listings are eligible to run. Note that not all products, features, or networks are able to support this restricted content.
Sexual content
Google restricts listings of the following types of adult-oriented content:
- Adult merchandise
- Sexually suggestive content
- Images containing nudity
When listing sexual content you may not do any of the following:
- Violate applicable laws or regulations for any location that you target
- Target minors
Examples of restricted adult content: sex toys; adult magazines; sexual enhancement products; sexually suggestive lingerie promotions.
Alcohol
Google restricts the listing of alcoholic beverages and drinks that resemble alcoholic beverages.
When listing alcoholic beverages, you may not do any of the following:
- Violate applicable laws and industry standards for any location that you target
- Target individuals below the legal drinking age
- Imply that drinking alcohol can improve social, sexual, professional, intellectual, or athletic standing
- Imply that drinking alcohol provides health or therapeutic benefits
- Portray excessive drinking in a positive light or feature binge or competition drinking
- Show alcohol being consumed in conjunction with the operation of a vehicle of any kind, the operation of machinery, or the performance of any task requiring alertness or dexterity
Examples of restricted alcoholic beverages: beer; wine; sake; spirits or hard alcohol; Champagne; fortified wine; non-alcoholic beer; non-alcoholic wine; and non-alcoholic distilled spirits.
Copyrights
Google restricts the listing of copyrighted content. If you would like to list copyrighted content and believe you are legally authorized to do so, you can contact us. To learn more about how we handle copyright-related issues or to submit a copyright-related complaint, use the Report content on Google form.
Gambling-related content
Google restricts the listing of gambling-related content.
Examples of restricted gambling-related content: national or private lotteries; sites offering bonus codes or promotional offers for gambling sites
Healthcare and medicines
Google restricts the listing of healthcare-related content such as the following:
- Over-the-counter medication
- Prescription drugs
- Unapproved pharmaceuticals and supplements
- Pregnancy and fertility-related products
The restrictions that apply to this content may vary depending on the product you're listing and the countries that you're targeting. Some content, such as unapproved pharmaceutical supplements, may not be listed anywhere.
Depending on the content you’re listing and the countries where your listings appear, you may need to apply for preauthorization with Google before advertising healthcare-related content.
Political content (Shopping ads only)
When you serve Shopping ads containing political content, you must comply with the following requirements:
- Applicable laws and industry standards for any location that you target
- Any applicable election "silence periods"
Examples of political content: promotion of political parties/candidates, political issue advocacy.
Trademarks
Shopping listings don’t restrict use of trademarks by merchants in the title or description of a listing when it’s for a trademarked product or a product compatible with the trademarked product. Merchants need to reference trademarks to be able to communicate to users what they're offering, and users need that information as it's relevant to their searches. We’ll review claims by trademark owners that use of their trademark is likely to cause consumer confusion about the origin of a product. To submit a trademark-related complaint if you’re an owner of the trademark, use the Report a legal issue in Shopping listings form.
High fat, sugar, salt food and beverage
We support responsible advertising of food and beverages. High fat, sugar, salt (HFSS) food and beverage (F&B) Shopping ads are allowed if they comply with our policies. We consider ads to be promoting the sale of HFSS products when one or more HFSS food item, beverage, or meal is promoted in the ad (text, imagery, audio and/or video) or destination site. Specifically, Shopping ads that contain HFSS foods and beverages are now prohibited from targeting minors.
The information reflected in this policy is not intended to be legal advice and we expect all merchants and partners to comply with the local laws for any region their listings target, including local requirements that may differ from this HFSS Food & Beverage policy.
Shopping ads protections for children and teens (Shopping ads only)
Our child and teen policies, along with other policies (including but not limited to those for alcohol, gambling, and high fat, sugar, and salt food and beverages), work together to provide strong protections that include:
- Disabling Shopping ads personalization
- Restricting sensitive Shopping ad content and categories
We require all our merchants to follow local legal requirements when using our products, including any regulations on advertising to users under age 18. Learn more about our Shopping ads protections for children and teens and relevant policies, where they apply, and what they mean for merchants.
Legal requirements
You’re always responsible for ensuring that you comply with all applicable laws and regulations, in addition to Google's advertising policies, for all of the locations where your ads are showing.
Site requirements
We want to deliver ads and listings that are engaging for users without being annoying or difficult to interact with, so we've developed editorial requirements to help keep your listings appealing to users. We've also specified technical requirements to help users and merchants get the most out of the variety of listing formats we offer.
Editorial
To provide a quality customer experience, Google requires that all Shopping listings and merchant sites meet high professional and editorial standards. We only allow listings that are clear and professional in appearance. These listings should lead customers to products and landing pages that are relevant, useful, and easy to interact with.
Examples of listings or sites that don't meet these editorial and professional requirements:
- a display URL that does not accurately reflect the URL of the landing page, such as "google.com" taking users to "gmail.com"
- gimmicky use of words, numbers, letters, punctuation, or symbols such as FREE, f-r-e-e, and F₹€€!!
- sites that are under construction, parked domains, or are just not working
- sites that have disabled the browser's back button
- sites that are not viewable in commonly used browsers
About our policies
Shopping ads and listings enable businesses of all sizes, from around the world, to promote a wide variety of products and websites on Google and across our network. We want to help you reach existing and potential customers and audiences. However, to help create a safe and positive experience for users, we listen to their feedback and concerns about the types of listings they view. We also regularly review changes in online trends and practices, industry norms, and regulations. And finally, in crafting our policies, we also think about our values and culture as a company, and operational, technical, and business considerations. As a result, we have created a set of policies that apply to all promotions on the Google Network.
Google requires that merchants comply with all applicable laws and regulations and the Google policies described above. It's important that you familiarize yourself with and keep up to date on these requirements for the places where your business operates, and any other places your listings are showing. When we find content that violates these requirements, we may block it from appearing. In cases of repeated or egregious violations, we may stop you from advertising with us.
Merchants have a responsibility to not list content, or engage in behavior that risks harm to our users, employees, or the listings ecosystem. If we find such content or behavior, we may take action, including but not limited to restricting or blocking your listings or suspending your account.