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Why this issue is happening
You may be having trouble with claiming your online store URL for several reasons.
A single URL can only be claimed by one account. To allow several accounts to share these claiming rights, a Multi-Client Account (MCA) is required, as it permits sub-accounts to inherit the claim from the parent account.
Note: A Multi-Client Account (MCA) is designed to manage multiple websites or businesses under one umbrella account. If you have separate stores for different countries, or multiple Shopify accounts, an MCA is the recommended solution.
You haven't verified your online store URL
You can only claim an online store URL for your Merchant Center account after you’ve verified the URL. Verification happens through onboarding as part of the online store confirmation step.
Your URL has been claimed at a higher level in the domain path
If you find an error that your URL has been claimed at a higher level, another Merchant Center account has a claim that is taking precedence over yours. For example, you won't be able to claim the URL http://shop.example.com if another Merchant Center account has already claimed the URL http://example.com, because the latter is at a higher level in the domain path.
Try to resolve this issue in Merchant Center:
- Under “Settings” in the left navigation menu, select Business info.
- Under “Your online store”, select Edit online store.
- Remove "www" or “https” from the URL.
- Select Save.
Website tags have been incorrectly placed or modified
If you’ve made modifications to the tag or if you’ve incorrectly placed it in your HTML code, you’ll not be able to complete website verification. For example, if you’re using an HTML tag, be sure the meta tag is inserted into the <head> section of your site's homepage, before the <body> section.
If your online store has website tags, you can also provide an email address associated with your online store to help verify your URL. For specific tag implementation instructions on each of the 5 verification methods, read about verifying and claiming your store’s website.
There isn’t an owner set in the Search Console
If you already have a Search Console account, the verification will be set if the Search Console owner matches a user in the Merchant Center. If the users are different, you’ll need to ensure the user who'll be verifying the website is added to both.
The person trying to verify doesn't have edit permissions
It’s required that the Google Analytics user has edit rights for the Google Analytics account used by that page, and they must also be a user or admin in Merchant Center. If the users are different, you’ll need to ensure the user who will be verifying the website is added to both.
Your ecommerce platform requires you to use a different verification method
Ecommerce platforms may have preferred options to help you verify your website with Google Merchant Center or Google Search Console. Check with your platform for more information.
The person trying to verify doesn’t have access to an email address that’s associated with the website
Google requires that you can prove access to an email address that’s associated with the website. The email address can be verified if the email is on the website domain, or if it’s listed on the website.
Your confirmation email went to your spam folder
Check all your email folders, including spam, social, marketing, and promotions. If the confirmation email doesn’t arrive after 3 minutes, resend the confirmation code in Merchant Center.
The verification code isn’t entered correctly
You must copy and paste the verification code into the code field in Merchant Center. The code field isn’t autofilled by clicking the link in the verification email.
How to fix your issue
- Ensure you verified your website using one of the 5 online store URL verification methods.
- If you aren't the person who set up the account or verified your online store URL, get in touch with the person who did, either to complete the process or to add you as someone who can complete the process.
- Website already claimed by another account:
- If another Merchant Center account, perhaps an old one, one created by an agency, or a duplicate has already claimed your URL, try claiming a higher-level domain. For example, if http://example.com is claimed, try claiming http://example.com. You can adjust this in the “Settings > Business Info > Your online store” section.
- You can also check Google Search Console to check if other users are authorized for your property. You might need to remove and re-add verification tags or files to reclaim the URL in your desired Merchant Center account.
- If a duplicate Merchant Center account is the cause, delete the incorrect account.
- Unable to verify (HTML tag, Google Analytics, etc.):
- Ensure the HTML tag is in the correct location, usually the <head> section of your main index/homepage file.
- For Google Analytics, confirm the email address used for Merchant Center has admin access to the linked Google Analytics account.
- Clear your browser cache and cookies, using an incognito window, or a different browser.
- If specific errors occur (for example, “meta tag not found,” “unable to connect to server”), double-check the implementation or try an alternative verification method. Consult your web developer if technical issues persist.
- Shopify store connection issues:
- Ensure your website is correctly verified and claimed in the Merchant Center account.
- Verify that the email address used for the Shopify Google & YouTube app has admin/super admin access to both your Shopify account and the linked Merchant Center account.
- Check that the correct Merchant Center ID is configured within the Shopify Google & YouTube app settings.
- If the domain is claimed by another account (sometimes an old one auto-generated by Shopify), you'll need to reclaim it in your primary Merchant Center account. This might involve adjusting the URL (for example, removing 'www').
- Reinstalling the Google & YouTube app after resolving domain verification/claim issues can sometimes resolve syncing problems.
- Lost website claim:
- Check Google Search Console to identify any other authorized owners. This often occurs if another account claims your URL.
- To reclaim, remove existing verification methods such as meta tags or HTML files, and then re-verify and claim the URL in your intended Merchant Center account.
- Claim a higher-level domain (for example: example.com instead of example.com) to resolve the issue.