Modify Search Console shipping/return policies

Configure your shipping and return policies either in your Merchant Center if you already have a Merchant center ID or directly within Search Console (if you don’t have a Merchant center account). By configuring the shipping and return information, your policies may appear in more search results, including knowledge panels, brand profiles, and product search results, potentially improving visibility and attracting more traffic.

This article covers the two options for managing your shipping and return policies, as well as the additional features in Merchant Center that allow you to edit shipping or return policies created in Search Console.

Manage your shipping and return policies in Merchant Center

By updating the shipping or return policies in MC, you will be able to use additional options that are available in Merchant Center but not in Search Console.

Additional options in Merchant Center

Merchant Center provides you with a range of additional options that will help you build your shipping or return policies in a comprehensive way.

Here’s a list of additional signals that are available for shipping policies in Merchant Center:

• Order cut-off time
• Handling time
• Shipping cost
  • Carrier rate
  • By price
  • By weight
  • By destination
  • By number of items
  • Advanced cost table

Here’s the list of additional signals available for return policies in Merchant Center:

• Product condition
• Return method (for example, in store return or return at a drop-off location)
• Return window extension during holidays
• Refund processing time
• Exchanges

Manage shipping policies

You can view, edit, or delete shipping policies that are created in Search Console. You can identify the shipping policies that are created in Search Console by checking the source of the policy in the “Shipping info” tab.

Policies that were created in Search Console will have “Search Console” as the source.

Instructions

1. In your Merchant Center, click Shipping and returns from the left side menu.
2. Under the “Shipping info” tab, identify the shipping policy that you’ve created in Search Console.
3. Click the pencil icon to edit the shipping policy. You can also delete the policy by clicking the delete icon .
   • All the shipping settings you’ve set up in Search Console will be pre-filled in Merchant Center too.
4. In the “Countries” tab, select the countries and click Continue.
5. In the “Products” tab, select “All products” or “Specific products” and click Continue.
6. In the “Delivery times” tab, choose how you determine the delivery times.
   • If you use a single carrier, Google will automatically calculate the delivery time based on the carrier you choose.
   • If you use multiple carriers depending on the shipping or delivery location, you will have to set up the delivery times manually.
7. Set up order cut-off time, handling time, and shipping time.
8. Click Continue.
9. In the “Shipping costs” tab, provide the free shipping conditions, and shipping cost if the order value is less than the free shipping threshold.
   • You can choose to use the carrier rate or a flat rate or vary the shipping cost by price, weight, destination or the number of items ordered.
10. Click Save.

Manage return policies

Similar to shipping policies, you can view, edit, or delete return policies too in Merchant Center.

Instructions

1. In your Merchant Center, click Shipping and returns from the left side menu.
2. Under the “Return policies” tab, identify the return policy that you’ve created in Search Console and click on it.
3. You can now update the “Return policy URL”, countries, returns, and exchanges.
4. Click Next.
5. In the “Condition and window tab”, select the condition of the product, return/exchange window, and window extension settings.
6. In the next page, select the return method, restocking fee, and the refund processing time and click Next.
7. Tick the check box to acknowledge that the information provided in the Merchant Center matches the return policies on your website.
8. Click Save.

You can also add an exception policy in addition to your return policy. Learn more about setting up an extension policy.

Manage your shipping and return policies in Search Console

If you don’t have a Merchant Center account, you can still configure your shipping and returns policies directly within Search Console to optimize the search appearance of your policies in Search results.

Related links

• Manage your shipping settings
• Set up your return policies for Shopping ads and free listings