Prepare your business and website for Merchant Center onboarding and reviews
Use this checklist to prepare your website for Merchant Center onboarding. Focusing on these core areas will help you prepare for the Merchant Center onboarding process and ensure a seamless, high-quality shopping experience for your customers.
1: Business transparency and trust
Build credibility through transparency and external validation.
- Distinct purpose: If you operate multiple websites, ensure each has a unique purpose and clearly discloses affiliations (for example, "Subsidiary of [Parent company]").
- Business headquarters: Clearly state your main operational hub (City, State/Country). Provide a verifiable street address that perfectly aligns with your formal business registration, ensuring uniformity across your Homepage and Contact pages.
- Legal clarity: Display the full legal business name if possible. For businesses located within the European Union, ensure your official tax identifiers (such as VAT or CRN) are clearly visible in the website footer.
- Clear disclosure of terms: Check that any conditions or variables that alter the customer experience or purchase agreement are explicitly stated prior to checkout.
- Social media activity and third party presence: Maintain active, professional social media profiles that allow users to contact you. Ensure your business is visible on external review sites.
- Communication integrity: Make sure the phone number is active and the email address is hosted on your store’s domain.