Level 2: Set Up Merchant Center, Verify and Claim the Site

In Level 1 you saw where products can appear on Google: Shopping, Search, Images and AI Mode. Merchant Center is where all of that starts. In this level you will set up the account for our example shop and prove to Google that the shop's website belongs to you.

Example shop: Fernleaf Ceramics, a small handmade pottery business at https://www.fernleafceramics.co.uk. It runs on Shopify. Where WooCommerce works differently, that is noted.

Guidance checked against Google's Merchant Center Help and the WooCommerce documentation on 20 October 2026. Google renames menus from time to time, so if a label looks different, look for the closest match.

Why verifying and claiming matter

These are two separate steps, and you need both:

• Verify means proving you own the website. To Google, you are the owner if you can edit the site's content.
• Claim means linking the verified website to your Merchant Center account. This reserves the address for your account only.

Think of a shop lease. Verifying shows you hold the keys. Claiming puts your name on the lease so no one else can trade from that address. Only one Merchant Center account can claim a given URL, and you must verify a site before you can claim it.

Task 1: Create the Merchant Center account

What to do:

1. Sign in to Google Merchant Center with the Google Account the business will use. Use an account the business controls, not a personal account belonging to someone who might leave.
2. Answer the sign-up questions about your business and where you sell: online, in a physical store, or both. You can tick more than one, and you can change these later.
3. Choose how product information will get from your website into Merchant Center. For Fernleaf, that is the Shopify app (feeds are covered later in the course).

Task 2: Enter the business details

Google needs your business name and address. Many Merchant Center features use these details, and some are shown to shoppers. You enter them once and can edit them later.

What to do:

1. Go to Settings → Business info.
2. Select Edit business details.
3. Business name: type a short, clear name, such as Fernleaf Ceramics, then save. Do not include:
   • suffixes such as "Ltd", "Inc." or "Co."
   • promotional text such as "Free delivery!" or a phone number
   • ALL CAPS, emoji, ™ or © symbols, or repeated punctuation
   • personal details such as an individual's full name or email address
4. Business address: fill in the address where the business is registered. Address line 1, city and postcode are required. Save.
5. Customer service: add one or more of the following, then pick your preferred contact method:
   • a customer service page URL, e.g. https://www.fernleafceramics.co.uk/contact
   • an email address on your own domain, e.g. help@fernleafceramics.co.uk
   • a valid business phone number
   • whether you offer live chat or chatbot support

Tip: an email address on your own domain looks trustworthy and matches Google's guidance. A free webmail address does not.

Task 3: Choose a verification method

Pick the method that suits your platform:

• Platform app (easiest for Shopify). When Fernleaf connects Merchant Center through Shopify's Google & YouTube app, the store domain is verified and claimed automatically, unless another Google account has already claimed it.
• Platform plugin (WooCommerce). The Google for WooCommerce extension requires a verified and claimed URL as part of set-up. It also requires the site to be live on a valid domain with no broken links.
• HTML tag. Paste a meta tag Google gives you into your homepage <head>. This works on almost any platform, and Google recommends it if Analytics verification fails on platforms such as Shopify.
• HTML file. Upload a file Google gives you to your web server.
• Google Analytics. Needs administrator access to an Analytics account that is already linked to the site.
• Google Tag Manager. Needs account-level administrator access in Tag Manager.
• Email. Receive a code at an email address associated with the site.

Task 4: Verify and claim the website

If the platform app handled this for you, go straight to Task 5. Otherwise:

1. Go to Settings → Business info.
2. Select Edit online store.
3. Enter the full URL, starting with https://, e.g. https://www.fernleafceramics.co.uk, and select Continue.
4. Choose your method (e.g. HTML tag), follow the instructions, then confirm verification.
5. Once the site is verified, select Claim website.

Common problem: domain mismatch. On Shopify, the domain the app claims may not be the domain in your product URLs, for example fernleaf.myshopify.com instead of www.fernleafceramics.co.uk. That can lead to product disapprovals. Update the claimed website in Business info so it matches the domain your product links use.

If another account already claimed it: you can transfer the claim to the account connected to your shop.

Task 5: Check it in Merchant Center

What to do:

1. Open Settings → Business info and look at the online store/website details.
2. Confirm that:
   • the URL is exactly the domain your products use
   • the website shows as verified
   • the website shows as claimed
   • the business name, address and customer service details are saved
3. If you used the HTML tag, leave it on your homepage. Verification is normally a one-time step, but removing the proof can undo it.

Key takeaways

• Verifying proves you own the site. Claiming links it to your Merchant Center account. You need both, and verifying comes first.
• Only one Merchant Center account can claim a URL.
• Enter a clean business name, your registered address and customer service contacts under Settings → Business info.
• Shopify's Google & YouTube app verifies and claims automatically. The HTML tag is the reliable fallback on any platform.
• Analytics verification needs admin access to a linked Analytics account. Tag Manager verification needs account-level admin access.
• Check that the claimed domain matches your product URLs.