Business verification
Business verification is the check in which Google confirms who stands behind a Google Ads or Merchant Center account.
How it works
The term covers checks in Google Ads and Merchant Center.
In Google Ads, this is advertiser identity verification. Google extended it to all advertisers in 2020. The announcement named personal identification, business incorporation documents or other information that proves who the advertiser is and in which country it operates. Google may set a deadline and can pause an account not verified by then.
In Merchant Center, the business information includes an address and a phone number, and the phone is either verified or unverified. You verify and claim the shop’s website separately. The claim proves you own the domain, and some features work only with a verified website.
Each check compares the details in the account with documents or the site, so both must describe the same business. Merchant Center verification and account access covers what blocks verification and how to make sure nobody else controls the account.
Not to be confused with
| Term | What it is | How it differs |
|---|---|---|
| Account suspension | The whole Merchant Center account is blocked | A penalty; verification checks who you are |
| Misrepresentation | A breach of Google’s Shopping policy against misleading shoppers about the business, its products or its offers | About what the shop tells buyers; verification is about who runs the account |
| Access levels | Who can do what in the account | Verification proves who the business is, not who has access |
Right and wrong readings
- Wrong: “Our website is verified, so nobody else controls the account.” Right: website verification proves you own the domain, while the user list decides who can sign in. Claiming a website needs admin access, and a new claim can replace one held by another Merchant Center account. After a change of owner or agency, check both: who holds the claim and who is on the user list.
Sources
- Advertiser identity verification — Google Ads API: verification programs, deadline, pausing the account. Checked 2 October 2026.
- Increasing transparency through advertiser identity verification — Google, 23 April 2020: which documents advertisers submit. Checked 2 October 2026.
- REST Resource: accounts.businessInfo — Merchant API: business address, phone and phone verification state. Checked 2 October 2026.
- REST Resource: accounts.homepage — Merchant API: the website claim as proof of ownership. Checked 2 October 2026.
- Method: accounts.homepage.claim — Merchant API: admin access, a claim that replaces another account’s claim. Checked 2 October 2026.
- Control access to your account — Merchant API: users and their access rights. Checked 2 October 2026.