Andrei Visan · Google Ads for eCommerce

The 41-Point eCommerce Google Ads, Shopping & Merchant Center Checklist

A practical account review that starts with economics and ends with an owned action plan. No email signup required.

Use the checklist as a decision record

Work through one representative product and purchase journey before assuming the whole account is healthy. Mark each item as checked only when there is evidence. Keep a separate note of the observation, risk, owner and next action. This is a starting framework, not proof that every account-specific issue has been found.

Download the printable 41-point checklist

Economics

1. Define revenue consistently, including tax, discounts and refunds. 2. Verify COGS for representative products or categories. 3. Include payment fees, fulfilment and shipping subsidy. 4. Set a realistic returns allowance without double counting. 5. Calculate contribution and the desired post-ad buffer.

Measurement

6. Identify the primary purchase action used for bidding. 7. Map every tag, app and import that sends a purchase. 8. Test unique transaction IDs and repeated confirmation visits. 9. Check dynamic values and currency. 10. Test consent and Enhanced Conversions where implemented. 11. Check product IDs, quantities and cart values where used. 12. Document refunds and conversion-adjustment handling.

Merchant Center

13. Check account-level restrictions and product disapprovals. 14. Reconcile price and availability with the store. 15. Check delivery and returns information. 16. Document the owner and refresh schedule of each data source.

Product feed

17. Keep stable product IDs. 18. Use genuine identifiers and brand values where applicable. 19. Review title attributes against buyer intent. 20. Check descriptions for accuracy and ambiguity. 21. Verify variants, item groups, size and colour. 22. Review product_type and Google product category. 23. Check exact-product images and destinations. 24. Review custom labels and cost-data coverage.

Campaigns and demand

25. Give each campaign a defined commercial job. 26. Document Shopping and Performance Max product overlap. 27. Review brand and non-brand evidence with its limitations. 28. Check relevant Search campaign coverage and landing-page fit. 29. Inspect product exclusions and low-stock inventory. 30. Review budgets and bidding against economic limits.

Store and products

31. Check mobile product detail and variant selection. 32. Make delivery cost and timing easy to find. 33. Review returns clarity and product suitability information. 34. Test checkout and payment paths. 35. Compare product-level conversion with economics and stock. 36. Prioritise CRO hypotheses with evidence, not preference.

Reporting and action

37. Reconcile comparable store and platform trends. 38. Separate measured facts, estimates and hypotheses. 39. Record promotion, stock and price changes. 40. Assign owners and dependencies to the priority findings. 41. Build a 30/60/90-day roadmap with review conditions.

Continue the diagnosis

Want this reviewed in your own account? See the €650 eCommerce Diagnostic. For ongoing ownership, explore Google Ads Growth for eCommerce.

About the author

Written by Andrei Visan, a hands-on Google Ads consultant since 2010. The examples here explain a diagnostic method; they are not client performance claims.