Missing Shipping Policy
Google requires that every merchant have a publicly accessible shipping policy page that explains delivery costs, shipping methods, and estimated delivery times. This is separate from the shipping attributes in your product feed — the shipping policy is a human-readable page on your website. Google's crawler verifies it exists and can read the content. The policy page demonstrates to shoppers (and to Google) that your store is transparent about fulfillment commitments.
Missing shipping policy [shipping_info]Impact: A missing shipping policy is treated as a misrepresentation risk — shoppers can't make informed purchase decisions without knowing delivery costs and timelines upfront. Google flags this as an account-level policy violation that can affect all products on your account.
Root Causes
- 1Your store has no dedicated shipping policy page — you may have delivery info buried in FAQs or checkout flow, but no standalone accessible page.
- 2The shipping policy page exists but is only accessible after clicking through checkout — Google's crawler cannot reach post-checkout pages.
- 3Your shipping policy is embedded in a general Terms & Conditions page without a direct URL that can be submitted to Merchant Center.
- 4A recent site redesign removed or broke the link to your shipping policy page (footer link pointing to 404).
- 5Your shipping policy page uses a JavaScript-heavy format (accordion, tab, modal) that Google's crawler can't parse as plain text.
Fix by Platform
- 1Shopify has a built-in Shipping Policy page. Go to Shopify Admin → Settings → Policies → Shipping policy.
- 2Write your shipping policy content: include domestic rates (free vs. flat vs. weight-based), international shipping options if applicable, estimated delivery times per method, and carrier names.
- 3Save — Shopify creates yourstore.com/policies/shipping-policy automatically.
- 4Add to footer: Online Store → Navigation → Footer menu → add Shipping Policy page.
- 5In GMC → About your business → Shipping and returns: add your shipping policy URL under 'Shipping policy'. GMC will crawl this URL to verify content.
When This Doesn't Apply
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Frequently Asked Questions
What's the minimum content required for a valid shipping policy?+
Your shipping policy must include at minimum: (1) how long orders take to ship (processing time, e.g., '1-2 business days'), (2) delivery time estimates (e.g., 'Standard shipping: 5-7 business days in the US'), (3) shipping cost or confirmation that it's free. Without these three elements, Google may still flag the policy as insufficient.
Is my shipping policy the same as my shipping settings in Merchant Center?+
No — they're complementary. Your Merchant Center shipping settings define the actual rates and delivery times that appear in your Shopping ads ('Free delivery' badge, 'Arrives by' date). Your shipping policy page is a human-readable document for shoppers explaining your shipping practices. Both are required. The Merchant Center settings feed into ad performance; the page satisfies Google's policy transparency requirement.
My shipping policy is in my FAQ page. Is that acceptable?+
Only if the FAQ page has a direct URL, is not blocked by robots.txt, and the shipping information is clearly readable by Google's crawler. Buried accordion-style content or JavaScript-rendered text often doesn't parse correctly. A dedicated shipping policy page at /shipping-policy or similar is always safer and easier for both Google and your customers.
Do I need separate shipping policies for each country I ship to?+
One page is fine — organize it by region. For example: 'United States: Free standard shipping on orders over $50 (5–7 days)' and 'International: Flat $15 (10–21 days, duties not included)'. Clearly covering each market's shipping conditions on one page satisfies Google's requirement without maintaining multiple policy pages.