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In this help center, you can find content for both Merchant Center Next and the classic Merchant Center experience. Look for the logo at the top of each article to make sure you're using the article for the Merchant Center version that applies to you. 

Restricted products and services

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In order to participate in Google Customer Reviews, your website cannot sell, list, or advertise any of the restricted products and services mentioned below. Eligibility to Google Customer Reviews may be suspended for sites found to advertise any of the products or services listed below.

If you would like to inform Google of a Google Customer Reviews advertiser that sells, lists, or advertises any of the products or services below, please fill out the Google Customer Reviews report violation form.

Abortion

Google Customer Reviews doesn't allow its participants to display content related to abortion that uses violent language or gruesome imagery. In some countries, Google Customer Reviews also restricts the promotion of abortion-inducing drugs and supplements via the Healthcare and Medicines policy.

Alcohol

Google restricts the promotion and sale of alcoholic beverages including beer, wine, and spirits. Restrictions vary depending on the locations being targeted, but in all cases where promotion of alcohol is permitted, the following conditions must be met:

  • Act in compliance with all applicable laws and industry standards for each location that you are targeting.
  • Do not target individuals below the legal drinking age.
  • Do not imply that drinking alcohol can improve social, sexual, professional, intellectual, or athletic standing.
  • Do not imply that drinking alcohol provides health or therapeutic benefits.
  • Do not portray excessive drinking in a positive light or feature binge or competition drinking.
  • Do not show alcohol being consumed in conjunction with the operation of machinery or a vehicle of any kind or the performance of any task requiring alertness or dexterity.
  • Do not depict violent or degrading behavior.

Please note that products which are marketed in the same way as alcoholic beverages, regardless of alcohol content, are subject to our alcohol policy. Examples include low-alcohol and non-alcoholic beer and wine, as well as low-alcohol and non-alcoholic cocktails.

Adult sexual services

Google Customer Reviews doesn't allow its participants to display content related to pornography, nudity, graphic sexual language or escort services.

Google Customer Reviews allows adult content related to sexual enhancers, aids or devices and erotic lingerie. This is only allowed in countries which are not listed in the country specific restrictions of the Google Advertising Adult Content policy. This content must be promoted without pornographic content or nudity in order to be acceptable.

Underage or non-consensual sex acts

Google Customer Reviews doesn't allow the promotion of child sexual abuse imagery, underage-themed pornography, non-consensual sex acts, or illegal sex acts. Please note that we don't allow this content even if the site might comply with government regulations surrounding this kind of advertising.

Casinos and gambling

Google Customer Reviews restricts the promotion of gambling-related products, including:

  • Gambling-related promotional products such as gambling-related vouchers, bonus codes, etc.
  • Gambling-related lotteries tickets such as non-national or state lotteries, or national or state lottery affiliates or aggregators
  • Physical lottery scratch cards

However Google allows the promotion of physical gambling-related equipment, including:

  • Gambling-related accessories, e.g. poker chips
  • Gambling-related physical products, such as poker books/DVDs/video games for consoles

Endangered species

Google Customer Reviews doesn't allow the promotion of products obtained from endangered or threatened species including ivory obtained from any animal, shark, tiger, whale or dolphin products and staghorn or elkhorn coral.

Fake documents

Google Customer Reviews doesn't allow the promotion of fake documents including fake ids, government documents, diplomas and doctor notes.

Fireworks

Google Customer Reviews doesn't allow the promotion of fireworks and pyrotechnic devices.

Health care and medicines

Google Customer Reviews restricts the promotion of healthcare related products. We have different requirements for promoting healthcare related products based on the country you're targeting.

Google Customer Reviews prohibits sites whose primary purpose is to sell products that claim or imply to be as effective as anabolic steroids, weight-loss drugs, erectile dysfunction drugs, prescription products, or controlled substances, irrespective of claims of legality.

Google Customer Reviews may disallow the promotion of any dietary supplement, drug, or other product that's been the subject of any government or regulatory action or warning.

Google Customer Reviews also doesn't allow the promotion of products with names that are or may be confusingly similar to anabolic steroids, weight-loss drugs, prescription products, controlled substances, or other products that are banned under this policy, irrespective of any claims of legality.

Pet prescriptions

Google Customer Reviews allows the promotion of pet pharmaceuticals in the United States, however retailers promoting pet pharmaceuticals must be accredited by the Vet-VIPPs Program.

Medical devices

Google Customer Reviews allows the promotion of medical devices in the United States only. Medical devices must be over-the-counter (non-prescription), and registered with the United States Food and Drug Administration and logged in their database.

HIV home tests

Google Customer Reviews allows the promotion of HIV home tests in the United States only. Google only allows certain HIV home tests that are approved by the FDA.

Secret paternity tests

Google Customer Reviews doesn't allow the promotion of paternity tests that are advertised as secret.

How does this policy differ from country to country?

France

In France, Google Customer Reviews doesn't allow the promotion of any paternity testing services or devices. This restriction includes both clinic-based paternity testing services and at-home paternity test kits.

Human remains and body parts

Google Customer Reviews doesn’t allow the promotion of body parts or human remains in any form including organs, bones and any bodily fluids. Hair used for wigs is acceptable.

Illegal drugs

Google Customer Reviews doesn't allow the promotion of illegal drugs, legal or synthetic highs, herbal drugs, chemicals and compounds with psychoactive effects, drug paraphernalia, or aids to pass drug tests. Our policy on drugs covers products that are illegal, as well as some products that may be legal in some countries.

Illegal hacking

Google Customer Reviews doesn't allow content or websites that promote hacking by providing instructions or equipment to illegally access or tamper with software, servers, cell phones, or websites.

Illegal products

Google Customer Reviews doesn't allow the promotion of illegal products or products enabling illegal acts.

All products being promoted must clearly comply with all applicable laws and regulations. Whenever there's a question of whether compliance is clear, Google may choose to err on the side of conservative interpretation and have additional restrictions. We aren't interested in promoting products of questionable legality.

Live animals

Google Customer Reviews doesn't allow the promotion of live animals.

Solicitation of funds

Google Customer Reviews doesn't allow the solicitation of funds (donations) unless they're tax-exempt.

Stolen property and lock picking devices

Google Customer Reviews doesn't allow the promotion of stolen property and lock picking devices. This also includes products where the serial number has been removed or altered.

Trade sanctions

Google Customer Reviews doesn't allow the promotion of content that would violate applicable government trade sanctions.

Traffic devices

Google Customer Reviews doesn't allow the promotion of products that are designed to interfere with the enforcement of traffic laws. While radar detectors are allowed in most countries, radar jammers and other law evading products aren't allowed.

How does this policy differ from country to country?

France, Germany

In these countries, Google Customer Reviews doesn't allow the promotion of radar detectors, the promotion of software that identifies the location of radars and the promotion of databases that identify the location of radars.

United States

In the US, Google Customer Reviews doesn't allow the promotion of GPS jammers.

Tobacco products

Google Customer Reviews doesn't allow the promotion of most tobacco or tobacco-related products including cigarettes, cigars, tobacco pipes, rolling papers, electronic cigarettes, and e-cigarette cartridges.

Weapons

Google Customer Reviews doesn't allow the promotion of weapons or devices designed to cause serious harm or injury. The promotion of weapons includes guns, gun parts or hardware, ammunition, bombs, knives, throwing stars, and brass knuckles.

How does this policy differ from country to country?

United Kingdom

 

In the UK, Google Customer Reviews doesn't allow the promotion of stun guns and pepper spray.

 

United States

In the US, Google Customer Reviews allows the promotion of airsoft guns as long as the landing page has a disclaimer that guns are required to have the tip (1/4 inch) of the barrel permanently colored in blaze orange.

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