Which phone number to publish for Google Merchant Center

Publish a business phone number you answer, as text on the contact page, and put the same number in Merchant Center Business info, then verify it there. Google asks for a “valid business contact number”, and its onboarding checklist asks you to make sure the number is active. A number in an image, or a line nobody picks up, helps nobody.

Major4 min read

By Edvinas Ivanauskas How the guides are reviewed

Why this matters

Merchant Center asks for the number in two places. The Business information page says: “Use your valid business contact number in the “Phone number” field.” The fix page for missing contact information adds “Also, add your business phone number on the Business information page in Merchant Center.” and ends with “Verify your phone number.” The Editorial and professional requirements give, as an example of insufficient contact information, a Merchant Center account missing “a physical business address or a verified phone number”.

On the store, Google's fix page lists a phone number among the contact routes you can show, and asks for your name, address and phone number to be identical in the footer, on the contact page and in Merchant Center settings. The onboarding checklist, under communication integrity, says: “Make sure the phone number is active and the email address is hosted on your store’s domain.” Product Experts on Google's Merchant Center Community list a phone number among the details every footer and contact page should carry.

A number only helps if a shopper can read it, tap it and reach someone. Put it in text, not in a banner image, wrap it in a tel: link, write it in international format if you sell abroad, and give the hours it is answered. Rather not take calls? Publish it anyway with honest hours and a voicemail that promises a call back. Testing the line and service hours cover the rest; contact details in images explains why the text version matters.

The free scan flags a contact page with no phone number and a number that exists only in a hidden tel: link. It does not dial the number or see Business info, so those checks are yours, along with making sure the digits are right for your country. The misrepresentation checker lists every contact check.

Typical evidence

A number on the page needs to be selectable

A public scan can extract DOM text, not words baked into pixels. Keep the phone number as selectable text so shoppers and accessibility tools can use it too.

Readable as text ✓

+44 1234 567890

selectable page text: +441234567890

Baked into an image ✗

+44 1234 567890

image-only detail: not selectable

Make it unambiguous

<a href="tel:+441234567890">+44 1234 567890</a>

The public signals this check looks for:

The contact page has an email and a form, and no phone number
The contact page has an email and a form, and no phone number.
The number is part of a banner or logo image, so it cannot be selected, copied or tapped
The number is part of a banner or logo image, so it cannot be selected, copied or tapped.
The number sits in a tel
The number sits in a tel: link behind an icon, with no digits on screen.
The site shows one number and Merchant Center Business info another
The site shows one number and Merchant Center Business info another.
The number is premium-rate, or registered in a country you do not operate from
The number is premium-rate, or registered in a country you do not operate from.
The number was never verified in Merchant Center
The number was never verified in Merchant Center.

What it looks like once it is right

Footer and contact page: “Call +44 113 496 0123, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm UK time”, as text in a tel: link. Business info holds the same number, verified.

Common mistakes

Common mistake

The contact page shows a phone icon linked to “tel:07700900123” with no digits on screen. A banner image says “Call 0113 496 0000”. Business info holds a third number that was never verified.

Fix checklist

Choose the business number someone answers, or returns calls from, during your published hours.
Put it on the contact page and in the footer as text, such as “+44 113 496 0123”, never only inside an image.
Wrap it in a tel: link, “tel:+441134960123”, so a phone can dial it with a tap.
Add the hours it is answered next to the number, and say what happens outside them.
In Merchant Center, open Settings, then Business info, enter the same number in the phone field and complete the verification.
Check every place the number appears: footer, contact page, policies, order emails, structured data and any Business Profile. One number, one format.
After any change of provider, plan or number, call it yourself from another phone and update the site and Business info the same day.

Make it usable page text

Use selectable HTML, a tel: link, and a format that suits the country you publish for shoppers.

Contact markup

<a href="tel:+441234567890">+44 1234 567890</a>

selectable texttel: linkmatches GMC + country

Copy this, and change the parts in your own words

<a href="tel:+441234567890">+44 1234 567890</a>

Questions merchants ask

Do I need a phone number on my website for Google Merchant Center?

Google's fix page asks for at least one of a business address, phone number, email, contact form or social business profile on the store, so a phone number on the site is one option among several. Merchant Center itself asks for your business phone number in Business info, and for it to be verified.

How do I add and verify a phone number in Merchant Center?

Open Settings, then Business info, and edit your business details. Google's contact fix page lists adding the number there and verifying it as the last steps. Use a number the business controls and can answer.

Can I use a mobile number as my business phone number?

Google's Merchant Center pages ask for a valid business contact number and, in the onboarding checklist, an active one; they do not rule out mobiles. Use a number the business controls and answers, and show it in international format if you sell abroad.

Remediation

Risk signal

A phone number costs nothing to publish and says a lot about who is behind a store. Put one on the page as text, answer it, and make Merchant Center hold the same one; then scan the store to confirm the number made it onto the page the way you think it did.

PriorityAddress and document this finding as part of the store’s remediation work.

EvidenceRecord the current state before each change, apply the fix, then capture the corrected state so every change is evidenced.

Similar cases

Sources

Community guidance

Written by Product Experts, the users Google recognises for their answers on its Merchant Center Community forum. Often stricter than Google’s help pages, and not Google policy.

How to fix your Merchant Center suspension (Misrepresentation), 2026Merchant Center Community · Product Expert guide — support.google.com

Last reviewed 29 Sep 2026.

That is one issue. The library documents 134.

The free scan lists what it finds on your store. The paid report adds the affected pages, captured evidence and step-by-step fixes. Start free, with no account needed.