TL;DR: How to Leverage Google’s New Shipping & Returns Policy Tools to Boost Trust and Sales
Google's November 2025 updates allow merchants to showcase shipping and return policies directly in search results, enhancing consumer trust and boosting click-through rates.
• Use Google Search Console to input policy details for visibility.
• Implement Structured Data Markup for site-wide uniform policies.
• Benefits include increased CTR, trust, and search visibility for smaller businesses.
Start now by logging into Google Search Console or reviewing Google's structured data guide to build consumer confidence and grow your brand.
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When running an online store, clarity in shipping and returns policies is no longer just a nice-to-have, it’s a fundamental way to build trust and drive sales. As of November 2025, Google has rolled out new tools that allow merchants to share this crucial information more easily and broadly. This update could be a game-changer for small-to-medium businesses that rely on organic search to showcase their customer-friendly practices. Let me break this down and show you how you can use these changes to strengthen your brand visibility and boost customer confidence.
How Can Merchants Now Share Shipping and Returns Policies with Google?
Google now offers a dual-path approach to showcase shipping and return policies:
- Search Console Integration: Merchants can input their policy information directly within the intuitive Google Search Console. It’s available to any online store Google identifies, right out of the box.
- Organization-Level Structured Data: Store owners can implement organization-level markup using Schema.org’s Shipping Policy structured data. This approach simplifies management for businesses with uniform policies across products.
Both methods enhance visibility directly in search results, providing consumers with trust-building information like “Free Shipping” or “30-Day Peace of Mind Returns” in a highly accessible format.
Why Does This Matter for Business Owners?
From my perspective as a serial entrepreneur and digital strategist, these changes reflect Google’s ongoing push towards greater marketplace transparency. If your online store is built around customer-centric values, this is an opportunity to highlight that directly in search results, right where your potential customers are decision-making. Here’s why this matters:
- Improved Click-Through Rates (CTR): Shoppers are more likely to click on stores that highlight consumer-friendly policies.
- Trust and Retention: Providing clear return policies upfront reduces friction and builds loyalty.
- Level Playing Field: Smaller businesses not tied to Merchant Center accounts can now compete more effectively in search visibility.
Step-by-Step: How to Implement These Updates
Here’s how you can get started with the new tools Google offers:
- Log in to your Google Search Console.
- Navigate to the new “Shipping and Returns” section if your site is flagged as an online merchant.
- Follow the on-screen prompts to configure your fulfillment policies, inputting information like shipping options (e.g., “Free shipping on orders above $50”) or return timeframes (e.g., “Returns accepted within 30 days”).
- If you prefer structured data, consult Google’s shipping policy schema guide to add markup at the organization level.
- Use Google’s Rich Results Test Tool to ensure your structured data is implemented correctly.
- Publish your changes and monitor performance in Search Console over time to fine-tune these details.
Common Mistakes to Avoid While Implementing These Updates
- Failing to Test Structured Data: Incorrect or incomplete markup won’t pass Google’s validation tests and could lead to missed visibility opportunities.
- Overcomplicating Product-Specific Policies: If the majority of your products follow the same shipping and return rules, use organization-level structured data instead.
- Ignoring Updates in Search Console: Always monitor how your policies render in search results.
Expert Insights and My Tip for Entrepreneurs
This isn’t just another SEO update, it’s a strategic move to capitalize on consumer trust. Think of your shipping and returns policies as the digital equivalent of a salesperson reassuring a hesitant customer. As a founder, the earlier you adapt to this, the better your competitive edge. Start simple: configure Search Console first. Once you have validated results, layer in structured data to cover broader use cases.
The Takeaway: Build Credibility with Transparency
Your customers are your greatest advocates. By showing them you care about their experience, even before they click through to your store, you’re setting the stage for lasting brand loyalty. Transparency isn’t just a buzzword; it’s a proven path to business growth.
Ready to make these changes? Start now by logging into Search Console or reviewing Google’s documentation on structured data. Your future customers, and your bottom line, will thank you.
FAQ on Sharing Shipping and Returns Policies with Google
1. What are the new ways to share shipping and returns policies with Google?
As of November 2025, you can share shipping and returns policies via Google Search Console's new "Shipping and Returns" section or by using organization-level structured data. These options make it easier for businesses to display their policies prominently in search results. Explore Google's official announcement
2. Do I still need a Google Merchant Center account for these updates?
No, the update eliminates the need for a Merchant Center account, enabling all online merchants to use Google Search Console or structured data to showcase policies. Check out this LinkedIn post explaining the update
3. How does organization-level structured data simplify the process?
Organization-level structured data using Schema.org allows merchants to define general shipping and returns policies for their entire store, reducing repetitive input compared to product-specific policies. Review Google's structured data guidelines
4. Can small businesses also benefit from this update?
Yes, the change provides small and medium-sized businesses better visibility in Google Search, enabling them to showcase customer-friendly policies without relying on Merchant Center. Learn more about the benefits for smaller merchants
5. Why is this update critical for building customer trust?
Clear shipping and returns policies shown in search results improve transparency, enhance trust, and can directly impact customers' purchase decisions, boosting click-through rates. Discover insights on this update's importance
6. How can policies be configured in Google Search Console?
Merchants can log into Search Console, navigate to the "Shipping and Returns" section, and set up fulfillment-related details such as free shipping offers or return timeframes through a user-friendly interface. Check out details on using the Search Console UI
7. Does Search Console override structured data settings for policies?
Yes, any settings configured directly within Google Search Console will take precedence over information provided via structured data. This ensures the most accurate and up-to-date policies appear in search results. Explore this update on Search Engine Roundtable
8. What tools can businesses use to validate structured data implementation?
Businesses can use Google’s Rich Results Test Tool to confirm their structured data for shipping and returns policies is correctly implemented and validated. Test your structured data with this tool
9. Where will the shipping and returns policy details show up in search?
These policies can appear in knowledge panels, brand profiles, and product-specific search results, making them visible in key decision-making touchpoints for shoppers. Learn more about enriching search results with policies
10. What are some common mistakes to avoid when implementing these updates?
Errors include failing to test structured data, complicating product-specific policies unnecessarily, and not monitoring updates in Search Console regularly. Discover best practices for successful implementation
About the Author
Violetta Bonenkamp, also known as MeanCEO, is an experienced startup founder with an impressive educational background including an MBA and four other higher education degrees. She has over 20 years of work experience across multiple countries, including 5 years as a solopreneur and serial entrepreneur. Throughout her startup experience she has applied for multiple startup grants at the EU level, in the Netherlands and Malta, and her startups received quite a few of those. She’s been living, studying and working in many countries around the globe and her extensive multicultural experience has influenced her immensely.
Violetta is a true multiple specialist who has built expertise in Linguistics, Education, Business Management, Blockchain, Entrepreneurship, Intellectual Property, Game Design, AI, SEO, Digital Marketing, cyber security and zero code automations. Her extensive educational journey includes a Master of Arts in Linguistics and Education, an Advanced Master in Linguistics from Belgium (2006-2007), an MBA from Blekinge Institute of Technology in Sweden (2006-2008), and an Erasmus Mundus joint program European Master of Higher Education from universities in Norway, Finland, and Portugal (2009).
She is the founder of Fe/male Switch, a startup game that encourages women to enter STEM fields, and also leads CADChain, and multiple other projects like the Directory of 1,000 Startup Cities with a proprietary MeanCEO Index that ranks cities for female entrepreneurs. Violetta created the “gamepreneurship” methodology, which forms the scientific basis of her startup game. She also builds a lot of SEO tools for startups. Her achievements include being named one of the top 100 women in Europe by EU Startups in 2022 and being nominated for Impact Person of the year at the Dutch Blockchain Week. She is an author with Sifted and a speaker at different Universities. Recently she published a book on Startup Idea Validation the right way: from zero to first customers and beyond, launched a Directory of 1,500+ websites for startups to list themselves in order to gain traction and build backlinks and is building MELA AI to help local restaurants in Malta get more visibility online.
For the past several years Violetta has been living between the Netherlands and Malta, while also regularly traveling to different destinations around the globe, usually due to her entrepreneurial activities. This has led her to start writing about different locations and amenities from the point of view of an entrepreneur. Here’s her recent article about the best hotels in Italy to work from.