Discovery
HIGHNo sampled PDP returns a noindex directive
Every sampled product page is indexable — no `noindex` in HTML meta or X-Robots-Tag. A noindex on the PDP makes it invisible to Google and ineligible for the merchant listing program.
What this check looks for
Google merchant listing requirements treat `noindex` as a fatal eligibility flag — a PDP with `noindex` is dropped from Search and from the merchant program. The directive can be set via `<meta name="robots" content="noindex">` in the page HTML, the `X-Robots-Tag` HTTP response header, or both. We check both surfaces on every sampled PDP.
Which AI surfaces it affects
- Google AI Mode (UCP)100
- Microsoft Copilot80
- ChatGPT (ACP)70
- Meta AI70
- Perplexity60
Weighted against the live specs — ACP 2026-04-17, UCP 2026-04-08.
How to fix it
Remove the noindex directive from every PDP
Shopify
A few minutes- Online Store → Preferences → confirm Enable password is OFF (preview-protected stores serve noindex).
- If a per-product SEO field is set to hide from search engines, clear it on the Product admin page.
BigCommerce
A few minutes- Product admin → Customizations → Search Engine Optimization → confirm the product is not excluded from search engines.
WooCommerce
A few minutes- WordPress → Settings → Reading: ensure `Discourage search engines from indexing this site` is UNCHECKED.
- Yoast / Rank Math product settings: ensure the per-product Robots field is set to Index, Follow.
Custom / headless
Developer- Remove noindex from PDPs in both the HTML head and the response headers.
<meta name="robots" content="index, follow">The spec it's pinned to
Google merchant listing — indexable PDPs
Google merchant listing requirements forbid noindex on product pages. A noindex PDP is ineligible for the listing and silently dropped from Search results.
Does your store pass this check?
Run the full audit — 82 checks across five AI shopping surfaces. Most tools only check whether you get mentioned; we check whether an agent can buy from you.