Ad Accounts for E-commerce: Google Shopping, Meta, TikTok and Pinterest

An online store advertises differently from a service business: the ads are built from a product feed, not written by hand. One file with your SKUs, prices, stock and photos powers Google Shopping and Performance Max through Merchant Center, catalog ads on Facebook and Instagram, catalog ads on TikTok and shopping ads on Pinterest. If you sell on Amazon, Amazon Ads works from your listings instead. Below: what each platform needs from a furniture, jewelry, clothing, electronics or gift store, why Merchant Center suspends accounts, and when an agency account helps.

Policies below were checked against the Google, Meta, TikTok, Pinterest and Amazon Ads help centers on October 19, 2026. Rules and country lists change, so each section links to the official page.

Which platforms fit an online store

Most stores start with Google, where demand already exists, and add Meta for retargeting. TikTok and Pinterest come next if the products look good in a short video or a photo.

Google: feed, Merchant Center, Shopping and Performance Max

Google product ads run in a chain: the feed goes into Merchant Center, Merchant Center is linked to Google Ads, and Google Ads runs Shopping or Performance Max campaigns on those products. To run Shopping ads you need both accounts linked and must send up-to-date product data at least every 30 days. Before a Performance Max campaign with a feed, Google asks for business details, a verified and claimed website and shipping settings in Merchant Center (tax settings only for US accounts), and the Merchant Center account cannot be changed after the campaign is created.

In the EEA and Switzerland, Shopping ads run through one or more Comparison Shopping Services of your choice, not directly from Google (Google Ads Help).

What the feed must contain

Google’s product data specification requires seven attributes for every product:

• id, title, description, link, image_link, availability, price.
• brand for new products (except movies, books and music); gtin where the manufacturer assigned one, otherwise mpn.
• condition if the product is used or refurbished; availability_date for preorders.

Price and availability must match the landing page, the structured data on it and the checkout. Standard Shopping and Performance Max use the same feed, so products disapproved in Merchant Center will not show in either.

Why Merchant Center disapproves products and suspends accounts

The Shopping ads and listings policies cover prohibited content, prohibited practices, restricted content and site requirements. The issues below come up most often.

How enforcement works, per Merchant Center Help:

• Warning first, in most cases. You get an email with a deadline to fix the issue. For some misrepresentation cases (unavailable offers, manipulated media, unreliable claims) Google warns at least 7 days before suspending.
• Immediate suspension for egregious violations. Unacceptable business practices, coordinated deceptive practices and dishonest pricing lead to suspension without warning, and the account cannot list with Google again except in compelling circumstances (misrepresentation policy).
• Request a review only after fixing. Reviews usually take 3 to 7 business days. For misrepresentation, Merchant Center may ask for identity verification with documents that match the account data.
• Cool-down after failed reviews. Each unsuccessful re-review can extend the period before you can request another one.

An agency ad account does not change any of this. Merchant Center belongs to your store, the feed and the site are reviewed by the same rules, and an agency account does not speed up moderation or protect from suspension.

Meta: catalog, pixel and dataset

Catalog ads on Facebook and Instagram (Meta calls them Advantage+ catalog ads) show each person the products they viewed or similar ones. According to Meta’s requirements, you need:

1. A catalog in Commerce Manager inside a business portfolio, with the products you want to advertise. Product sets narrow it down, for example “sofas” or “gold rings”.
2. A Meta Pixel on the site with the required events and parameters, so Meta sees which products people view, add to cart and buy.
3. The Meta SDK if you also sell through an app.
4. The pixel or SDK connected to the catalog.

In Events Manager the pixel sits under Datasets & pixels, together with the Conversions API, which sends the same events from your server or store platform.

A catalog for ads is not the same as a shop on Facebook or Instagram. Shops have stricter commerce eligibility requirements: a Page that represents your store and domain, a supported country, an authentic established presence, no misleading pricing or availability, and refund and return policies that are clearly displayed. Meta has been cutting back in-app shopping: some Shops and checkout features are no longer supported, so check what is available in your country before building around them. For most stores, catalog ads that send people to the website are the main format.

TikTok: TikTok Shop or a catalog

TikTok gives a store two routes:

• Shopping ads for TikTok Shop. If you have TikTok Shop, you do not need a catalog or a pixel: the ad account is connected in Seller Center or gets access to the shop through Business Center. Geo-targeting is limited to the shop’s selling country.
• Catalog ads for your website. Without a shop, you upload a catalog and need at least 4 products that are in stock, approved and activated; a TikTok Shop is not required. TikTok’s shopping ads checklist asks web advertisers to send View Content, Add to Cart and Purchase events with the product content ID, so the pixel can match events to catalog items.

TikTok Shop works only in certain markets, and sellers sign up separately for each one. The current list is on the Seller Center sign-up page: it covers the US and several markets in Latin America, Southeast Asia and Europe, and in 2026 TikTok expanded Shop to more European countries. If your store is outside these markets, the catalog route is the one to look at.

Pinterest for visual products

Pinterest suits products people plan and save: furniture, home decor, jewelry, wedding and holiday gifts, fashion. Only product Pins created from a catalog can be promoted as shopping ads. To use catalogs, Pinterest requires:

• a business account with a claimed website and the Pinterest tag installed;
• a site that meets the merchant guidelines, including easy-to-find contact details, a shipping policy and a refund policy;
• a data source in TSV, CSV, XML or Google Sheets with id, title, description, link, image_link, price, availability and, for variants, item_group_id. If required fields are missing or malformed, the whole catalog fails ingestion.

Catalogs are not available in every country where Pinterest sells ads; the help page links to Pinterest’s current availability list, so check your market before planning the budget.

Amazon Ads if you sell on Amazon

Amazon Ads does not use a separate feed: Sponsored Products promote listings from your seller or vendor account. Amazon’s eligibility requirements for sellers are an active Professional seller account, the ability to ship to all addresses in the marketplace, new products in eligible categories and offers eligible for the featured offer (Buy Box). Adult, used, refurbished and closed-category products are not supported. If a product loses the featured offer or runs out of stock, its ad stops showing.

When an agency ad account makes sense

A store with one country and one card can start on its own accounts. An agency account is worth considering when:

• You scale across countries or stores. Separate accounts per market, brand or currency, each with its own budget and statement.
• You are an agency with several e-commerce clients. Each store keeps its own Merchant Center, catalog and pixel, and spend is billed per client instead of on one card.
• Card limits stop campaigns at peak season. With an agency account the agency settles with the platform, and you top up through AdsRiver by bank transfer or PayPal (prepayment, B2B contract, invoice).
• You want one contact for routine questions. A manager in Telegram helps read a disapproval notice, check the site against the policies above or prepare an appeal.

AdsRiver terms: minimum top-up from $200, service fee on request, account ready in 1–3 business days; the unspent account balance can be refunded or moved to another account (within 7 business days, to the original payment method). Which formats can run through an agency account depends on the platform, your country and category, so tell the manager these up front. Platform pages: Google Ads agency account, Facebook Ads agency account, TikTok Ads agency account, Pinterest ads account, Amazon Ads account.

Launch checklist for an online store

1. Fix the site first. Legal name, address, phone and email; return and refund page; shipping terms; working checkout over HTTPS; full price before payment.
2. Build one clean feed. Required attributes, real GTINs or MPNs, product photos without watermarks or promo text, prices and stock synced with the site.
3. Set up Merchant Center. Claim the website, add business details, shipping and returns, link Google Ads.
4. Install tracking. Google Ads conversions, Meta Pixel with Conversions API, TikTok Pixel and the Pinterest tag, all with product IDs that match the feed.
5. Create catalogs. Commerce Manager for Meta, a catalog or TikTok Shop for TikTok, a data source for Pinterest.
6. Start with a test budget. Two or three weeks per platform, then move money to what sells.
7. Watch Merchant Center and Commerce Manager weekly. Fix disapproved products before they pile up into an account-level issue.

FAQ

Will an agency account help if my Merchant Center was suspended?

No. A suspension is tied to your Merchant Center and your site, not to the ad account. Fix the issue named in the notice, request a review and, if asked, complete identity verification. A manager can help read the notice and check the site, but the review is done by Google.

Do I need TikTok Shop to advertise products on TikTok?

No. Catalog ads send people to your website and do not require a shop. TikTok Shop is an option only in the markets where it operates.

Can I use one feed for Google, Meta, TikTok and Pinterest?

Usually yes, with small adjustments: the core fields (id, title, description, link, image, price, availability) are the same. Each platform has its own optional fields and image rules, so check catalog diagnostics on each one after the upload.

Launching ads for an online store?

Message our Telegram bot with your store category, countries, platforms and monthly budget. The manager will tell you which formats can run through an agency account and reply with terms and the next step.