Destination not crawlable

Destination not crawlable is a Google Ads destination check. The ad URL has to be crawlable by AdsBot. Google’s policy page is Destination not crawlable. The same robots.txt failure shows up in Merchant Center as an inability to check the landing page: How to fix: Unable to check product pages.

Shopify writes `robots.txt` from Online Store preferences plus the `robots.txt.liquid` template. An app or a theme edit can Disallow `/products`, `/collections`, or the whole site.

Shopify causes

robots.txt.liquid disallows product URLs. A copied template that disallows `/` or `/products` blocks Googlebot and AdsBot-Google. Google’s Ads policy calls out a robots.txt that restricts most or all of the site.

The file is unreachable. A storefront outage, a password page, or a bot wall can stop Google from reading `https://your-store.com/robots.txt`. The Ads policy lists an unreachable robots.txt separately from a Disallow rule.

A password page is on. A Shopify storefront password returns a login wall instead of the product. Crawlers that cannot see the product cannot verify the destination.

Crawl rate is too low for the number of URLs. The Ads policy also covers sites that allow less crawling than the ads need. That is a Search Console crawl-stats question. This app does not measure crawl rate.

What to change

1. Open `https://your-store.com/robots.txt` and read the rules for Googlebot and AdsBot-Google.
2. Remove Disallow rules that cover `/products` or the whole site. Google’s product-page guide asks you to allow Googlebot and Googlebot-image.
3. In Shopify admin, check Online Store preferences and any app that edits robots.txt.liquid.
4. Turn off the storefront password before you expect crawlers to see product pages.
5. Fetch one product URL with a Googlebot user agent after the file is public. A 200 on the product is the result you want.

How PageCop detects it

Before it fetches a product, the app reads robots.txt and applies Googlebot’s rules to that path. A disallow is filed as Destination not working, with evidence that robots.txt blocks the URL. The app does not use a separate “Destination not crawlable” code. If Google Ads shows Destination not crawlable, start with that issue and with the robots.txt file. A timeout or a 5xx is Product page unavailable, not a robots rule.

The app does not submit ads and does not read Google Ads policy decisions.

FAQ

Does allowing Googlebot in robots.txt fix an Ads disapproval by itself?

It removes one cause Google documents: the crawler was refused or the file could not be read. Google still has to recrawl. Other destination checks, including a 404, are Destination not working.

Should I disallow checkout?

Checkout and cart paths are not the product landing page. Keep the product URL allowed. Do not disallow `/` to hide the cart.