If your Google Merchant Center account is suspended for policy violations, check your email and review account notifications in Gmail, Google Ads, and Google Merchant Center.
Identify the specific policy, review the terms of service, and the exact policy violation called out.
Audit your account and look for security breaches, verification gaps, unpaid bills, invalid traffic, spam/misinformation, and a missing return and refund policy that may result in suspension. Make necessary corrections, be thorough, and act quickly. Do not appeal before fixing the violations.
When appealing the decision, provide sufficient evidence, such as screenshots, URLs, and changelogs. After submitting an appeal, follow up and monitor for updates. Contact the Google support team for further assistance.
This guide provides an in-depth look at common Google Merchant Center account suspension reasons, how to fix them, and tips to maintain long-term compliance.
Let’s get started!
Table of Contents
Understanding Google Merchant Center Policies
Google Merchant Center policies are guidelines that every merchant must follow to advertise products on Google. These rules ensure user safety, trust, and clarity across the Google Shopping ecosystem.
Overview of Common Policies
Common Google Merchant Center policies include:
- Accurate product feed on Google Merchant Center, such as correct pricing, availability, and descriptions matching your website.
- Clear return and refund policies on the website and Google Merchant Center.
- Sufficient contact information on your website, and
- Adherence to editorial and professional standards for ads and product listings.
- Prohibited content like dangerous products, counterfeit goods, or inappropriate content is strictly forbidden.
| It is important to note that you might encounter a particular error as an issue or warning in your account, and for other advertisers, it might result in an error. Whether you get it as an error or a warning, it is essential to resolve it promptly to avoid disapprovals or account suspensions in the future. Google shows a particular error as an issue, error, or warning based on your account history, violations, etc. These issues are indicated with different colors: Red – for serious violations or account suspension. Yellow – indicates warnings. Blue – indicates informational content. |
Reasons & Fixes for Account Suspension
In this section, we will get into the reasons that cause account suspension and how to resolve them.
Misrepresentation
You will see a GMC misrepresentation error if:
- The website or Google Merchant Center account does not have clear shipping and return policies.
- Pricing does not match from your product feed to the Google Merchant Center account.
- You have not added information on your website about accepted payment methods or the full price a customer must pay before and after purchasing the product.
- You did not mention contact details such as phone number, email address, or physical address.
- Missing key information when promoting content in the name of charitable and political donations. Example: You must provide a charity or tax exemption number when making charitable or political donations.
- Google finds unsupported claims or promotions about products. This includes promoting a deal that is no longer active, promoting out-of-stock products, or if the promotion is not accessible on a landing page that displays a call to action.
When does Google suspend your account for Misrepresentation?
Google may take serious action, such as suspending your Merchant Center account without prior warning, if it finds any of the following:
- Unacceptable business practices
- Misleading or unrealistic offers
- Omission of relevant information
- Unavailable offers
Important: A serious policy violation is clearly against the rules, unlawful, or puts users at serious risk. For more information on Google Merchant Center Misrepresentation error, read the following article from Google.
How to resolve the Misrepresentation error?
- Display your shipping, return, and refund policies on your website. Make sure they are easily accessible from every page.
- Audit your product feed against your website to ensure prices, availability, product descriptions, and other attributes are identical.
- Include your business phone number, email address, and physical address prominently on your website.
- Mention all costs, including taxes and shipping, before a customer completes a purchase.
- Ensure all promotions, deals, product claims, and attributes are current, accurate, and fully accessible on the relevant landing pages.
| Further reading: GMC return policy requirements Mismatched product availability error Mismatched price error |
Tax and Shipping Errors
The Tax and Shipping error occurs when you have configured different values for tax and shipping on your website, product feed and in Google Merchant Center.
How to Resolve?
You must enter the correct values in Google Merchant Center and ensure you update them on your website when you do so.
Restricted Businesses
Google imposes restrictions on certain businesses that include:
- Gambling and games
- Alcohol
- Healthcare and medicines
- Political content
- Financial products
- Firearms
- Adult products
How to Resolve?
If you’re in a similar business where Google has restrictions, for example, adult products or alcohol, ensure you go through and adhere to Google’s policies to avoid account suspensions.
Suspicious Payment Activity
Google suspends accounts if it detects any fraudulent activity associated with your account.
These include:
- If Google finds a mismatch in billing information in your Google Ads account and payment method.
- Using a card linked with a suspicious Google Ads account or one that doesn’t belong to you might trigger suspension.
- Providing incorrect or outdated billing information can also lead to a suspension.
How to Resolve?
- To resolve suspicious payment activity issues, ensure your billing information in Google Ads is accurate and matches your payment method exactly.
- If you’ve recently changed payment details, double-check that they are updated across all Google accounts.
- Only use payment methods you are authorized to use.
- If you suspect unauthorized activity, contact Google support immediately.
Circumventing Systems
Source – Megadigital
Circumventing system policy violations occurs when advertisers actively try to deceive or manipulate the system to show ads that wouldn’t otherwise be approved. This includes cloaking, using hidden redirects, or attempting to game Google’s ad approval process.
Note: The “Circumventing Systems” violation is a Google Ads policy, not enforced directly by Google Merchant Center. If Google suspends your Google Ads account for this issue, such as for cloaking or account misuse, GMC may block your account under “Linked account suspension.” In this case, you must resolve the issue in Google Ads first. Once the Google Ads account is reinstated, GMC can then grant account access or product approvals.
How to Resolve?
- To resolve a circumventing system violation, any practices that attempt to trick Google’s systems must immediately cease.
- This is a severe violation and requires a thorough review of your website’s code and server logs to identify any hidden redirects or deceptive practices.
- Work with a developer to ensure your site is completely transparent and compliant with all Google policies.
Incomplete Contact Information
Insufficient contact information is one of the common reasons for Google Merchant suspension.
You must have any one of the details on your website to enable customers to contact you:
- Email address
- Phone number
- Contact Us form
- Social media links
How to Resolve?
- To avoid issues, ensure you add the complete contact details on your website. If you’re a Shopify merchant, you can add them in your Shopify admin.
- Ensure that the information is accessible, preferably in the header/footer or on a dedicated “Contact Us” page.
- If your website is hosted on Shopify, you can use built-in contact page templates for quick setup.
Missing Terms and Conditions
Google requires merchants to have clear and easily accessible Terms and Conditions (or Terms of Service) on their website. These documents should contain the rules and agreements between your business and your customers regarding product usage, website use, and general business practices. If you do not have terms and conditions on your website, it might lead to account suspension.
How to Resolve?
- Create a comprehensive “Terms and Conditions” page on your website.
- This page should include the site’s usage policies, intellectual property rights, disclaimers, and any other legal agreements relevant to your business.
- Ensure it is clearly linked from your website’s footer and is easily navigable.
Incomplete Policy Pages
Beyond just Terms and Conditions, Google also requires other policy pages to be displayed. This includes Privacy Policy, Return and Refund Policy, and Shipping Policy. Incomplete or vague information on these pages can trigger a suspension.
How to Resolve?
- Thoroughly review and complete all essential policy pages on your website.
- Explain how you collect, use, and protect customer data, especially concerning personal information.
- Clearly state your policy on returns, refunds, exchanges, and cancellations, including timeframes and conditions.
- Detail your shipping methods, costs, delivery times, and any restrictions.
- Ensure these policies are easy to find and linked from your website’s footer.
Technical Violations
Technical violations refer to issues with your website or product data feed that prevent Google from properly crawling, understanding, or displaying your product information. This can include broken links, invalid URLs, incorrect formatting, or issues with your website’s responsiveness.
How to Resolve?
- Check for broken links on your website and in your product feed and correct any issues using Google Search Console.
- Verify that your product data feed adheres to Google’s product data specification, including correct attribute formatting, image URLs, and product identifiers.
- Ensure your website loads quickly and is mobile-friendly. Slow loading times or a poor mobile experience can lead to disapproval.
- Implement structured data (schema markup) on your product pages to help Google understand your product information more effectively.
Identifying the Cause of Suspension
You can identify the suspension type or reason by visiting your Google Merchant Center account or checking your email.
Here’s how to identify the cause of suspension in your Google Merchant Center account:
Option 1: Products section
In your Google Merchant Center account >> go to Products >> click Needs Attention.
Look for any specific warnings or suspension messages. By doing so, you can identify the reason for your suspension.
Option 2: Overview page
To access the Overview page in Google Merchant Center, navigate to the left-hand side navigation menu and click “Overview.” In this page, you will find a summary of your account’s performance and status, including product issues and suggestions
Source – Google
You can also check via email:
Google usually sends emails to the registered email address associated with your Google Merchant Center account. You will find the reason for suspension in the email, with all the relevant details pointing to the policy. Remember to check your spam folder as well.
The best way to check for account suspension is through your email and GMC account by going to products or overview section.
Common Causes for Suspensions
| Category | Issue | How to Confirm |
| Misrepresentation | Inconsistent or misleading information | Compare pricing, availability, returns, contact details, etc., on the website vs. in the Google Merchant Center feed. |
| Editorial/Technical Violations | Broken links, invalid URLs, promotional gimmicks | Check page errors and URL mismatches between the product feed and your website. You can do in your Google Search Console. |
| Prohibited/Restricted Content | Counterfeit items, dangerous goods, restricted categories | Review your products for restricted content like trademark violations, adult, healthcare, alcohol, etc. |
| Shipping/Tax Discrepancies | Incorrect tax or shipping details in feed vs. website | Match your Merchant Center shipping & tax settings with website content. |
| Linked Google Ads Suspension | Suspension on the related Ads account | Check whether your Ads account is suspended. If yes, you must resolve this first. |
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Steps to Identify Issues
Google allows you to request a review when your account is suspended. But before you decide to send your account for a review, ensure you audit your account and website thoroughly to identify issues at a deeper level.
Here’s everything you can do before requesting a rereview:
Review all Google policies: After identifying the type of issue, confirm if you comply with Google’s guidelines. To do that, carefully read Google’s Shopping ads policies and product data feed specifications.
Review your website
Check for the following information on your website:
- Contact information: Is the contact information easy to find? Is it accurate and complete? Does it include a phone, email, address, or contact form?
- Policies: Check if your website’s return/refund policy, shipping policy, privacy policy, and terms of service are visible, comprehensive, and accurate.
- Checkout process: During the checkout process, ensure that all costs are displayed before the user performs a purchase.
- Product pages: Confirm if the product descriptions, images, and prices accurately reflect the product. Check for misleading claims or out-of-stock items.
Product Data Feed Review
Here’s how to approach the product data feed audit:
- Accuracy and consistency: The product information in your product feed must match your website’s landing pages. If not, correct it.
- Required attributes: Ensure your product feed has mandatory attributes and is correctly formatted.
- GTIN/MPN: Unique identifiers must be accurate for your products.
- Image quality: Analyze if the images are clear, free of watermarks or promotional text, and accurately represent the product.
These steps help you gain insights into the issue causing the Google Merchant Center account suspension. Once you have identified all the issues concerning suspension or disapproval, start resolving them.
Tip: Go through policies thoroughly, ensure compliance, and start making notes of all corrections in a notepad. In the next section, we will look at how to make changes in your Google Merchant Center account.
| Read also: How to fix GTIN errors |
How Does Google Identify Policy Violations?
To determine whether your Merchant Center account violates the policy, Google reviews:
- Your product listings
- Your website
- Your Google accounts
- Information from third-party sources (like regulators, watchdogs, reviews)
If Google finds a policy violation:
- Your account may be suspended immediately without any warning.
- Google might permanently ban you from Shopping ads and free listings.
- Your product limit in Google Merchant Center might be restricted, even if you’re not fully suspended. For example, you might be allowed to promote 20 products if you have 30 or 40.
What should you do if you think Google made a mistake?
If you believe Google made an error:
- You can appeal the decision.
- Explain why you think the action was wrong.
- Be honest, thorough, and precise in your appeal.
Note: Google reinstates accounts for only exceptional cases; therefore, ensure you provide proof supporting your statements.
Requesting a Review After Account Suspension
You can request a review once you have corrected the issue and fixed your website and product feed. Here’s how to fix an issue:
In your Google Merchant Center account, navigate to “Products” > and click the “Needs attention” tab.
Under the ‘Needs attention’ tab, you can perform either of the following actions:
- Click on ‘Review and fix’ on the Home page
- Click on ‘Fix’ on the banner at the top of your account, or
- Click on ‘Fix’ on a card on the “Needs attention tab.
These options enable you to fix issues such as mismatched domains or unsupported image type, etc. You can request a review when you have fixed the problems or if you believe the account was suspended without a valid reason. Yes, there might be a rare case when Google may suspend your account even when you have not violated a policy. In instances like these, you can disagree with the issue and request a review.
If the review option is available, it will show on the product detail page or within the list of account issues.
Important: Your ads will not be displayed when your products or account is under review.
If you’ve resolved the issue, select ‘I fixed the issue and Request review.’
- Google advises you to review the Shopping ad policies to understand the issue better and correct it. You can also contact Google support if you are unable to resolve it.
Tip: When submitting a review, you might be asked to briefly explain the changes you’ve made to correct the issue. Be concise and to the point, highlighting the key fixes.
If you believe Google made an error, select ‘I disagree with the issue and Request review.’
When you select this option, Google asks you to provide additional information about your product or website. You can also explain why you feel you have not violated the policy.
Remember, you only have one chance to disagree with the decision and appeal to Google. Once you have requested a review and appealed, you must fix the issues based on Google policies and requirements.
If the review is successful, the issue disappears from your Google Merchant Center, and ads will start showing within 24 hours.
Note: If you can’t request a review, it could be a problem with your Google Ads account. You might have to link Google Ads or verify your identity.
Important: Google will review your account, which can take up to 7 business days and you will receive an email when the review process is completed. Do not submit multiple review requests, as this can delay the process.
| Important: Do not request a review before identifying the root causes of issues and solving them. Otherwise, Google imposes a cooldown period after several unsuccessful attempts to get your account reviewed. You will be in a cooldown period when “disagree with the decision” option is exhausted and an attempt to fix the issue has been made (if still unresolved). During the cooldown period, your account remains suspended or in a preemptive item disapproval (PID) state. This means you cannot request another review. Please note that unsuccessful reviews after this may lead to increased cool-down periods. No action can be taken on your account until the cool-down period ends. During the cooldown period, the ‘request a review’ option is disabled, allowing you to thoroughly assess your website and product feed and correct them. The option is enabled after the cooldown period ends. To learn the end date of the cooldown period, you can go to your Google Merchant Center account >> Products >> Needs Attention tab >> View setup and Policy issues. |
How to check the review status?
You can track the request status in your Google Merchant Center itself. The status is as follows:
- Review requested
- Under review
- Review not approved
Review request details, and the completion status will appear in the Merchant Center. You will receive email notifications for account-level policy issues when a review is requested and completed.
Tip: A few Google Ads experts recommend you to request for review by visiting the following page, instead of requesting for a review in your GMC account as the link in GMC doesn’t allow you to provide explanation or attach documents.
| Note: If Google issues a warning before suspension, you get one courtesy review during that warning period. If you correct all issues within the timeframe, the warning will lift automatically. You don’t have to go for “requesting a review.” |
Impact of Account Suspension on Business Operations
Sales and Marketing Disruption
If your Google Merchant Center account is suspended, it means your ads will no longer serve on Google Shopping or free product listings. This can lead to a substantial drop in sales, wasted ad spend, and forcing you to reallocate resources to less impactful channels.
Strategies to Mitigate Impact
- Diversify sales channels: Along with Google Shopping, consider other channels suitable for your business including your website and sales channels such as Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and more.
- Proactive compliance: Review and update product data and website to ensure compliance with Google’s policies. This includes accurate pricing, availability, clear return policies, and complete contact information.
- Address issues promptly: Identify issues and resolve any warnings from Google.
- Automation Tools: Use automated tools such as AdNabu for maintaining compliance with Google Merchant Center rules and reducing the risk of account suspension.
| Tip: Automation tools play a critical role in ensuring Google Merchant Center policy compliance. These tools monitor product feed attributes, formatting errors, and disallowed content, thus minimizing errors. Tools like AdNabu, DataFeedWatch, etc, offer AI-feed optimization, product disapproval alerts, and rule-based attribute mapping to ensure compliance. |
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Legal Considerations and Rights
Merchants affected by Google Merchant Center suspensions have legal and procedural rights under both Google’s policies and consumer protection laws. Understanding these rights is crucial to challenging unfair account suspensions.
According to Google’s Merchant Center guidelines, merchants can appeal suspensions, submit feed corrections, and request reviews. However, in cases where appeals are unjustly rejected, merchants may escalate through legal frameworks such as the Digital Services Act (EU) or U.S. FTC rules on fair platform conduct.
Challenging Unfair Suspensions
Challenging an unfair suspension involves:
Thorough investigation: Reviewing the Google Merchant Center account suspension notification to understand the specific policy violation cited.
Audit website and product feed: Conduct a comprehensive audit of the website and product data feed to identify and correct all non-compliant elements, even those not mentioned in the suspension notice.
- This includes ensuring all policies, such as return, refund, and shipping, are clear and accessible, contact information is readily available, and product data matches the website.
Documentation: Gather evidence of compliance, such as screenshots of updated website policies, revised product feeds, and any communication with Google support.
Appeal: Submit an appeal through the Google Merchant Center, clearly explaining the corrections made to your account, website, and why the account should be reinstated. It’s crucial to be thorough and address all issues.
- For EU merchants, there may be additional redress options under the Digital Services Act.
Conclusion
Google Merchant Center account suspension is serious issue that can have a huge impact on your business. The good news is that most of the policy violations are easy to resolve—if you know where to look and take prompt action.
Key Takeaways:
- Use the “Needs Attention” section in Google Merchant Center and your emails to find out why your account was suspended.
- Audit your website, product feed, and policies for Google Merchant Center errors and inconsistencies.
- Request for a review with a thorough explanation of fixes and supporting evidence if you disagree with the issue.
- Review your website, update product feeds, and adhere to Google’s evolving policies.
- Leverage tools like AdNabu to monitor, fix, and prevent future policy violations.
- If you’re in the EU or the US, understand the legal recourse available if your appeals are unfairly rejected.
FAQs
What if my situation is different from the examples?
If you’re unable to resolve the issue, you can contact Google support team for personalized advice. You can contact them via your Google Merchant Center account under Needs attention tab.
How do I fix a Google policy violation?
To fix a Google Merchant Center policy violation, check the email and notifications in your Google Merchant Center account. Understand the specific policy you’re violating, correct the issue by making changes to your website, product feed, and removing products that are not compliant with Google policies. Finally, request a review of your products or appeal the decision if you’ve fixed the issues.
Can Google suspend your account for policy violation?
Yes, Google suspends your account if you violate its policies. In some cases, depending on the type of issue, it suspends your account without any prior warning. Policy violations can be related to advertising, prohibited content, products, or business type.
How long does it take for Google to review my account after I submit a request?
Google might take up to 7 business days to review your account. Post review, your ads will show up in Google within 24 hours.
Will I be permanently banned after one violation?
No, you will not be permanently banned after one violation in Google Merchant Center. Google provides warnings for policy violations and gives you enough time to correct issues before suspending or banning accounts. However, egregious violations may lead to immediate suspension without a warning.
Can I appeal if my account remains suspended after review?
Yes, you can appeal if your account remains suspended even after a review. However, ensure you check for non-compliance with Google policies, audit your website and account, and correct any issues.
What steps can I take to avoid future suspensions?
To avoid future suspensions, ensure you stay compliant with Shopping ad policies, update changes to your product feed and website, and address any policy violations quickly.
Can I prevent future suspensions using automation tools?
Yes. Automation tools such AdNabu, DataFeedWatch, and Feedonomics help you detect policy violations and disapprovals and optimize titles, descriptions to comply with Google’s editorial standards.
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