Google Merchant center Suspended? Here’s why & How to Fix It

It’s another day for your eCommerce venture; you are all set to begin your day with a hot cup of coffee and your emails. However, there’s one specific email that has you triggered. Sent by Google, this email informs you that your Merchant Center account is currently under suspension. Just like that? Without any prior warning? Where did I go wrong?

Yes, we understand the tons of questions that might have been in your head by now. Unfortunately, Google Merchant Center doesn’t provide vendors with warnings of any form. Moreover, there’s barely any in-depth explanation of how or what went wrong. Relax; we have a solution as well! 

You can easily have a look into the different aspects of suspension and, more importantly, fix them without much hindrance. This Google merchant center Suspended guide walks you through the reasons why your account might have been suspended and suggests the steps to correct the same. Continue reading to know more. 

What is Google merchant center Suspension? 

Google’s search engine and its partnering websites aim to provide a secure and safe shopping experience to visitors. To ensure that their aim aligns with their services, the search engine has a well-defined set of rules, policies, and regulations. If any merchant account seems to violate these rules more often, chances are that their accounts might get google merchant center suspended from Google Merchant Account.

Common reasons for Google merchant center Suspension

While there might be numerous reasons for your account’s suspension, we have tried to create a list of the most common mistakes behind the Google Merchant Center Suspension. Let’s have a look. 

1. Copyrighted Trademarks or Content

One of the first common reasons could be the sale of content that is under copyright. In a situation where you are not authorized to sell a product as a vendor of another company, or a 3rd-party retailer, your account might face suspension. 

Therefore, it is always a smart move to complete the attached form for each and every product that is certified (if any). This is one of the primary areas to notice while working on your Merchant Center account.  

2. Misrepresentation of Product or Self

When it comes to individual sellers, they don’t always offer similar solutions and repeatedly offer similar products. Misrepresentation of self or product can count for a severe issue that can face multiple flagging. 

When you repeat a product, the crawlers are unable to understand the difference between the updates of the product and mark your store as inappropriate; this way, the search engine can suspend your account. 

3. Index Coverage Issue

If you have recently indexed your website with a new page and the page turns up with a ‘404/500 error’, the search engine console is triggered by the new index coverage over your website. Once the search engine identifies negative remarks, it can have a negative impact on the search results. 

4. Missing the page on refund policy

All smart email services should be having clear laid-out instructions on returns and shipping. In a situation where you fail to outline the refund policies precisely, and the crawlers cannot outline them (heads up these crawlers don’t put much effort into searching), Google Merchant Center will consider suspending the account send a mail. 

5. Checkout that’s not secure

This might be another reason why your store is suspended. All smart e-vendors should provide their buyers with a secure means of checkout (have ‘HTTPS protection on their websites). Once Google finds up about the security issues over any website, it sends away an email around the guidelines that your shop is not aligning with. 

Under such a situation, it is always a smart move to fill out a form available over the Google Merchant Feed and mention that you offer secured checkout with an ‘https’ website.

How to recover Google merchant center after its suspension?

1. Fix data feed errors

The first step that we think you should take is to fix your data feed’s errors. The steps to correction are simple; you need to check all the possible list of critical errors which you might have made while creating the feed. 

Or, you could also get started by resolving the list of recommended issues. There can be issues related to your title, image text, or keywords used in the feed. Start with the basics and try correcting your feed in every manner possible. 

2. Re-upload your updated feed and submit a re-evaluation request

The next step in the process requires you re-upload your corrected feed via the Google Merchant Center account. While re-uploading your whole data feed might be the last option in place, you should understand that this situation only comes after you’ve received an email from Google. 

That email reads, “Suspension warning of your Google Merchant Center account due to data quality.” Once you receive such an email in your Google Merchant center, it means a complete rejection of the entire feed by Google. Once you have created your data feeds by following all the possible creation policies laid out by Google, you should submit the feed for a re-evaluation. 

3. Call the help number in your Google Ads account.

Considering the fact that Google Merchant Center has no helpline number, this step is the simplest of them all. If you have an idea of the feed errors and have corrected them, you can directly call up the Google helpline number and get help from them in getting your account reinstated quickly. 

On the other hand, if you aren’t sure about the reason behind your account’s suspension and there are no such errors within your Merchant Center, call them and ask for a reason. This way, you might also get a personal representative from Google to help you through the matter. 

4. Be patient 

Well, this might not be a solution exactly, but it is the hardest step to consider! Be patient for once you have tried every possibility of fixing the errors in your feed. There might be chances of your account coming back online within a day or two; similarly, some accounts take more than a week or longer to come back online. Remember, everything is at Google’s discretion, and the time took in the process refers to the case. 

You can remove suspension with the help of App for Google shopping by AdNabu

1. Step 1: Examine your website to see if it complies with all the required policies that the Google Merchant Center sets up.
2. Step 2: Run a scan through your data feed to see whether your feed aligns with all the center’s laid policies. 
3. Step 3: Analyse your Google Merchant Center to see if it complies with all the required settings. 
4. Step 4: Allow the AdNabu application to apply all the possible changes across multiple feeds and account setup. 
5. Step 5: Have an overview of all the suggested changes and save them. 

Frequently Asked Questions about google merchant center suspension 

What is Google Merchant Center?

Google Merchant Center is the main portal that allows you to manage your eCommerce store’s multiple aspects and its inventory. It is also responsible for the appeal and looks of your store on Google. Your Google Merchant Center is responsible for providing a unique appeal to your store. 

How do I use Google Merchant Center?

Listed below are all the necessary steps that will allow you to have a walkthrough of the Google Merchant Center app: 

Step 1: Configure the necessary accounts

Remember, your product information is a part of the Merchant Center. You need to follow the suggested steps to create an account:

• Create a Merchant Center account to house the products in your feed.
• Add all the relevant business details to set up the information around your business.
• To ensure that your website matches the requirements, claim and verify the URL.

Step 2: Use the promotion builder to create a promotional feed.

Step 3: Select all the products that you would like to promote.

Step 4: Register your feed and get it uploaded.

• Sign to the suggested Merchant Center account.
• Select the Marketing option present under the navigation menu.
• Select Promotions.
• Click the promotion feeds over the right corner. 
• Add country of sale, mode, content language, and name of the feed. 
• Save your settings to start using your Google Merchant Center account. 

How do I contact Google Merchant Center?

You can visit Google’s Merchant Center helpline via their website support at support.google.com/merchants or reach them out at 1-866-2-Google (1-866-246-6453). The time for the calls is between 6:00 am 5:00 pm PST, Monday -Friday. 

What are the common reasons for Google Merchant Center suspension?

There can be multiple scenarios for Google merchant center suspension; listed below are a few of them:

1. Copyrighted Trademarks or Content.
2. Misrepresentation of Product or Self.
3. Irrelevant or insufficient information on ‘Contact Us page.
4. Not a very clearly designed website.
5. An unsafe website with unsecured checkouts.
6. Disabled back button in your online store.
7. Your store is password protected.
8. You have disabled selected countries or their IP addresses. 

Remember, Google is never very clear about why your Merchant Center account is suspended; whatever the case be, make sure you reach out to Google’s helpline to recover Google merchant center Suspension and know more about the issue.  

How do I link my Google Merchant Center to Google ads?

Here are the steps to help you link your Google Merchant Center to Google ads; let’s have a look: 

Step 1: From the Merchant Center account, reach out for the tools icon and select the option that reads Linked accounts under the settings section.

Step 2: Click on the Google Ads option.

Step 3: Under the option that says Other Google Ads accounts, click on the linking option and enter the customer ID of your Google Ads account that you would like to link. 

Step 4: The final step requires you to initiate the link request.

Conclusion

Now that you understand the tricks to tackle suspension, it is important that you understand that multiple vendors face unique problems. Solutions are not always the same for different vendors, so we hope that this guide helps you address your problems more effectively. 

Remember, the best way to prevent a problem is to avoid it from happening in the first place! Ensure that you make your feed in a proper manner, all the best.