Hello, I have now requested two reviews of my website for Google’s misrepresentation issue suspension. I admit the first review I did too hastily, and didn’t learn everything I needed to know, didn’t change anything on my website, so obviously I failed that one.
The next time, I have tried everything I can think of to avoid being ‘misleading’ in any way. Here’s a rundown of that I’ve changed:
Added an about page
Added extra information to my contact page, including purchasing a subscription for a business phone number that customers can call
made sure the same phone number, email address and residential address is listed in my terms of service, privacy policy, and in GMC business info settings
added extra info to my shipping and returns policy, giving customers clear guidance on what is and isn’t available for refunds and how to contact me to initiate a return
Ensured there is no placeholder text on the site
Made sure there are no added fees in checkout, and any postage cost to the customer is explicitly states and ties in with information in my GMC account
Optimised my site’s SEO to the best of my ability
Checked that all links on my site work
Made it clear and easy for customers to opt out of data sharing
Explicitly stated processing times for my items in the product description and shipping information
The site is https://primroselaneuk.com/ I would be very grateful for any other guidance or advice on how to fix this issue. I think I only have one review left.
The only other thing I can think that it would be is that I didn’t leave a few days after making these changes for Google to recrawl the site, so maybe they have not been able to fully check the site as it is now, I’m not sure if that makes a difference?
I’m just starting out with this, trying to move away from Etsy and start a business that is independent, and I honestly feel very overwhelmed with all of this!
Hey @primroselaneuk don’t feel overwhelmed — honestly you’ve done a really thorough job here and the store looks lovely. Maisie’s story on the About page is genuine and warm, the products are beautiful, and everything from the contact details to the policies is clearly laid out.
I had a proper look through the whole site and here’s my honest take on what might still be catching Google’s eye:
The biggest thing I’d flag is that you only have 2 products live right now. Google’s misrepresentation review looks at the overall impression a store gives, and a very sparse catalog can sometimes trigger concerns about whether the store is fully operational. If you have more products ready, getting them listed before your next review would genuinely help.
Your refund policy is clear and honest, but the “no returns on personalised items” rule is something Google can flag if it’s not prominently visible before checkout. It’s worth making sure customers can see this early in the buying journey, not just in the footer policy page.
Your address is listed as 13 Nursery Lane, Dover, CT16 3HD in the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, and the contact page says you’re located in Kent, England — those are consistent which is good. Just double check that the exact same address format appears in your GMC business settings too, right down to the postcode.
On your recrawl question — yes it absolutely matters. Wait at least 3 to 5 days after any changes before submitting the review so Google’s crawler picks up the current version of your site.
And before you use that final review, please reach out to the Google Merchant Center support team directly first. Explain the changes you’ve made, ask them to clarify exactly what triggered the misrepresentation flag, and get their guidance before submitting. It’s worth that conversation rather than risking the last review blind.
Hey @primroselaneuk To fix the Google Merchant Center “misrepresentation” issue, your store needs to clearly look like a real and trustworthy business in a consistent way.
Make sure your business name, phone number, email, and address are exactly the same everywhere on your website (homepage, footer, contact page, policies) and in your GMC settings. Even small mismatches can cause issues.
Your homepage should clearly explain who you are, what you sell, and include basic trust information like shipping, returns, and contact details. It should not just be product listings — Google wants to immediately understand your business.
All policies (shipping, returns, refund, privacy) should be clear, complete, and consistent with each other and your GMC information.
It also helps to remove any vague or placeholder content and make your store feel more real with proper product descriptions, real images, and a strong About page.
Adding trust signals like social media accounts, customer reviews, and a real brand story improves credibility further.
After making these changes, wait a few days so Google can re-crawl and re-evaluate your site before submitting another review.
Thank you for your feedback I really appreciate it.
I will continue building my product catalogue, and building up my social media profiles. Maybe I will even wait until I’ve had some orders and received reviews before requesting any further review.
I’ve made sure to add (in bold) to the individual product pages that no refunds will be accepted on the made to order items unless the item is damaged / faulty, so hopefully this is clear enough to customers. I also added my full address into the contact page which will hopefully help.
Lots of AI replies here… And only 1 click prior to when I clicked on the link?
In any case, here is my feedback.
In your footer, you should add your business address, name, hours, phone number, and email address. I understand you have it on your contact page, however you should have it on your footer as well.
Personalised products only, are not allowed. You can have personalisation, but it needs to be optional, not mandatory. And the reason is that Google requires products to be stocked, and a personalised product is not in stock, considering you make it after you create the product.
You also need to share if the item is in or out of stock.
Of course you may have more issues, so make sure to check the below details:
Newer stores seem to get flagged like this pretty often even after the obvious policy and contact issues are fixed.
Very small catalogs, limited customer activity, little social proof, or highly customized products can make the store look less established to automated reviews, even when the business itself is legitimate.
You’ve already addressed many of the major trust elements, so giving Google time to fully recrawl the updated site may help more than continuing to change things every day.
So if I make every product to order, I can’t use GMC? Sorry if I’m misunderstanding, but it’s not possible for me to keep stock of any product because each item can only be made once the customer chooses their variants / personalised text etc.
You’ve already addressed many of the usual issues, so you’re on the right path. One of the common reasons that can trigger a GMC misrepresentation flag is if you use a residential address publicly and can’t establish clear shape of your business. Having your business name appear throughout the footer/policy/contact information can help in this consistency.
Also check availability of the products, prices consistency and that all the products have clear images and realistic delivery times. Also make sure the domain email is the same as the store domain.
Yes, waiting a few days before submitting another appeal is always recommended, since that allows Google to properly recrawl the updated site.
checked your store from a non-logged-in perspective and the visible policy pages, contact details, and about page all look in order which is unusual for a misrepresentation flag.
when the obvious trust signals are clean and the suspension stays, the issue is almost always in one of these three places that don’t show up in a surface audit:
feed-vs-page price drift. shopify markets, currency converters, or discount apps can show googlebot one price and a customer another. open 3-5 random products in incognito from a UK IP (matching your declared market) and compare to the price in your XML feed.
structured data drift. theme updates sometimes emit Product schema with availability or price values that don’t match the visible price. paste a product URL into google’s rich results test and check what schema is being read.
domain or account history. if there’s been any prior account associated with the same domain or business name (even a personal merchant account from a previous attempt), the new account inherits the trust score. this rarely surfaces in support replies.
if all three are clean and the suspension still doesn’t lift, the next step is usually a written escalation through the policy contact form rather than another review request from the diagnostics tab.