Google Ads account suspension "may be beyond fix"

Shopify Discussion
1

Hello All,

A month ago I activated my google ads account and linked my Shopify store to it.

A couple of days later I received an email from Google saying that my whole account has been suspended.

Since then I reviewed their terms and conditions again and made all the other changes that I thought were needed and submitted a review.

After a month I finally received a reply from google support only to say that the account is still in violation and may be beyond fix.

Note: The reviews on my website are taken from my Esty store: https://www.etsy.com/shop/AlphaGlow

(which I explained an provided proof in my review application)

This is the website in question: https://www.alphaglow.net

Landing page: https://www.alphaglow.net/collections/all-products

Here are my questions:

  1. Can someone spot anything that might be against Google terms ?

  2. Do you think that the issue is more related to the type of product that I am selling ? (which are genuine, made by myself and ship directly from my business)

  3. I cant understand why they would say “and may be beyond fix”. Does this mean that I am already being punished for not complying with all their terms or that the issue is something that can not be rectified like the type of product that I am selling.

I would really appreciate someone who would take the time to give me a reply. Thanks so much :slightly_smiling_face:

Regards, David

Here is the email that I received from them:

Thank you for your patience while we reviewed your account.

Query: Google Ads Account: 4937618628 suspended.

Investigation: We have reviewed the Google Ads Account: 4937618628 and it is suspended because the Merchant Center account: 113548835 linked to the account continues to be in violation of our policy.

Google Shopping requires that merchants provide transparency into the product that’s being promoted. It has come to our attention that your Google Merchant Center account doesn’t comply with our Program Policies. We have therefore disabled your Google Merchant Center account. Please visit: http://www.google.com/support/merchants/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=188484 for more information about our policies.

As outlined in our Terms of Service available at http://www.google.com/support/merchants/bin/answer.py?answer=160173&hl=en, Google reserves the right to terminate any user’s participation at any time.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause, but unfortunately we will not be able to reinstate this account and the current status of the products and the account may be beyond fix. Google’s primary objective is to provide safe, relevant experiences for our users. The decision to suspend your account was made after careful review of your account and the low quality landing page experiences promoted through your website. We won’t be able to provide you with any further details regarding the suspension of the account.

Thank you for your time and Regards,

David

2

So many users, not just on Shopify, are having similar issues with their Merchant Accounts and Adwords Accounts being suspended.

I created a new Shopify Store two weeks ago, setup Google Adwords display and search that were running fine. I then added the Google Shopping Channel to Shopify, created a Merchant Account and another Adwords Account for the Shopping Ads. I read through all of Googles Policies submitted the product feed for approval and then all products were disapproved and my account suspended.

I reread policies, have made changes to the Merchant Account and my website, resubmitted for approval, and still suspended but now in a cool down mode. I spoke with a Google Adwords Specialist but they were no help. Submitted a form for a manual review. Another specialist reached out through email and asked me to connect the Google Adwords display and search account (that was working perfectly) to my merchant account and now that is suspended and now getting 50 less visitors today compared to yesterday because am getting no clicks.

In all my reading on the internet about these issues, Google will not give any specific reason to anyone why their accounts are suspended or disapproved, only to read through the policies over and over again. I have made sure my site has all contact info, policies are clear, products are clear, no promotions that are misrepresenting, added Google Categories to the product feed and made sure everything else that I could think of is identified and completed properly.

Very frustrating. Even though I have spent thousands and thousands of dollars over the years, they are not any help with this issue. Interesting how when you create a new Adwords Account they contact you and want to help you out to increase your spend with them, but with this issue they do nothing concrete.

Adding Microsoft Advertising (used to be Bing) and Pinterest Ads to help generate some traffic in the meantime. But Google is the main search engine to drive traffic.

Anyway, good luck. Would be nice to hear some positive resolutions from others having this issue.

3

You can not list reviews you did not collect via your website. Remove all reviews your website did not collect. This is considered a serious trust issue. Make sure your reviews are real, and collected by yourself (ie: on your website). Importing reviews, or creating fake reviews is not allowed. Policy: https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/6098512

When they say it may be beyond fixing, may indicate a very serious issue and I would avoid requesting reviews if you have not completely gone the extra mile to resolve all issues. To resolve issues, you need to read all policies.

There could be many reasons, I recommend having a look at the following policies:

https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/7052112?hl=en

https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/6363310?hl=en

https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/4752265?hl=en

https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/6149970?hl=en

The most common issues are:

  1. Not adding full contact details page linked from the footer (email, phone number, address, contact form): https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/6363310?hl=en

  2. Not having a valid checkout: https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/9158778?hl=en

  3. Not having returns and refund, delivery, privacy policy and terms of service pages

  4. Selling products that are not allowed: https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/6150006

  5. Selling products that are not stocked: https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/6150127#:~:text=Unavailable%20promotions

  6. Not adding any added content, and simply copy-pasting other sites

  7. Having multiple websites in the same niche

  8. Not being honest with what you sell or how you portray the business

  9. Having a low trust factor or no track record of order fullfilment

You can ask Google for specific examples of policy violation. To do so ask here and check the box, I need more info : https://support.google.com/merchants/contact/suspended

Hope this helps.

4

Hey PuzzlePeak,

Thanks for your reply.

I understand your frustration!

I still can’t understand how they wont give a clear indication on what the actual issue is so that it can be easily resolved, when they claim to have properly reviewed the website and found issues themselves.

Going through all their terms & conditions and trying to figure out what it could be when not even knowing if the account can be re-activated is extremely time consuming and feels very unfair.

Like you said, when first starting with Adwords you get the feeling that they really want to acquire you as a customer by sending you their promotions, trying to get you to increase ad spend etc.. and after a couple of days the account is suspended and basically no actual support is offered. It feels like some kind of joke.

Years back I too have spent thousands on advertising with Adwords and we’re still treated like we aren’t worth the time for customer support to actually offer support.

I’m going to try go through all their terms and conditions again, make more changes in the hope that I’ll get a reply in a month with some good news.

All the best of luck with your account too and happy holidays !

Thanks and Regards,

David

5

Hi @EmmanuelFlossie ,

Thanks for taking the time to reply.

Regarding the reviews. That must have been one of the big issues then, thanks for clarifying. I have now removed them.

Got it. I’ll definitely be more careful before requesting my next review.

I’m going to try go through all their terms and conditions again, make more changes in the hope that I’ll get some good news.

This helps alot too ! “You can ask Google for specific examples of policy violation. To do so ask here and check the box, I need more info : https://support.google.com/merchants/contact/suspended”

Didn’t know that one.

All the best & happy holidays Emmanuel.

Thanks again !

Regards,

David

6

So, we have had this same Shopify account for years and we recently changed the account over to a different domain and selling a totally different product.

We use the Mile High Theme Galleria and had a section on the home page that had reviews that we had gathered from our old site. While we did not keep the reviews displaying on the home page for this new site, I did hide that section so it would not display.

A couple of days ago I deleted the hidden section, just in case there was still some kind of residual code in the theme.liquid. Do you think that this could have been the cause for the Google Account to be suspended?

7

Hi @EmmanuelFlossie

I have gone over all of the policies and made various changes to website (adding USD to price, making sure all contact information is correct, removing code from old Shopify apps that had old product reviews). Not sure what could be left. But obviously it’s something as account is still suspended and in cool down until January 7th.

In Google Merchant Center under Business Information, if we list a Mailing Address here, instead of a physical business address, is this grounds for misrepresentation? Even though on our website we indicate that it is a mailing address?

Thanks for your help and insight. I really appreciate it.

www.PuzzlePeak.com

8

So, now I have the address for our business DBA for our LLC listed in Merchant Center. Account

However, on our website, I want people, if they have a refund, to send the package back to our Goin’ Postal address where we send and receive our packages.

Do both of these addresses (MCA and website) have to match?

In Google policies it only says that we have to have two of three (phone, email, and/or physical address) pieces of info on our contact us page.

Can I just have the email and phone listed on the website contact us page and then put the mailing address (Goin’ Postal) under the Refunds and Return policy? I’ve noticed that other online only retailers with active shopping ads are doing this. Or can I not even put an address, and then just indicate that the customers should contact us for a return authorization?

Or is this still going to be viewed as misrepresentation?

Thanks for your help.

9

As you are already suspended, you need to go the extra mile. Be as transparent as possible and provide a trust worthy business.

Make sure the business address matches, ie the business of operation.

1 Like
10

The correct business address is entered everywhere that you suggested, Google Merchant Center, Website, Billing Address in Google Ads account, etc.

However, my Merchant Account and Ads Account are still suspended for misrepresentation. I am now on cool down until February 4th.

However, I did discover that I can test out how my shopping ads will look while in Merchant Center and see the shipping costs that are displayed.

The first screenshot shows the Flat Rate Shipping and the Spend $45 Get Free Shipping. But it shows shipping rate of $6.99 for the Free Shipping.

The second screenshot shows how this is configured in Merchant Center. I have the minimum fixed rate of $6.99. Does the minimum fixed rate here also need to be $0.00?

Do you think that this discrepancy is the reason for the misrepresentation?

How can I solve this? Or do you think that it would just be better to remove the Free Shipping? But this is a selling point that many of our customers have stated for the reason they bought from us over other sellers.

Thanks for your help.

MCA-Screenshot-1.jpg
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MCA-Screenshot-2.jpg
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11

If you offer free shipping over 44.99 then this is correct.

12

I also have this shipping (see below) setup for the Flat Rate Shipping of $6.99. So I have this and the one for the Spend $45 Get Free Shipping. Would this still be correct to have both of them?

Also, I have chosen just to have the shipping, both flat rate and the spend $45, for only the continuous US as I am only going to run the shopping ads for the continuous US even though I do ship to Hawaii and Alaska, but those are based on weight.

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13

Simply keep the other one. No need to set shipping twice.

14

I think I may have solved my dilemma with setting up Merchant Account Shipping. I did not have rates for Hawaii and Alaska.

But before I submit to Google for another review, is the following setup and screenshot correct?

And, do you think that this could have been the cause for suspension for misrepresentation?

  • For the Continuous (Continental) United States, I offer $6.99 Flat Rate Shipping for orders up to $44.99.

  • For the Continuous (Continental) United States, I offer Free Shipping when order spend is $45 or more.

  • For Alaska and Hawaii, orders are based on weight that is calculated during checkout. And these orders are usually sent by USPS Priority Mail.

  • As far as Shipping Rate Name, this is just for my own reference, correct? This name does not show up in Shopping ads, right?

Thank you for your help.

PuzzlePeakShippingConfiguration.png
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15

correct

16

Hi David, have you managed to come right with having your Ads accounted sorted out? I have been struggling with the almost exact same issue & finding someone who will help assess what the problem could be, even when offering payment, has been almost impossible for me.

17

So, after 5 months, my Google Merchant Center Account and my Google Shopping Ads Account are finally unsuspended!

I cannot tell you how much time I have spent ensuring that our website is in compliance with all Google policies and the Google Merchant Center and Ads accounts are configured properly.

I had gone through numerous reviews with Google over months and months, but these were all completed by an automated review system. After so much pestering by me, I was finally able to get Google to complete a manual review of my website and my accounts and it was determined that I was not in violation of any policies. While they were not able to tell me exactly why my accounts were suspended for so long, I am ecstatic that my diligent and hard work (and also the numerous suggestions from some of the experts in this community and in Google’s online community) has finally paid off.

Thank you to everyone who has spent their time helping me and others. I really appreciate it!

1 Like
18

Hello,

I am having the exact same issue, now with microsoft as well.

I dont have reviews. I am very confused as to why this is happening.

I dont know what else to do, to help get my store some awareness.

Can anyone help me?

My store is www.gnrltshrt.com

Thank you

19

I am having the same issue I really do not want to submit again and be punished for it for example its saying one of my pages is not responsive on desktop or mobile I have checked and checked I have all the info on there I keep reading the policys in case I have missed something. I was hoping someone would help me on here but looks look lots of people are having the same sort of issues.

20

@scottEM this is a common issue an no need for concern. This happens when servers are overloaded, slow response time, or a DNS issue. In most if not all cases, this auto resolves in a few days.