My google merchant account suspended due to Misrepresentation

Shopify Discussion

Topic summary

A Google Merchant Center account was suspended for “Misrepresentation,” limiting product listing visibility. The merchant received a generic policy violation notice without specific details on what triggered the suspension.

Key recommendations from community members:

  • Complete product fields: Fill out all available product attributes (gender, size, color, etc.) in the Google Channel settings to avoid moderation flags
  • Use correct policy page links: Link to policies from Settings > Policies rather than Online Store > Pages when setting up navigation
  • Add missing pages: Include a payment policy and ensure all standard pages (contact, return policy) are present
  • Fix technical issues: Remove empty collections, don’t use Gmail for business contact, enable guest checkout, display stock availability
  • Address verification concerns: Multiple websites sharing the same business address can trigger suspensions as Google expects 1 address = 1 website
  • Avoid prohibited practices: Don’t use automatic currency conversion based on IP, ensure business details appear in footer

Additional resources suggested:

  • Google Customer Reviews program to build trust
  • FeedNomics diagnostic tool for identifying website issues
  • Google’s editorial and professional requirements documentation

The discussion remains open with no confirmed resolution yet.

Summarized with AI on November 12. AI used: claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929.
1

hello guys,

please help me understand the reason for my google merchant account suspension, received a mail from from google merchant center for suspension.

my website: www.sarvachic.com kindly have a look and advice me on what to do further. thanks in advance guys.

after requesting a review a got this following mail :



Hi there,



During our policy review we still found an issue with your account: Misrepresentation. As a result, your product listings and/or Shopping ads have limited visibility or remain unavailable for display to users. Check your account status to understand how the issue is impacting your listings.



According to our findings, there was a problem identified with your account and/or store website. Learn more about our policies and requirements to ensure your account has full functionality and your products are active.

How to fix



1. Read our policies to learn more about our requirements to benefit from Shopping ads and Free listings.



2. Review our best practices on building trust with your customers.



3. Fix the open policy issue(s) on your account.



1. Before requesting a re-review, please acknowledge the potential impact.



4. Request a review of your account:



If you participate in a third-party program, go to your respective platform for guidance on how to request a review.

- If you’ve taken action to resolve the issue(s), select “I’ve fixed the issue”.
- To appeal the decision, select “I disagree with the issue”. Note: Additional steps may apply and should be completed.


Check your account status

- Under review: You will receive confirmation your review has been sent. You’ll be able to see the status for each issue, the date it was requested, and that the review may take a few days to be completed.
- Review not approved: You will receive a notification indicating your review is completed. You may have to wait before you request another review - ensure you meet the policies and requirements before re-submitting a review request to avoid a cooldown period.
- Review approved: You’re all set and your products can show on Google. An email notification will not be sent.






Learn more about the Misrepresentation policy




When to fix

- We recommend that you take immediate action resolving all reported account issues.







We want you and your business to be successful and get the most out of your product listings and/or ads. If you’ve requested multiple reviews or need assistance to fix the issue(s), we want to help. Use the “Request review” button in the Diagnostics page of your Merchant Center account to request an account reevaluation. You can also contact us if you have any questions.







Sincerely,
The Google Merchant Center Team
2

Hey, @ARCHITAG !

Thank you for your post!

Navigating the issue of misrepresentation can be challenging as Google’s guidelines lack specific details on required actions. At Shopify, we have discovered effective strategies for getting stores approved, and I will now share them with you in order of their success rate.:

1) Updating your Product Fields. You want to make sure the products have every field updated. We have a document that goes over how you can fill out these fields:

But generally, you just want to fill out as much information as possible. For example if a product is meant for any gender, you can put unisex in the gender slot. Filling out as many of these fields as possible will help you avoid scrutiny from Google’s moderation protocol.

To access these fields, you will want to go to the Google Channel by access the Settings > App and Sales Channels section of your admin and clicking Google.

  • You now want to select Open Sales Channel to open the app

  • In the Overview section of the Google sales channel, select Manage products

  • From here you want to fill out every single one of these fields for all of your products using the document above as a guide.

2) Using the correct links for your Policy pages. Often times, merchants will link the Pages from the Online Store > Pages section of their admin instead of the Policies in their Settings > Policies section of their admin which leads to Google turning them down.

So we want to avoid linking the Online Store > Pages and instead use the policies in the Settings > Policies section. Please make sure these are updated to your liking. Once they are, you can go to the Online Store > Navigation section of your admin and select the menu that host your policies. You then want to click Edit next to your Policies Pages, then select the Link box to your right. From the drop-down menu, be sure to select Policies and NOT Pages. Once you select Policies, a menu will open with all of your current policies and select the one of your choosing, make sure the title is correct and save!

3) Make sure to have unique and coherent product descriptions. Sometimes Google can turn down merchants if they feel their product descriptions are not accurate enough. Google does not share the specifics but generally speaking you want your products to have unique titles and descriptions. Here is a guide we have found useful for helping merchants write compelling descriptions to help sell your products:

4) Participating in the Google Customer Reviews Program. We have found this program helps build trust with the customer base and give Google less reason to scrutinize your store. If it is available in your country/region, you should definitely check it out:

- Google’s Customer Reviews program

5) Review Google’s documentation on misrepresentation:

- Google Support Docs: Misrepresentation

6) You may also want to review the editorial and professional requirements from Google. A lot of merchant have had issues resolved by following the section on pop-ups:

- Google Support Docs: Editorial & professional requirements

7) Finally, you can check out the Grow my Store tool. Google made this as a way to assess customer experience on a website. Once the website address is added, you will receive a personalized report with tips on how to address any issues found. This is a third party tool and not supported by Shopify.

Finally, this third party help doc from Feedonomics has been recommended by many merchants as a useful tool for helping them prepare their website for review:

- Feedonomics Help doc

Please note, this information is from a third party, and we cannot guarantee success every time, but it’s something we strongly recommend reviewing.

Once you have done each and every step, you are ready for a review. To do so go to your Google Merchant Center account and under Diagnostics > Account issues request a manual review.

I hope this helps but let me know if there is anything else you need!

3

  1. add " payment policy"

  2. do not use gmail for the contact page

  3. the"Welcome to the World of Minimalism" collection is empty, there is no product

  4. 5-day return windows does not sound good

  5. customers need to login to be able to proceed the checkout, also I don’t see anywhere to register for an account

  6. many other things…

4

There are two websites using the same address, Google will see this as potentially fake.

As you can expect generally 1 address = 1 website.

And 1 business = 1 website.

As there are 2 websites fo 1 business, that is the issue.

Normally users get suspended when both websites have products, but sometimes because there is always a possibility that the other site will also list products in the future, that Google pre-emptively suspends accounts.

There is truly no way of knowing what the reason is. But it’s a possible reason.

Make sure to use an address that matches your domain name.

Do not auto currency convert prices.

Make sure to show if an item is in or out of stock.

You can find more potential reasons here: https://community.shopify.com/c/Ecommerce-Marketing/Checklist-Suspended-Google-Merchant-Center-Account-Fix-amp/m-p/1086444/highlight/true#M39128

5

I am having the exact same issue. My website is www.solesox.com.au Would really appreciate any advise you can offer on how to fix this.

6

For example automatic currency conversion based on user IP is not allowed.

For example missing business address on contact page.

Missing business details in the footer.

You may have more issues, so make sure to double check everything.