Google Merchant Center Misrepresentation: How to Fix It

Google gives most stores a warning first. Its help page says you get "a warning email with more details about the issue, how to fix it, and a timeframe in which to do so." If the problem is still there when that time runs out, the account is suspended.

Some problems skip the warning. Google says that when "an egregious policy issue is detected, no warning is given and the account is suspended immediately." For misrepresentation, that is three parts of the policy: unacceptable business practices, coordinated deceptive practices and dishonest pricing. For those, the policy page says accounts "will be suspended upon detection and without prior warning". Other parts, like unavailable offers and unreliable claims, get a warning first. Google says "A warning will be issued at least 7 days prior to any suspension".

A suspension stops your products from showing in Shopping ads and free listings. It does not delete your feed or your Google Ads account. Getting back is possible, but Google says accounts "are only reinstated in compelling circumstances, and when there is good reason". So the fix has to be real before you ask.

Google's misrepresentation policy is long. For a dropshipping store, these are the lines that matter. The left column is what Google's page says, word for word. The right column is how a dropshipping store usually breaks it.

Open your store in a private browser window, as a buyer would. Then go down this list. Every item is something Google's own pages ask for.

In Merchant Center, open the issue and pick one of two options. Google's page says: "If you've identified and resolved the issue, select 'I fixed the issue', then select 'Request review'." If you think Google got it wrong: "select 'I disagree with the issue', then select 'Request review'."

Then wait. Google says "The review may take up to 7 business days to complete." If it passes, approved products become "eligible to show across Google within 24 hours."

Do not rush this step. When reviews keep failing, Google starts a cool down. Its page says "The review button will be disabled (greyed out) during the cool down period," the cool down can get longer each time, and "Google support can't bypass or shorten the cool down period." One careful review beats three fast ones.

Merchant Center has its own misrepresentation policy. Google Ads has another one, and it covers your ads and landing pages. It bans things like "Scamming users by hiding or misrepresenting info about your business, products or services" and "Failure to clearly and conspicuously disclose the payment model or full expense that a user will bear before and after purchase".

It also bans "Unreliable Claims": "claims that entice the user with an improbable result (even if this result is possible) as the likely outcome a user can expect". For a dropshipping store that means miracle before-and-after claims and promised results on a gadget.

Breaking the Google Ads version can suspend the Google Ads account itself, not only your Shopping listings. For the serious cases, like hiding who you are (unacceptable business practices) or working with other accounts to fool people (coordinated deceptive practices), Google says the account is suspended "upon detection and without prior warning". If that happened to you, the next guide covers it: Google Ads account suspended.