How to Fix Google Merchant Center "Misrepresentation" Suspension
Your account was suspended and Google won't tell you why. Here's how to decode the error and get reinstated.
If you're reading this...
You likely just received the most dreaded email in e-commerce: a notification saying your Merchant Center account has been suspended for "Misrepresentation of self or product." You are not alone. This is the #1 reason for suspension in 2026, accounting for over 90% of all account bans.
Prefer watching? This video covers the same fixes explained in the article below.
The email is frustratingly vague, offering almost no details about what you supposedly did wrong. You're confused, panicked, and worried about losing revenue while your Shopping ads are offline. An estimated 11.7 million GMC accounts were suspended in 2024 alone, and that number continues to climb as Google's automated enforcement systems become more aggressive.
The bad news: Google support won't tell you exactly what triggered your suspension. Their automated systems flag violations, and human support agents often can't or won't provide specific details.
The good news: Despite what the scary suspension message suggests, Misrepresentation violations are rarely about your actual products being fake or fraudulent. Instead, they're almost always about your website's trustworthiness signals, technical inconsistencies, or missing business information.
What Does "Misrepresentation" Actually Mean in 2026?
When Google suspends your account for Misrepresentation, what they're really saying is: their algorithms don't trust that you're running a legitimate, transparent business. Google isn't trying to be difficult—they're trying to protect their users from the thousands of scammers and fly-by-night operations that try to abuse their Shopping platform every single day.
In 2026, Google's trust evaluation system is built on E-E-A-T principles: Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. When you submit your store to Google Shopping, their AI conducts a comprehensive audit of your entire digital presence, cross-referencing information from multiple sources to look for consistency, professionalism, and transparency.
The Misrepresentation policy covers 4 main categories:
- 1. Unacceptable Business Practices: Hiding real business information, making false claims about brand affiliations
- 2. Misleading Offers: "Miracle cure" health claims or deals that seem too good to be true
- 3. Omission of Information: Failing to clearly display return policies or hiding the true cost
- 4. Unavailable Offers: Promoting out-of-stock products or expired promotions
Google's algorithms scan your website with ruthless precision. They check whether your business address matches your Merchant Center profile. They verify that your business appears on Google Maps. They analyze whether you use psychological manipulation tactics like fake scarcity countdown timers. They compare the price in your product feed against what actually appears during checkout, down to the cent. A single inconsistency can trigger an immediate suspension without any prior warning.
October 2025 Policy Update: Google now explicitly prohibits bait-and-switch tactics, price exploitation of vulnerable customers, hidden trial charges, and any failure to disclose the complete cost structure upfront. These aren't just guidelines—they're hard rules that will get you banned.
The 3 Most Common Hidden Errors That Trigger Suspensions
After analyzing thousands of Misrepresentation cases throughout 2025 and early 2026, we've identified three categories of errors that account for the vast majority of suspensions. These are issues merchants often don't even know exist on their sites.
1. The "Ghost Business" Problem
Google's biggest fear is approving a merchant that doesn't actually exist as a real, verifiable business. Countless scammers have used Google Shopping to promote fake stores, collect payments, and disappear. As a result, Google now requires multiple forms of identity verification.
The most common version: If your Contact Us page only shows an email contact form with no physical address or phone number visible anywhere on your site, Google's algorithms will immediately flag you as suspicious.
Identity Consistency Triggers:
- • Business registered as "Johnson Marketing Solutions LLC" but website shows "Johnson Marketing"
- • Address in footer differs from Merchant Center business settings
- • Business address doesn't appear when searched on Google Maps
- • Phone number isn't verified in the target country
- • Domain WHOIS shows different owner than listed business name
New in 2026: Some merchants report Google now requires video verification for certain reinstatement requests—a 3-5 minute unedited video showing your physical storefront, staff-only areas, and inventory storage.
2. The "Broken Promise" at Checkout
This is where an estimated 60% of suspended merchants fail without even realizing there's a problem. The core principle: whatever price, shipping cost, and final total you promise on your product page and in your data feed must match exactly what the customer sees at checkout.
Real-World Example:
You sell a yoga mat for €29.99. Your feed lists €29.99, shipping is €4.99. Customer should see €34.98 total. But instead, checkout shows €37.48.
Where did the extra €2.50 come from? A handling fee, payment processing surcharge, or packaging charge that wasn't disclosed earlier. Google considers this Misrepresentation.
Common Checkout Violations:
- Shipping discrepancies: "Shipping calculated at checkout" but Merchant Center shows specific cost
- Tax handling errors: VAT not included for EU customers or incorrect tax calculation for US
- Currency conversion: Automatic converters showing different prices based on visitor IP
- Hidden fees: Environmental fees, recycling charges, or signature confirmation added at payment
3. Incomplete or Generic Legal Policies
Research shows that 72% of suspended Merchant Center accounts had missing, incomplete, or poorly written legal policy pages. Google's AI doesn't just check whether you have policies—it actually reads and analyzes the content.
What Gets You Flagged:
- • Placeholder text: "[INSERT YOUR BUSINESS ADDRESS HERE]" or "[COMPANY NAME]"
- • Vague language: "We may process refunds at our discretion"
- • Copy-pasted templates from other websites
- • References to wrong country's laws
- • Policies that require login to access
Your Return Policy Must Include:
- Specific timeframes (e.g., "30 days from delivery")
- Who pays return shipping (customer or merchant)
- Return method (mail, in-store, drop-off)
- Restocking fees or conditions
- Refund processing timeline
How to Diagnose Your Store Before Appealing
Once you understand what Google is looking for, conduct a thorough audit of your own store to identify and fix violations before you submit an appeal. This is critical because Google's appeal process has become increasingly automated in 2026. Their AI now resolves 99% of appeals within 24 hours—if your store still has violations, you'll be rejected almost instantly.
The Manual Diagnostic Approach:
- 1. Open your website in an incognito browser window
- 2. Review every page a customer might visit during purchase
- 3. Compare business info in Merchant Center vs. your website
- 4. Perform a "checkout test" - add products, go through checkout, verify prices match
- 5. Read your legal policies as if you were a suspicious customer
- 6. Verify contact information is consistent everywhere
This manual process can easily take 10+ hours for a typical e-commerce store. That's why we built Merchant Unlock to automate it.
What to Do After You've Fixed Everything
1. Document Everything
Take screenshots showing before/after states. Save copies of updated policies. Create a list of each issue fixed.
2. Wait 24-48 Hours
Google's systems need time to re-crawl your website. If you appeal immediately, their cache might still show old versions.
3. Appeal Only Once (With Complete Fix)
Each failed appeal adds mandatory cool-down periods. Don't waste attempts by submitting before you're ready.
Median resolution time: 32 days for merchants going alone. 48-72 hours for those who properly fixed all violations with comprehensive audits. The key difference is thoroughness.
How to Diagnose Your Store
The Hard Way
Spend 10+ hours manually checking every link, every price variation, and every legal clause. Hope you don't miss anything critical.
The Easy Way
Use Merchant Unlock to scan your site like a Google Inspector in seconds. Get a detailed pass/fail report.
Stop Guessing. Start Fixing.
Don't waste your limited appeal attempts. Know exactly what's wrong before you contact Google.
Run Free Misrepresentation Scan