MerchantMend

· 5 min read

Google Merchant Center misrepresentation on Shopify: the checklist to run before you appeal

A misrepresentation suspension on a Shopify store usually traces back to contact details, policies or pricing. Check each one before you request a review.

The short answer

Google suspends for misrepresentation when it thinks your store hides or misstates who you are, what things cost, or what happens after a purchase. Google rarely says which page or detail triggered it. So before you appeal, check your contact details, your refund and shipping policies, your prices and your business info in Merchant Center, and make them all agree with each other.

What the misrepresentation policy covers

Google's Misrepresentation policy has six parts: unacceptable business practices, coordinated deceptive practices, dishonest pricing and transaction conditions, unavailable offers, manipulated media, and unreliable claims. For a normal Shopify store, three of them do most of the damage:

The same page says Google treats violations in the dishonest practices sections as egregious and can suspend without warning. Other sections get at least 7 days of warning first. That explains why some merchants get an email and a deadline while others wake up already suspended.

The checklist

Work through this list on the live store, logged out, in a private browser window. Fix what fails before you touch the appeal button.

1. Contact details are visible and match everywhere

Google's help page on missing contact information asks for at least a business address, phone number, email, contact form or social media business profile on the store. It also asks that your business name, address and phone number match across the footer, the contact page and Merchant Center.

In Shopify, the automated Contact information policy pulls from Settings > General > Store contact details, according to Shopify's policy guide. If that store address is your old flat or a virtual office in another country, fix it there first.

One merchant in a Shopify Community thread on misrepresentation found the full address and phone number were missing from the footer, added them, and resubmitted. Replies in that thread also call out stores that claim to be based in a country they are not in. If your About page says "London" and your returns go to a warehouse in another country, say so plainly.

2. Business info in Merchant Center is complete

Open Settings > Business info in Merchant Center and select Edit business details. Google's business information guide lists the business name, address and a customer service phone number. Use the same name and address you show on the store.

3. Refund policy exists, is linked, and says what really happens

Google wants a clear return and refund policy that is easy to find, for example a footer link on every page, and that states conditions and time windows. If you don't accept returns, it should say that. Check that the policy page, the footer and any banners all say the same thing. A "30-day returns" banner on top of a 14-day policy is exactly the kind of mismatch this policy targets.

4. Shipping costs and times are stated before checkout

The misrepresentation policy names hidden shipping costs, including return shipping. Publish a shipping policy that lists your rates or how you calculate them, and your delivery times. The guide to the pages Google expects covers what to put on each page.

5. Prices match from feed to checkout

Open five products. Compare the price on the product page, in the cart, at checkout, and in Merchant Center. Watch for tax added at checkout in countries where Google expects tax-inclusive prices, and for apps that change prices after the page loads. The guide on tax and Markets price mismatches goes through the Shopify settings that cause this.

6. Claims you cannot back up are gone

The policy covers impersonating a brand or implying an affiliation or endorsement you don't have, and it has a separate section on unreliable claims. Remove "Official store" wording if you are a reseller, and logos of brands or certifiers that have not approved you. If a product page makes a claim you can't back up, rewrite it or delete it.

7. The site looks finished

Google's online store guidance asks you to remove placeholder text and template images and fix broken links. Click every footer and menu link. Check that social icons go to your real profiles and not to the theme's demo accounts.

8. Checkout works for a real customer

Run a test order to a shipping address in each country you target. Check that the store isn't password protected, that a payment provider is active, and that nothing forces account creation before checkout. Google's editorial and professional requirements list "Login required" and "Users cannot complete purchase" as separate issues.

Tools that can help, today

Before you click request review

Google limits appeals. Its review request page says you may only get one chance to disagree with an issue, and failed reviews can start a cool-down period that grows longer each time. Fix everything on this list first, then request one review. Google decides the outcome, and nobody outside Google can promise reinstatement. The appeal guide walks through the request itself.