Google Merchant Center Misrepresentation Suspension: How We Restored a Suspended Account [Case Study]

Getting a Google Merchant Center account suspended for misrepresentation can become a frustrating experience.

And one thing I want to make clear from the beginning is this:

There may not be one simple change that gets your account reinstated.

In this Google Merchant Center suspension case study, I want to take you behind the scenes of a real project where me and my team at AARSWEBS worked on a Merchant Center account suspended for misrepresentation.

The process involved repeated audits, website changes, Merchant Center checks, Google Search Console work, communication with Google support, unsuccessful reviews, and continued compliance work.

Eventually, after a thorough review, the account was reinstated.

Here is what we learned from the process.

The Google Merchant Center Misrepresentation Problem

When we started working on this project, the Merchant Center account had a misrepresentation issue.

There was also an identity verification-related issue during the process, and we encountered unsuccessful review attempts.

This is important because sometimes business owners assume:

“I’ll change one policy page, submit another review, and everything will be approved.”

In my experience, it isn’t always that simple.

Google can look at multiple factors surrounding your website, products, policies, business information and overall customer experience.

That’s why our approach was broader than searching for one obvious problem.

Our Checklist Has Grown From 160+ to Around 200 Steps

If you’ve watched some of my previous videos, you may have heard me talk about our 160+ point compliance checklist.

That checklist has continued evolving.

At the time of this case study, our process had crossed approximately 200 steps.

Why?

Because we’re still learning.

When you handle different cases, you can encounter new situations and identify additional areas that deserve investigation.

So rather than assuming that what worked in one case will automatically work in another, we continue updating our process.

This Project Required Multiple Audits

One thing I want to highlight is how many times this website was reviewed.

This wasn’t:

Audit → Fix → Approved.

We performed multiple audits.

We used automated checks.

We used manual audits.

Different team members reviewed different areas.

We worked with the website, Merchant Center, Google Search Console, Google support and other sources of information.

Why perform repeated checks?

Because after correcting one group of issues, another review can uncover something else that was previously missed.

This case demonstrated why patience and attention to detail matter.

1. Business Identity & Information

One of the first areas we examined was how the company presented itself.

We looked at information including:

• Business name
• Registered company information
• Company profile
• Business contact details
• Address
• Email
• Phone number
• About Us information
• Customer-service information

The broader objective was to ensure the website presented a clear and consistent business identity.

2. Your About Us Page Should Tell a Real Business Story

The About Us page received particular attention.

I don’t like treating an About Us page as a few generic lines that exist simply because every website needs one.

For an eCommerce business, this page is an opportunity to explain the company.

Who are you?

What is your story?

What is your mission?

What does your business actually do?

In this project, we worked on improving the company’s story and overall business presentation.

And I believe this isn’t useful only for compliance.

A better presentation can also help customers understand and trust the business.

3. Contact Information Needs Attention

We also reviewed the Contact page and customer-service information.

At one point, the contact form itself produced an error when tested.

This is exactly why a compliance audit shouldn’t simply check whether a page exists.

You should actually test the customer journey.

Does the contact form work?

Does the email address work?

Is the information consistent?

Can a customer realistically reach the business?

We physically tested these areas instead of assuming they were functional.

4. Broken Links & 404 Errors

Broken links were another area we investigated.

For example, an order-tracking page returned a 404 error.

Other outdated or indexed pages also needed attention.

A website can look fine when you open the homepage, but customers — and search engines — may still encounter broken URLs elsewhere.

That’s why we checked multiple pages and also worked with Google Search Console.

5. Shipping Information Must Be Consistent

Shipping was another important area in this case.

We identified areas where shipping-related information could create confusion.

For example, imagine one part of your website communicates one shipping fee while another page communicates something different.

Which information should the customer believe?

This isn’t simply a Merchant Center concern.

It’s a customer-experience problem.

Your shipping information should be clear and consistent wherever it appears.

6. Return & Refund Policies

We also reviewed return and refund information.

Again, don’t treat policy pages as generic text that you copy once and forget.

The information needs to reflect how the business actually operates.

We reviewed policy wording, contact information and consistency across the website as part of the overall project.

7. Product Information & Feed Consistency

Your product pages and Merchant Center feed also deserve careful attention.

During the project, we investigated areas involving product information, titles, pricing, stock information and feed data.

The information customers see on your website shouldn’t create unnecessary inconsistencies with the information being submitted through your product feed.

8. We Tested the Actual Shopping Experience

One of the lessons from this project is:

Don’t audit an eCommerce website only by reading its pages.

Use it.

We tested the website across devices.

We added products to the cart.

We went through parts of the checkout process.

We checked coupons.

We reviewed the payment methods.

We checked whether the options advertised by the website matched what customers could actually use.

This matters because your website is ultimately a shopping experience.

9. Payment Methods Need to Match Reality

Another issue we looked at involved payment methods.

Sometimes a website may display or mention payment methods that aren’t actually available during checkout.

That can create unnecessary confusion.

We therefore checked whether payment options presented around the website were actually available to customers.

10. Branding Consistency

This was an interesting area.

We also looked at branding and logo consistency.

If your website uses one presentation of the brand while social channels use something substantially different, your overall business identity can become less consistent.

In this project, branding and logo presentation were among the areas reviewed and optimized.

Again, I don’t see this purely as a compliance issue.

Consistent branding can contribute to a stronger business image for customers as well.

11. Even Small Content Inconsistencies Were Reviewed

Some of the findings were surprisingly small.

For example, we identified inconsistent capitalization.

We also encountered different ways of writing the same type of product terminology.

Grammar and spelling were reviewed as well.

Does that mean one capitalization error automatically causes a Merchant Center suspension?

That’s not the conclusion I would draw.

The lesson is that when we’re conducting a detailed compliance review, we don’t want to ignore small inconsistencies simply because larger problems also exist.

12. Website Speed & Technical Health

Technical website health was another part of the process.

We checked website speed and used different scanners to investigate potential issues.

Malware checks were also performed.

We reviewed technical elements and Google Search Console errors.

The objective was to examine the website as a complete system rather than focusing only on what was visible on the homepage.

13. Google Search Console Was Part of the Process

When website changes were made, Google Search Console also became relevant.

We reviewed errors and started validation for areas that had been corrected.

Some pages were returning not-found errors and required attention.

We also worked on technical areas such as robots.txt based on the website’s requirements.

Again, this demonstrates why Merchant Center suspension work can extend beyond the Merchant Center interface itself.

14. Google Business Profile & Other Business Signals

We also considered other business signals during the project.

Where applicable, having a properly established Google Business Profile can contribute to the wider online presence of a business.

But the key point is consistency.

Your website, contact information, branding, social profiles and other business information should tell a coherent story about who you are.

15. We Had Failed Reviews Along the Way

This is perhaps one of the most important parts of the case study.

Not every review succeeded.

There were unsuccessful attempts during the process.

We continued working.

We performed additional audits.

We found more areas requiring changes.

We communicated with Google.

The client remained patient.

And our team continued reviewing the website and account.

Merchant Center restoration isn’t necessarily a straight line from suspension to reinstatement.

Communication With Google Support

Our team also communicated with Google support throughout the process.

After additional compliance work, we received communication acknowledging the site-wide compliance audit and specific updates that had been made.

Google’s wider team continued reviewing the issue.

Eventually, we received the update we had been waiting for.

The Google Merchant Center Account Was Reinstated

Following Google’s review, support informed our team that the account had been reinstated.

The communication stated that sufficient evidence had been found indicating that customers could have an enjoyable experience.

We then checked the Merchant Center account.

The previous not-approved status was no longer showing in the same way, products were approved, and activity was beginning to return.

After a long process involving multiple audits, website changes, account work and communication, the project had reached the outcome the client wanted.

What Can We Learn From This Case Study?

I wouldn’t look at this case study and conclude:

“These exact changes will get every misrepresentation suspension reinstated.”

Every business, website and Merchant Center account can have different circumstances.

Instead, I think there are broader lessons.

Take your business identity seriously.

Make your policies clear and consistent.

Test your contact forms.

Check your broken links.

Review your product data.

Check your shipping and return information.

Actually test your checkout.

Make sure advertised payment methods exist.

Review your website on multiple devices.

Check your Search Console.

Maintain consistent branding.

And most importantly, don’t assume that fixing one visible issue means your entire website is ready.

Patience Was a Major Part of This Project

I want to give credit to two groups.

First, my team.

They repeatedly audited the project, identified problems, made changes and continued working through the process.

Second, the client.

A difficult suspension project requires cooperation.

If an agency identifies something that needs changing but the business owner doesn’t cooperate, progress becomes much harder.

The client’s patience and support were important throughout this project.

Need Help With a Google Merchant Center Suspension?

At AARSWEBS, we help businesses with Google Merchant Center compliance and suspension-related projects.

Our services include areas such as:

• Google Merchant Center compliance review
• Merchant Center suspension assistance
• Google Ads suspension assistance
• Google Ads management
• Google Business Profile services
• Website design
• Digital marketing services

A suspension can involve considerably more work than pressing the Request Review button repeatedly.

Our approach is to investigate the website, account and broader business presentation to identify areas requiring attention.

Final Thoughts

This Google Merchant Center misrepresentation case wasn’t easy.

There were repeated audits.

There were failed reviews.

There were website issues.

There were Search Console issues.

There were policy and consistency checks.

There was communication with Google support.

And there was a considerable amount of work from both our team and the client.

But eventually, the account was reinstated following Google’s review.

If your Merchant Center account has been suspended, don’t assume there must be one magic setting or one sentence on your website causing everything.

Look at the complete customer experience and the complete business presentation.

That’s one of the biggest lessons I took from this case.

— Ali Raza
AARSWEBS