The Store Was Open. Google Shopping Wasn't.
Google suspended the store's Merchant Center account for Misrepresentation — the policy Google uses when it decides shoppers may not get honest, complete information about a business, its products or its terms.
For a footwear store that sells through Shopping, the effect is immediate: products move to Not approved, and the catalog stops showing in Shopping ads and free listings. The website keeps working, but one of its main sources of buyers is switched off until Google approves a review of the corrected store.
Find the Gaps First. Then Ask Google to Look Again.
Misrepresentation is about trust, so the question we worked from was simple: does a shopper — and Google's reviewer — get the same clear, consistent picture of the business everywhere it appears?
Audit of the Store and the Merchant Center Account
We went through the online store and the Merchant Center account side by side and found several inconsistencies that could stop the store from passing Google's review.
Store Information Brought Up to Date
Together with the client we worked through each issue and updated the information about the store, its payment options, delivery and returns, so shoppers can see exactly how they pay, receive and return an order.
Agreed Changes to the Website and the Catalog
The fixes went into the website and the product catalog, so the store and the feed Google reads tell the same story.
Transparency for Shoppers, Then the Review
We paid particular attention to how easily a shopper finds business and policy information, in line with Merchant Center requirements. Once the corrections were live, the store went back to Google for review.
Not Approved to Approved, in the Account Itself
The chart below is the product status history from the client's own Merchant Center account, cropped to the chart; account details are not shown.
Red — Not approved while the account was suspended; green — Approved after Google's review of the corrected store.
Is This Your Store?
This case is relevant if any of the following sounds familiar: