Google Merchant Center suspension guide
Google Merchant Center policy violation suspension
Last reviewed against Google policy: October 2026
“Policy violation” in Merchant Center is a wide label. A single product can be disapproved for a restricted category, a missing attribute, or a landing-page problem, while an account suspension means Google has stopped the account from serving. The diagnostics page in your account lists the policy name that was applied. This page is about the site-level policies the audit can see from the public storefront.
Fixing warnings and suspensions on Google Merchant Center Help
Account suspension versus a disapproved item
An item disapproval affects that product. An account suspension stops Shopping ads and free listings for the account. Google’s help center describes both paths: fix the cited issue, then request a review, or appeal if you think the decision is wrong. A fresh crawl often starts when you request that review.
Read the exact policy name in the account. A site can be suspended for misrepresentation, for a destination that does not work, or for a Shopping ads policy that has nothing to do with the theme of the store. Guessing the wrong policy wastes the fix.
Policies that show up on the website itself
Merchants are expected to publish a return and refund policy customers can open, with a real window and terms, plus shipping and contact information. Checkout needs to work, and the pages linked from the footer should not 404. If a policy says one thing and the homepage or checkout says another, that is both a policy problem and a misrepresentation problem.
Prohibited or restricted products are a separate list in Google’s Shopping policies. A crawler that only reads your homepage will not certify that every SKU is allowed. Use the policy name in Merchant Center for those, and remove or correctly label products that are not eligible.
A practical order of work
Open the suspension or warning in Merchant Center and copy the policy name and any example URLs. Fix those URLs first. Then check the policies linked in the footer, the contact details, and a sample of product pages. When the changes are live, request the review from the account rather than editing the feed and hoping the old crawl is enough.
What the free scan checks
- Whether a return, shipping, privacy, and terms page can be found and linked
- Return windows and contact methods present in the policy text
- Signals in the policy text such as a hidden return address or language that fights chargebacks
- Broken navigation and pages that do not load
Questions
Why does the account say policy violation when every product looks normal?
The issue is often the destination site rather than one SKU: missing policies, a checkout that does not complete, or claims that do not match the policies. The account issue details are more specific than the email subject line.
Do I need a lawyer to rewrite my policies?
Not always. Google’s requirement is that the policies exist, are reachable, and match what you actually do. If you sell in a regulated category or you are unsure whether a product is allowed, that part is outside a website scan.
How is this different from the misrepresentation page?
Misrepresentation is one named Shopping policy about misleading offers and business identity. Other policy violations include destination requirements, prohibited content, and editorial rules. Merchants often see more than one issue at once, which is why the scan checks the public site across categories.
Can the free scan list every Shopping ads policy?
No. It runs the rule checks built into this tool against the public pages it can open. It does not log into Merchant Center on the free scan, and it does not replace the policy list in Google’s help center.
Run a free scan
Rule-based checks on the public site. The AI pass is part of the paid audit.
Related guides
Other guides: What a Google Merchant Center misrepresentation suspension means · Google Merchant Center “website needs improvement” · Google Merchant Center product data and feed issues