Merchant Center in depth I: the account, the policies and how to survive a suspension

In short: Shopping isn't won in Google Ads, it's won in Merchant Center: the campaign only bids on what Merchant approves. Tell two very different things apart: product disapproval (you fix the data) and account suspension (everything goes dark, with only two reviews per issue and 7 days between them). The most common real reason is misrepresentation.

Shopping is not won in Google Ads: it is won in Merchant Center. The campaign only bids on what Merchant Center approves, with the data Merchant Center holds, and only for as long as Merchant Center does not switch it off. This module is the masterclass on that half of the system most accounts treat as a formality — and which decides their profitability. This first lesson is the account, its policies and its worst day: the suspension.

How is a Merchant Center account organised?

Merchant Center Next is the current version (the classic one disappeared in 2024-2025). Its pieces:

Multi-client account (MCA): for agencies and marketplaces: a parent account with sub-accounts per shop/country, with inheritable settings and their own feeds. Lesson 8.

The setup that avoids 80% of the problems

1. Business details identical to the ones in the website footer (legal name, address, phone, customer service email, all visible).
2. Website verified and claimed by a stable method (DNS or Tag Manager), not by a tag that the next redesign will wipe out.
3. Shipping set up with the exact rates from the website (including "free shipping over X", handling and transit times). If the website has rates by weight or region, replicate them (rate tables).
4. Returns: policy published on the website and declared in Merchant Center (window, cost, method).
5. Secure checkout (https everywhere), prices with VAT, no hidden steps, payment methods visible.
6. Mandatory pages reachable: terms, privacy, returns, contact.

What do the Shopping policies review?

Four families:

1. Prohibited content (counterfeits, dangerous products, inappropriate content…) and restricted content (alcohol, health, adult, financial products… with requirements and certifications per country).
2. Prohibited practices: misrepresentation (deception, omitted business details, prices that do not match, hidden terms, unverifiable claims), network abuse (cloaking, redirects), irresponsible data collection.
3. Editorial and technical requirements: a working landing page, a working checkout, the destination country's language and currency, genuine availability, images that meet the rules (no watermarks, promotional text or overlaid logos).
4. Feed requirements: attribute specifications (lesson 2).

The key nuance: there are product breaches (the product is disapproved; you fix it and it gets re-approved) and account breaches (the whole account is suspended and EVERYTHING disappears from Shopping: campaigns, free listings, local inventory).

What is the difference between disapproval and suspension?

The pre-warning is the best moment of all: you have a week to fix things before the axe falls.

Why does an account really get suspended?

1. Misrepresentation — insufficient business information: no physical address, phone or email on the website; no "about us" page; different details on the website and in Merchant Center. Fix: a footer with the legal name, address, phone and email; a contact page; the same details in Merchant Center.
2. Misrepresentation — prices and terms: the feed price differs from the website (offers, VAT, variants), shipping costs that show up at checkout but not in Merchant Center, hidden returns terms. Fix: price synchronisation (lesson 3), exact shipping, published returns policy.
3. Checkout: the purchase cannot be completed (errors, products that are not buyable, quote-only), a payment gateway without https, forced registration with no alternative. Fix: an end-to-end test purchase.
4. Restricted products without certification (supplements, pharmacy, alcoholic drinks, adult products, decorative bladed weapons…): Fix: the country's certification, or pull them out of Shopping.
5. Site under construction / thin content (a new website, few pages, a template): Google gets suspicious. Fix: real content, policies, reviews, social profiles.
6. Duplicate accounts or a domain claimed by another account (a previous agency, a platform): Fix: track down the original account, close it or claim the domain back.
7. Images with text, watermarks or placeholders: Fix: clean images (image_link on a white background, no "SALE" flashes).

20-minute preventive review before going live

Before switching Shopping on (or after a redesign):

• Business details visible on the website = Merchant Center.
• Terms, privacy, returns and contact pages.
• A complete test purchase (a minimum real payment and a refund).
• Feed prices = website (with VAT), shipping = website, genuine availability.
• Https everywhere; no redirects or cloaking.
• Compliant images.
• Restricted products identified and certified.
• URL claimed by a stable method; one single Merchant Center account per domain.
• At least two admins.

How do you appeal a Merchant Center suspension?

1. Read the exact reason in Merchant Center (Diagnostics → Account issues) and in the email. Do not guess: every reason has its own list of requirements in the help centre.
2. Fix everything, not just what was flagged: the reviewer looks at the whole account and will suspend it again for the next thing.
3. Document it: screenshots of the corrected website, the test purchase.
4. Request review from the issue itself (the button). Wait 3-7 days.
5. If it is rejected: fix whatever they point out, wait out the 7 days (cooldown) and make a second attempt. A maximum of two requests per issue; after that, contact Merchant Center support (form/chat) with your evidence.
6. In the meantime: Search and PMax without a feed keep running; Shopping campaigns simply stop serving (do not pause them, so you do not lose their history).

A realistic recovery window: 1-3 weeks. Prevention is cheap; appealing is expensive.

⚠️ Trap: "link Merchant Center, send the feed and start selling" is the sentence that precedes next month's suspension. The real number one cause is the website, not the feed: business details, terms, checkout. An ecommerce site without a complete legal footer will end up suspended for misrepresentation even if the feed is perfect.

What to remember

• Shopping is won in Merchant Center: the account, a claimed website, exact shipping and returns, consistent business details.
• Tell product disapproval (fix the data) apart from account suspension (everything goes dark; a maximum of 2 reviews per issue, 7 days apart).
• The real reasons: misrepresentation (business details, prices, terms), checkout, restricted products, a thin website, duplicates, images.
• A 20-minute preventive review before you switch on; an appeal with everything corrected and documented.