Misrepresentation is the name of a Google policy that bans ads, product listings and websites which mislead people about a business, its products or its prices. Breaking it can disapprove ads, but the version most owners meet is a Google Merchant Center suspension for “misrepresentation”, which stops every Shopping ad and free listing at once.
How the misrepresentation policy works
Google’s policy covers several kinds of behaviour: hiding information a customer needs before buying, such as delivery costs or subscription terms; advertising offers that are not actually available; making claims that cannot be backed up; pretending to be another business; and running a site that does not make clear who is behind it. Some of these are treated as serious enough to suspend an account straight away rather than after a warning.
In Merchant Center, the review is largely automated and looks at your whole website, not just the product feed. Google checks whether a shopper could find out who you are, how to contact you, what they will pay in total, how returns work and whether payment is secure. If too much is missing or looks inconsistent, the account is suspended and Google rarely says which detail caused it.
Inside Google Ads, the same policy usually shows up as individual ads marked disapproved or limited, with “Misrepresentation” or one of its sub-reasons in the policy column. Those are easier to deal with: fix the ad or the landing page, then appeal the specific ad. Repeated or serious breaches, though, can escalate to a warning and then to suspension of the whole advertising account.
Why it matters
For an online shop, a misrepresentation suspension can cut off Shopping ads, Performance Max product ads and free listings overnight. Because the decision is account-wide, one weak page can stop every product.
The common triggers in the UK are often fixable basics. A website that shows no business address, or only a PO box, can look anonymous to a reviewer. A returns page that offers fewer rights than UK law gives consumers, for example ignoring the 14-day cancellation period for online purchases under the Consumer Contracts Regulations, looks untrustworthy to Google and is also unlawful. Prices that rise at checkout because of hidden fees cause similar problems, and under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 they now carry their own legal risk.
Common mistakes
- No physical business address, phone number or company details on the site, or details that differ from those in Merchant Center.
- Returns and refund terms copied from a template that does not reflect UK consumer rights.
- Delivery charges that only appear at the final checkout step.
- “Was” prices that were never actually charged, or countdown timers that reset on every visit.
- Claims such as “best in the UK” or medical-sounding benefits with nothing to support them.
- Requesting a review before fixing everything, which can lead to a waiting period before the next request.
How to act on it
Audit the site as a cautious first-time buyer would. Put your registered business name, address, phone number and email on the contact page and in the footer, and make sure they match Merchant Center. Write returns, delivery and privacy pages that state UK consumer rights accurately. Show delivery costs on product pages, keep checkout secure and make sure every advertised price and promotion is real.
Only then submit a review, and use the appeal process if you believe the decision is wrong. If a suspension is blocking your ads, I can work through the site and account with you as part of ongoing PPC management.