GMC Checker

Google Merchant Center Misrepresentation Checklist — Full Audit (2026)

A scannable, item-by-item checklist covering every requirement Google enforces under its misrepresentation policy. Use this before submitting a new feed or after a suspension to audit your store systematically.

Why You Need a Misrepresentation Checklist

Over 70% of Google Merchant Center suspensions cite misrepresentation, and most happen because merchants miss 2-3 requirements they did not know existed. Google checks dozens of trust signals across your website, product feed, and business profile — and a single gap can trigger a suspension.

This checklist covers every item Google evaluates. Work through it section by section before submitting your feed for the first time, before appealing a suspension, or as part of a monthly compliance audit. Each item includes what Google expects and how to verify it yourself.

For context on what each type of misrepresentation means and why Google enforces it, see our complete breakdown of misrepresentation types.

Business Information Checks

Google needs to verify your business is real and legitimate. These checks address misrepresentation of self — the most common suspension trigger.

  • Legal business name is displayed on the website and matches the name in Google Merchant Center exactly (including "LLC," "Ltd," "Inc." suffixes)
  • Physical business address is visible on the website — on the contact page and in the footer. PO Boxes are allowed only if disclosed as such
  • Phone number is displayed and functional. Google may call to verify. VoIP numbers are accepted
  • Email address is visible on the contact page — not just a contact form. Must be a domain email (info@yourstore.com), not a free provider like Gmail
  • About Us page exists with real company information: founding story, mission, team details, or company history. No generic placeholder text
  • Business name consistency across website header, footer, contact page, About Us page, Google Merchant Center, Google Business Profile, social media, and domain WHOIS (if public)
  • Google Business Profile is claimed and verified with matching NAP (Name, Address, Phone) data
  • Domain age is at least 90 days. New domains face higher scrutiny — build third-party signals (directory listings, social profiles) if your domain is under 6 months old
  • SSL certificate is active on all pages (HTTPS, not HTTP). No mixed content warnings

Policy Page Checks

Policy pages address omission of relevant information. Generic templates are almost as bad as missing pages — Google expects specifics.

  • Return/refund policy exists as a dedicated page with: exact return window (e.g., "30 days from delivery"), conditions for returns (unopened, defective, etc.), who pays return shipping, refund method (original payment, store credit), and processing time
  • Shipping policy exists with: estimated delivery times for each shipping method, shipping costs or free shipping thresholds, geographic restrictions, and carrier information
  • Privacy policy exists and covers: what data you collect, how you use it, third-party sharing, cookie usage, and how customers can request data deletion. Must comply with GDPR if you serve EU customers
  • Terms and conditions page exists covering: purchase terms, liability limitations, dispute resolution, and governing jurisdiction
  • All policy pages are linked from the website footer so they are accessible from every page on the site
  • Policy pages contain your actual business practices — not copied templates from another store or generic legal text that does not match your operations
  • Policies are consistent with each other — your return policy and shipping policy should not contradict each other on delivery timeframes or costs

Run a free compliance scan → to automatically check all your policy pages against Google's requirements.

Product Data Checks

These checks catch misrepresentation of product — the mismatch between your feed and your website.

  • Prices match exactly between your product feed and landing pages. Check at least 20 products across categories, including sale prices and variant prices
  • Availability status is accurate. Products marked "in stock" in the feed must show as available on the website. Products that are sold out must be marked "out of stock" in the feed
  • Product titles in the feed match or closely reflect the titles on product pages. Minor variations (word order, abbreviations) are acceptable, but the core product name must match
  • Product descriptions in the feed are consistent with landing page descriptions. No claims in the feed that are absent from the product page
  • Product images in the feed match the primary image on the landing page. No stock photos in the feed if your site uses different images
  • Variant pricing is correct. If a product has sizes or options at different prices, the feed must reflect the price of the specific variant being advertised, not the base price
  • Sale prices in the feed match live promotional pricing on the site. Expired sales must be removed from the feed immediately
  • Shipping costs in the feed match what checkout actually charges. Test with a real order if necessary
  • Product URLs in the feed all resolve to live product pages. No 404 errors, no redirects to the homepage, no "product not found" pages
  • GTINs/barcodes are accurate. Wrong GTINs cause product data quality issues that can escalate to misrepresentation flags
  • Brand names in the feed match the actual brand of the product. Do not claim a brand you are not authorized to sell

Website Technical Checks

Technical issues signal an untrustworthy or incomplete website, which feeds into Google's misrepresentation assessment.

  • No broken links on your site — especially in navigation, footer, and product pages. Use a crawler or broken link checker
  • No placeholder content — no "Lorem ipsum," no "Coming soon" pages, no empty product categories, no stock theme demo content
  • No broken images — every product image loads correctly. No missing image placeholders
  • Site loads in under 4 seconds on mobile. Google PageSpeed Insights score of 50+ is the minimum target; 70+ is recommended
  • Mobile-friendly design — all content is accessible and readable on mobile devices. Use Google's Mobile-Friendly Test tool
  • No malware or suspicious scripts — no injected code, no unauthorized redirects, no phishing behavior. Google Safe Browsing should show a clean report
  • Checkout process works end-to-end — a customer can add a product to cart and reach the payment page without errors. Test this yourself
  • No pop-ups that block content — especially on mobile. Interstitials that prevent access to the page content violate Google's guidelines
  • Currency is consistent between feed and website. If your feed is in USD, your product pages must display USD prices

Feed Accuracy Checks

These items specifically target your Google Shopping feed configuration in Merchant Center.

  • Feed is updated at least daily — stale feeds are the #1 cause of price and availability mismatches. Automated feeds via your platform's native integration are strongly recommended over manual uploads
  • No disapproved products with data quality errors. Check Merchant Center > Products > Diagnostics for active issues
  • Tax settings in Merchant Center match your actual tax collection. If you charge sales tax, it must be configured correctly in your feed or Merchant Center settings
  • Shipping settings in Merchant Center reflect your actual shipping rates and delivery times. Test edge cases: heavy items, remote locations, international orders
  • Product categories (google_product_category) are accurate. A "T-shirt" categorized as "Electronics" is a data quality red flag
  • Identifiers (GTIN, MPN, brand) are present for all products where applicable. Missing identifiers reduce trust scores
  • No duplicate products in your feed — each product variant should have a unique ID
  • Custom labels are not being used to circumvent policies (e.g., labeling adult products as general merchandise)

Promotional Content Checks

These items catch untrustworthy promotions, unavailable promotions, and dishonest pricing.

  • No fake countdown timers that reset on page load or cycle indefinitely
  • No false scarcity indicators — "Only 2 left!" must reflect actual inventory levels
  • No inflated "compare at" prices — original prices must reflect a real price the product was sold at for 30+ consecutive days in the past 180 days
  • No unverifiable superlative claims — remove "best quality," "lowest price," "#1 rated" unless backed by third-party evidence cited on the page
  • No health or medical claims without third-party certification (FDA, CE marking, clinical studies)
  • All active promotions are genuine with real start and end dates
  • Coupon codes promoted in ads actually work at checkout
  • Free shipping claims apply to all customers in the targeted region, not just above a minimum order value (unless disclosed)
  • Promotional pricing is reflected in the feed — if your site shows a sale price, your feed must include the sale_price attribute

Pre-Appeal Verification

Before submitting an appeal after a suspension, verify these additional items.

  • All fixes are live on the production website, not just in a staging environment
  • Google can access your site — check robots.txt is not blocking Googlebot. Test with Google Search Console's URL Inspection tool
  • Changes are indexable — Google's cache shows your updated pages. Request re-indexing in Search Console if needed
  • Identity verification is complete — upload government ID, proof of address, and business registration documents in Merchant Center under Settings > Business verification
  • Appeal letter is specific — references exact changes made, not generic statements like "I fixed the issues." See our appeal letter templates for examples
  • Screenshots are saved — document every change for your records in case of rejected appeals
  • Feed is paused or clean — no active products with data quality issues that could trigger additional flags during review

Don't Want to Check Manually?

Our scanner checks all 47 rules Google enforces in 60 seconds. It crawls your store, analyzes every page, and generates a compliance report with specific fix instructions for every issue found.

Scan your store now →

Monthly Maintenance Schedule

Misrepresentation is not a one-time fix. Google's crawlers check your site continuously, and your store changes over time. Set up a monthly audit using this abbreviated schedule:

Weekly:

  • Check Merchant Center > Diagnostics for new product disapprovals
  • Verify feed sync is running and prices are current

Monthly:

  • Audit 10 random products for feed-to-page accuracy
  • Check all policy pages for accuracy (especially if you changed carriers, return windows, etc.)
  • Verify contact information is current
  • Test checkout flow end-to-end

Quarterly:

  • Full checklist audit using this page
  • Review promotional content for compliance
  • Check Google Business Profile for accuracy
  • Run an automated compliance scan

For the complete guide on fixing an active suspension, see our misrepresentation fix guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

How often should I run through this misrepresentation checklist?+

Run the full checklist before submitting your feed for the first time and before every appeal. After that, do a full audit quarterly and an abbreviated check (feed accuracy, policy pages, contact info) monthly. Automated compliance scans can supplement manual checks by catching issues between audits.

Which checklist items are most likely to cause a suspension?+

The highest-risk items are: price mismatches between feed and landing pages, missing or generic policy pages, incomplete business identity information (no address, no phone number), and inflated compare-at prices. These four categories account for roughly 80% of misrepresentation suspensions.

Can I pass all checklist items and still get suspended?+

Yes, though it is rare. Google's algorithms also evaluate signals outside this checklist: domain reputation, backlink quality, server reliability, and similarity to previously suspended stores. If your domain is brand new or shares hosting with known bad actors, you may face additional scrutiny. Completing this checklist eliminates the most common triggers.

Do I need to fix every item on this checklist to get reinstated?+

You should fix every item that applies to your store. Google does not tell you which specific items triggered the suspension, so leaving known issues unresolved risks wasting an appeal attempt. Focus on the highest-severity items first (pricing, policies, business identity), then work through the rest.

How do I check if my product feed prices match my website prices?+

Download your feed from Merchant Center (Products > Feeds > download), then spot-check at least 20 products by visiting each landing page URL and comparing the price. Pay special attention to products with variants — the feed price must match the specific variant, not the base price. Automated compliance tools can check hundreds of products in seconds.

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