Frank I’m still very confused. I filled in a form at Google and got a very basic auto email that told me nothing. I’m going to put below what their help section says and i’ll reply again seperately with what they said in the email response to my form. can you help me figure this out?
Help section info:
Misrepresentation
This policy applies to free listings. Learn more about Shopping ads policies.
Our policy
Google doesn’t want customers to feel misled by the content in your free listings, and that means being upfront, honest, and providing them with the information that they need to make informed decisions. For this reason we don’t allow the following:
- Listings that prompt customers to initiate a purchase, download, make another commitment without first providing all relevant information and obtaining the customer’s explicit consent
- Listings that represent you or your products in a way that is not accurate, realistic, and truthful
Examples of what’s not allowed
Omission of relevant information
Failure to clearly and conspicuously disclose the payment model and full expense that a customer will bear before and after purchase
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Examples: Pricing of products (total price, currency) may depend on additional conditions impacting the total cost for the customer i.e. auction pricing, membership fees, contract, payment schemes, additional purchase requirement, creating additional undisclosed payment obligations during payment processing
See the Product data specification attributes on availability, price, tax and shipping for specific guidelines to comply with this policy
Failure to clearly and conspicuously disclose all related conditions before and after purchase
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Examples: Missing merchant terms and conditions or shipping information. Return and refund policy that is unclear, missing, or not easily discoverable.
Omitting material information when promoting content as benefiting a charitable or political organization
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Examples: Failing to display a charity or tax exemption number for charitable donations; failing to disclose whether political donations are tax exempt or not
Unavailable listings
Promising products or promotional offers that aren’t available for customers
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Examples: Listing products that are not stocked, promoting a deal that is no longer active, call-to-action in promotion that isn’t easily achievable from the landing page
See the Product data specification attributes on availability and price for specific guidelines to comply with this policy
Misleading or unrealistic listings
Making false statements about your identity, qualifications, or the listed product
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Examples: Claiming to be a certified reseller of goods when not actually certified, using a brand name to drive traffic to a different product on the site
Using false claims or claims that entice the customer with an improbable result (even if this result is possible) as the likely outcome that a customer can expect
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Examples: ‘Miracle cures’ for medical ailments; extreme weight loss products
Falsely implying affiliation with, or endorsement by, another individual, organization, product, or service
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Examples: Misleading use or mimicry of official government sites, stamps, seals, or agency names
Listings promoting harmful health claims, or content that relates to a current, major health crisis and contradicts authoritative scientific consensus
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Examples (non-exhaustive): Anti-vaccine advocacy; denial of the existence of medical conditions such as AIDS or Covid-19; gay conversion therapy
Making claims that are demonstrably false and could significantly undermine participation or trust in an electoral or democratic process
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Examples (non-exhaustive): Information about public voting procedures, political candidate eligibility based on age or birthplace, election results, incorrect claims that a public figure has died, or been involved in an accident
Unacceptable business practices
Concealing or misstating information about the business or product
- Note that we may review information from multiple sources, including promotion, website, accounts, and 3rd-party sources, in determining whether a merchant or site is untrustworthy
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Examples: Enticing customers to part with money or information under false or unclear pretenses; presenting a false identity, business name, or contact information; charging customers for products typically available for free; ‘phishing’ for customers’ information
Scamming customers by concealing or misstating information about the merchant’s business, or product, or service
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Examples: Impersonating brands or businesses by referencing or modifying the brand content in the listings, URL, destinations or misrepresenting yourself as the brand or business in customer interactions
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Examples: Enticing customers to part with money or information through a fictitious business that lacks the qualifications or capacity to provide the listed products
Offer destinations that use “phishing” techniques to gather customer information
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Examples: Sites that trick customers into revealing their personal information by mimicking a trusted retailer
We may take action on your account based on, for example, adverse regulatory warnings, settlements or rulings about a merchant’s business practices, or direct complaints from businesses and other entities about impersonation.
We take violations of this policy very seriously and consider them egregious. An egregious violation of our policies is a violation so serious that it is unlawful or poses significant harm to our customers. In determining whether a merchant or destination is violating this policy, we may review information from multiple sources including your product, website, accounts, and third-party sources. If we find violations of this policy, we will suspend your Merchant Center account upon detection and without prior warning, and you will not be allowed to participate in listing content with us again.
If you believe there’s been an error, and that you haven’t violated our policy, you can submit an appeal and explain why (using the link at the bottom of this page). We only reinstate accounts in compelling circumstances, and when there is good reason, so it’s important that you take the time to be thorough, accurate, and honest.
What you can do
Here’s what you can do if your product is disapproved or if your Merchant Center account is impacted:
Product disapproval
Account disapproval
Account issue that limits product visibility
To ensure a safe and positive experience for customers, Google requires that retailers comply with all applicable laws and regulations in addition to our policies. It’s important that you familiarize yourself with and keep up to date on these requirements for the place where your business operates, as well as for any other places your listings are shown. When we find content that violates these requirements, we may block it from appearing. In cases of repeated or egregious violations, we may ban you from listing content with us.
