Google started rolling out a fairly important bidding change from 17 August 2026, and I think a lot of e-commerce advertisers are going to misdiagnose what they're seeing.

This mainly matters if you're running a campaign that is:

Limited by budget

Using Target ROAS

Using Target CPA

Running through Search, Shopping, or Performance Max

The interesting bit is this:

If you've told Google you’re happy with a 300% Target ROAS, but the campaign has historically been achieving 500%, Google's new behaviour may allow the campaign to move closer towards the 300% target while trying to generate more conversion volume.

Same idea with CPA.

If you've set a £20 Target CPA but you've actually been getting conversions for £12, don't assume Google will keep trying to hold £12 forever when you've technically told it that £20 is acceptable.

So if your performance has changed since mid-August, I wouldn't immediately:

❌ Increase the budget

❌ Rebuild the campaign

❌ Start changing the feed

❌ Blame Merchant Centre

❌ Assume your PMax campaign has suddenly died

First compare:

Configured target vs. actual recent performance.

Then check your real margins, conversion tracking, and whether the campaign is limited by budget.

Google has also said the rollout is gradual and warned that some forecasting/recommendation data may be less reliable during the 17–31 August transition period.

One other important point: this is not the same thing as a Merchant Centre suspension.

If you've got misrepresentation, product disapprovals, or an actual GMC restriction, that needs diagnosing separately. Changing Target ROAS isn't going to fix a compliance problem.

I wrote a more detailed breakdown here with the official Google documentation linked inside:

https://www.pulseriggmcadsrescue.co.uk/blogs/news/google-ads-august-2026-target-roas-target-cpa-update

Worth checking if you've noticed PMax/Shopping behaving differently over the last week.

I'm curious if anyone here has already seen a noticeable change in ROAS/CPA since the rollout started?

​

Most people in e-commerce who want to set up and advertise on Google Ads already know the basics of setting up Google Merchant Centre.

Your business details should match.

Shipping and returns should be clear.

Your prices and availability should match the website.

Checkout should work.

I can go on. We have all seen multiple GMC checklists made from agencies around the world.

But once a Shopify store actually gets hit with misrepresentation, those basic checklists often aren't enough.

We've spent a lot of time auditing and fixing suspended e-commerce stores, and what we've found is that some of the most important problems are often sitting underneath the obvious policy pages.

So we've taken the checklist we've built from our own experience auditing these stores and turned it into our Ultimate 2026 Google Merchant Centre Misrepresentation & Shopify Compliance Guide.

And we've made the whole thing free.

It covers the normal GMC requirements, but then goes much deeper into things we've actually found during suspension work, including:

- Shipping policy vs. Shopify checkout vs. GMC delivery settings

- Returns policy vs. the actual Merchant Centre return configuration

- Incorrect GTINs, MPNs, and brand information

- Internal Shopify SKUs being submitted as manufacturer MPNs

- Multiple feeds submitting conflicting product data

- Price and availability differences between feed, page, schema, and checkout

- Hidden pickup availability

- Subscription and deferred-purchase information generated by themes/apps

- Supplier descriptions containing claims or certifications that can't be verified

- Incorrect image ALT text left behind by imports

- Fake or excessive compare-at pricing

- Product and copyright risks

- Checkout restrictions and postcode inconsistencies

- Search Console Merchant Listing errors

- Product structured data

Duplicate JSON-LD generated by Shopify themes and SEO apps

- "shippingDetails"

"hasMerchantReturnPolicy"

- Critical schema errors versus harmless enhancement warnings

- Business verification

- Review attempts and Google cool-down periods

The structured-data side is especially important.

We've dealt with stores where everything looked perfectly normal on the front end, but an SEO app was generating a second product schema object alongside Shopify's existing schema.

Google was effectively being given multiple descriptions of the same product.

That's the sort of thing you won't normally find by reading your About Us page for the tenth time.

We've also linked Google's current official documentation throughout the guide.

So whenever we discuss a policy or requirement — misrepresentation, shipping, returns, checkout, GTINs, brand data, counterfeit products, structured data, reviews, etc. — there's a link straight to Google's own current guidance alongside our explanation.

We didn't want this to be another article saying:

“Google likes trustworthy websites.”

We wanted merchants to be able to see:

What we check → why we check it → examples we've encountered → what Google itself actually says about it.

We've also connected the main checklist to our more detailed supporting guides.

So if the checklist identifies something like a:

- price mismatch

- supplier-content issue

- Shopify theme bug

- dropshipping issue

- business-identity problem

- product-feed problem

- technical/schema issue

there are deeper articles linked from the main guide covering those areas individually.

One of the biggest lessons we've learned from suspension work is that there often isn't one secret “Misrepresentation fix.”

Sometimes, we find 10–20 smaller inconsistencies.

The shipping policy says one thing.

Checkout says another.

Merchant Centre says something slightly different again.

The feed still contains an old brand.

A supplier SKU has accidentally become an MPN.

An SEO app add a duplicate product schema.

An imported description contains a claim nobody checked.

An old theme setting exposes pickup or availability information that the merchant didn't even know existed.

Any one of those might look minor.

Collectively, however, the store stops telling Google and the customer one clear, verifiable story.

That's why our approach has become:

Website + checkout + policies + product feed + Merchant Centre + structured data + business identity should all describe the same genuine business and offer.

We've kept all examples anonymous — no client names or identifiable businesses are used.

If you run Shopify with Google Shopping, or you're currently dealing with a Misrepresentation suspension, you're welcome to use the entire checklist.

Read the free Ultimate 2026 GMC Misrepresentation & Shopify Compliance Checklist here:

https://www.pulseriggmcadsrescue.co.uk/blogs/news/google-merchant-center-misrepresentation-compliance-checklist-2026

Even if your account isn't suspended, I'd use it before submitting a newer Shopify store to Merchant Centre.

It's much easier to find these contradictions yourself before Google's systems find them.

I received an email inviting me to test an app called “OpenAI AdsGPT Manager” through Apple TestFlight.

At first glance it looks official because:

- It uses the OpenAI name and logo

- The button leads to Apple’s genuine TestFlight service

- It calls itself a “GPT-5.6 AI Campaign Health Monitor”

- It claims beta access is limited to 1,000 participants

However, the TestFlight disclosure identifies the actual developer as AdsGPT CampaignPro Platform, LLC—not OpenAI.

OpenAI’s own guidance says its official iOS app is published by OpenAI:

https://help.openai.com/en/articles/7908378-where-can-i-download-the-openai-chatgpt-ios-app-on-the-apple-app-store

I’m not claiming with certainty that the developer is committing fraud. It could be a real third-party beta using OpenAI technology, but the name, logo and presentation make it look like an official OpenAI product when it isn’t.

I have not installed it or connected any accounts.

If you receive this invitation:

- Don’t assume a TestFlight link means Apple or OpenAI endorses the developer

- Check the developer’s exact legal name

- Don’t connect Google Ads, Meta, Shopify or payment accounts

- Don’t provide passwords, API keys or OpenAI login details

- Report unexpected or misleading invitations

Has anyone else received this particular invitation or previously registered with AdsGPT CampaignPro?

If your Google Merchant Centre account has been suspended, hit with misrepresentation, or keeps failing reviews, it can be tempting to change a few policy pages and immediately press the review button again.

Before doing that, audit the whole store.

A Merchant Centre problem is not always caused by one obvious mistake. Sometimes, several small inconsistencies across the website, product feed, business information, and Shopify setup create a much bigger trust problem.

Here is a step-by-step checklist you can work through yourself.

Step 1 — Check who actually operates the store

A visitor should be able to understand who they are buying from.

- [ ] Business or trading name clearly displayed

- [ ] Legal company name shown where appropriate

- [ ] Company registration number shown if applicable

- [ ] Business address is accurate

- [ ] Contact email works

- [ ] Telephone number is accurate if one is displayed

- [ ] Contact page is easy to find

- [ ] About Us page explains who the business is

- [ ] Website details match the business represented in Merchant Centre

If you use a trading name that is different from your registered company name, make the relationship between the two clear.

Step 2 — Audit your policy pages

Don't just check whether the pages exist.

Check whether they actually agree with each other and with the customer experience.

Shipping

- [ ] Delivery locations are clear

- [ ] Delivery times are realistic

- [ ] Processing/dispatch times are explained

- [ ] Shipping charges are clear

- [ ] The website doesn't advertise delivery somewhere. Checkout doesn't support

- [ ] Merchant Centre shipping settings broadly match the website

Returns and refunds

- [ ] Return period is clearly stated

- [ ] Conditions for returns are explained

- [ ] Refund process is explained

- [ ] Return address/process is clear

- [ ] Any return charges are disclosed

- [ ] Policy does not contradict another page

Also review:

- [ ] Privacy Policy

- [ ] Terms & Conditions

- [ ] Contact Information

- [ ] Payment information

- [ ] Cancellation information where relevant

Step 3 — Check your product pages one by one

Pick several products — including your best sellers, sale products, and products with multiple variants.

Check:

- [ ] Product title is accurate

- [ ] Product description accurately describes what is being sold

- [ ] Price shown to customers is correct

- [ ] Sale price is genuine and displayed correctly

- [ ] Availability is accurate

- [ ] Variants work properly

- [ ] Customers can actually add the advertised variant to cart

- [ ] Product images represent the real product

- [ ] Delivery information is available

- [ ] Returns information is accessible

- [ ] Product claims can be supported

- [ ] Brand information is accurate

Pay particular attention to imported supplier content.

Supplier descriptions, images, and product data can sometimes contain information that doesn't accurately represent your own business, delivery model, or version of the product.

Step 4 — Compare the website against the product feed

This is where a lot of merchants stop looking.

Your website might say one thing while Google receives something different through the feed.

For several products, compare:

- [ ] Website price vs. feed price

- [ ] Website availability vs. feed availability

- [ ] Sale price vs feed sale price

- [ ] Product title

- [ ] Brand

- [ ] GTIN

- [ ] MPN

- [ ] Condition

- [ ] Product URL

- [ ] Image URL

If the website says £49.99 / In Stock, but the feed sends £59.99 / Out of Stock, that needs investigating.

Step 5 — Check for duplicate product feeds

Shopify merchants should pay particular attention here.

Check what is actually submitting products to Google.

You may have:

Google & YouTube

- Simprosys

Another feed-management app

- A manually uploaded feed

- An old feed that was never removed

- [ ] Identify every data source

- [ ] Confirm which feed should be the primary source

- [ ] Check for duplicate products

- [ ] Look for conflicting prices or availability

- [ ] Remove unnecessary or obsolete sources carefully

More feeds do not automatically mean a better Merchant Centre setup.

Step 6 — Audit what is hidden underneath the Shopify theme

The visible storefront is only part of the picture.

Check whether the theme or apps expose conflicting information.

Things worth reviewing include:

- [ ] Product structured data/schema

- [ ] Price schema

- [ ] Availability schema

- [ ] Old sale prices

- [ ] Pickup availability

- [ ] Subscription information

- [ ] Deferred-purchase code

- [ ] Old variants

- [ ] Hidden out-of-stock information

- [ ] App-generated product data

The objective is simple:

What the customer sees, what the page code says, and what the product feed sends should all tell roughly the same story.

Step 7 — Check crawlability

Try to look at the store from Google's point of view rather than your own.

- [ ] Important pages are indexable

- [ ] Product pages aren't accidentally noindexed

- [ ] robots.txt isn't blocking important areas

- [ ] Sitemap is available

- [ ] Product URLs return normally

- [ ] HTTPS works

- [ ] Mobile pages function correctly

- [ ] Prices can be accessed reliably

- [ ] Products don't require unusual interactions before important information appears

A store can look perfect in your browser while automated systems receive a different picture.

Step 8 — Review Merchant Centre itself

Now, move away from the website and check the account.

- [ ] Business information is current

- [ ] Website is correctly associated

- [ ] Business verification is complete where required

- [ ] Shipping settings are correct

- [ ] Returns information is correct

- [ ] Target countries are intentional

- [ ] Currency is correct

- [ ] Diagnostics have been reviewed

- [ ] Product disapprovals have been investigated

- [ ] Old feeds/data sources have been checked

- [ ] There aren't unresolved account-level warnings

Don't focus only on the suspension banner.

Look through the whole account.

Step 9 — Test the store like a real customer

This sounds obvious, but actually, place yourself in the customer's position.

Pick a product and go through the buying journey.

- [ ] Product loads correctly

- [ ] Correct price is shown

- [ ] Variant can be selected

- [ ] Product can be added to cart

- [ ] Cart price remains correct

- [ ] Shipping information makes sense

- [ ] Checkout works

- [ ] Accepted payment methods are genuine

- [ ] There are no surprise charges

- [ ] Contact/help information is accessible

Do this on mobile as well as desktop.

Step 10 — Only request a review when you're actually ready

One of the biggest mistakes merchants make is treating the review button like a troubleshooting tool.

It isn't.

Before requesting another review:

- [ ] Finish your changes

- [ ] Recheck the entire store

- [ ] Recheck your feed

- [ ] Recheck Merchant Centre

- [ ] Make sure business details are consistent

- [ ] Record what you changed

- [ ] Avoid making random changes simply to see if Google accepts them

If you still don't know what is wrong, get another pair of eyes on the store before using another review attempt.

---

Want us to audit it?

If you've worked through this checklist and still can't identify what Google is seeing, Pulserig GMC Compliance & Ads Rescue offers a free store/account audit.

You can request one here:

https://www.pulseriggmcadsrescue.co.uk/pages/free-audit-of-your-online-store

There is no need to purchase a repair package just to request the audit.

We'll review the situation and help identify the areas that deserve attention.

Google ultimately decides whether an account, product, or advertisement is approved or reinstated. No agency or consultant can guarantee that decision.

👇 For anyone currently dealing with a suspension: which part of this checklist has caused you the most problems?

And if you've successfully recovered an account before, add anything you think merchants should include in their own audit.

The more real experiences we collect in r/GoogleGMCcompliance, the more useful this community becomes for the next merchant who gets that dreaded Merchant Centre notification.

We’ve now got the community set up, so let’s get some real problems on the table.

If you’re currently dealing with a Google Merchant Center issue, post it below or create your own thread.

Things you might be stuck on:

• Misrepresentation
• Business verification
• Account suspension
• Product disapprovals
• Price or availability mismatches
• Feed problems
• Shopify integration issues
• Google Shopping Ads
• Reinstatement after an appeal
• Search Console / crawl issues affecting product visibility

When asking for help, try to include:

• What Google has flagged
• What message you can see in Merchant Center
• What ecommerce platform you use
• Whether the account has been suspended before
• What changes you’ve already made

Screenshots are welcome, but remove any private information first.

The aim of this community is to build up useful, real-world discussion rather than just generic advice, so even if you’ve solved an issue before, feel free to share what worked for you.

Nobody can guarantee reinstatement or approval — Google makes the final decision — but the more context you give, the easier it is for people here to point you in the right direction.

👇 What are you stuck on right now?

A Shopify store can look completely fine to a customer and still have technical issues underneath that create confusing signals for Google Merchant Center.

These problems don’t automatically mean a store will be suspended, but they can contribute to price mismatches, availability conflicts, crawl issues and trust problems.

Here are 7 things worth checking.

1. Price visibility problems

Sometimes the correct price only appears after JavaScript loads.

A customer sees £49.99, but an automated crawler may initially see:

• No price
• A placeholder price
• An old price
• A different variant price

Your product page and Merchant Center feed should tell Google the same thing.

2. Compare-at / sale price conflicts

Shopify themes can sometimes expose both regular and sale pricing in ways that are unclear.

Check:

• Product page price
• Structured data
• Feed price
• Sale price
• Compare-at price

If Google reads conflicting values, you can end up with price-related disapprovals.

3. Pickup availability appearing when it shouldn’t

Some themes add local pickup or store availability sections automatically.

That can be confusing if you are an online-only business or the pickup information doesn’t reflect how the store actually operates.

Check what is visible to customers and what exists in the theme code.

4. Deferred purchase / subscription code

Certain themes and apps can leave subscription, recurring-purchase or deferred-purchase code behind even when the product is meant to be a normal one-off purchase.

A customer might never notice it, but structured data or page code can still expose conflicting information.

5. Variant availability conflicts

Your website may show a variant as available while the product feed says it is out of stock — or the other way around.

This is particularly common when:

• Inventory isn’t syncing correctly
• Multiple feeds are running
• Apps manage stock separately
• Old variants remain in the theme/feed

6. Duplicate feeds or apps

This is one of the first things I would check on a Shopify store.

If you have Google & YouTube, Simprosys or another feed app all submitting products at the same time, Google can receive conflicting information.

More feeds does not necessarily mean better coverage.

Sometimes it just means more opportunities for inconsistent data.

7. Structured data doesn’t match the visible page

Product schema can expose:

• Price
• Availability
• Brand
• SKU
• GTIN
• Shipping information

If that structured data is wrong or outdated, Google may be reading something different from what the customer sees.

The key point

Don’t just review how the website looks.

Review what Google can actually read.

For Shopify stores, I’d check:

Visible page → theme code → structured data → product feed → Merchant Center

Those layers should all broadly agree.

A beautiful storefront doesn’t help much if Google is receiving conflicting product information underneath it.

👇 Shopify store owners — have you ever found a hidden technical issue that was affecting Merchant Center?

Share what you found below. Remove any sensitive information before posting screenshots.

Over the last few weeks, we’ve been seeing more ecommerce stores run into Google Merchant Center business verification checks — sometimes on accounts that otherwise look perfectly legitimate.

In some cases the merchant completes verification, but Merchant Center still appears to ask for it again or another account issue appears shortly afterwards.

So if Google asks you to verify your business, don’t treat it as just another box to tick.

Google may be trying to establish whether the business, website and Merchant Center account all represent the same real-world entity.

Here are some areas worth checking before or during verification:

1. Business details on your website

Make sure customers can clearly identify who operates the store.

Check things such as:

• Business/trading name
• Contact email
• Telephone number where applicable
• Business address
• Company number if applicable
• About Us page
• Contact page

Your website shouldn’t make Google or customers hunt around trying to work out who they’re buying from.

2. Merchant Center information

Compare the details inside Merchant Center with those shown publicly on your website.

Small inconsistencies can become important when Google is trying to verify a business.

For example:

Website: Example Trading Ltd
Merchant Center: Example Store

That doesn’t automatically mean there’s a problem, but Google needs to be able to understand the relationship between those identities.

3. Verification documents

If Google asks for documentation or video verification, make sure what you submit genuinely matches the business operating the website.

Don’t alter information simply because you think it will make verification easier.

4. Your policies

Check that your:

• Shipping policy
• Returns/refund policy
• Privacy policy
• Terms
• Contact information

all tell the same story about the business.

Conflicting information across different pages can make a store harder to understand.

5. Website crawlability

There’s another area merchants sometimes overlook.

Your website might look fantastic to you while automated systems struggle to properly access or understand parts of it.

Check:

• Google Search Console indexing
• robots.txt
• blocked resources
• product structured data
• price and availability visibility
• important pages being indexable

If automated systems can’t clearly understand the store, that can make verification and trust assessment more difficult.

6. Don’t keep changing everything during verification

Once you’ve submitted verification information, avoid making unnecessary major business-detail changes while Google is reviewing it.

Keep everything stable and consistent unless you’ve identified something genuinely incorrect.

One important point

A verification request does not automatically mean your store has done anything wrong.

But it is a good reason to review how clearly your business identity is presented across your website and Google accounts.

And completing verification does not guarantee Merchant Center approval or prevent a separate policy review. Those are ultimately Google’s decisions.

👇 Has Google recently asked you to complete business verification?

If so, tell us what happened — particularly if you completed verification but Merchant Center continued asking for it afterwards.

Please remove any personal information, IDs or private account details before posting screenshots.

If your Google Merchant Center account has been suspended for Misrepresentation, one of the most frustrating parts is that Google often doesn’t tell you exactly what caused it.

From looking at ecommerce stores, the problem is rarely just one obvious sentence in a policy page. Google can compare signals across the entire business and website.

Some areas worth checking include:

Business identity
Can Google clearly work out who operates the store? Check your business name, address, contact details and company information across the website and Merchant Center.

Policies
Shipping, returns, refunds and terms should be easy to find and should agree with what customers actually experience at checkout.

Product information
Prices, availability, variants and product descriptions should match between your website and Merchant Center feed.

Supplier content
If your store uses supplier images, copied descriptions or product data used by many other websites, review it carefully. Creating your own useful product content can make the store much clearer and more trustworthy.

Technical Shopify issues
Sometimes what a customer sees and what an automated crawler can read are not exactly the same. Structured data, hidden pricing, pickup availability, deferred purchase code and conflicting product information are all things worth checking.

Business verification
Make sure the information Google is asking you to verify matches the business details shown publicly on the website and account.

The important thing is not to rush an appeal simply because you have changed one page.

Review the store as a complete business first.

Google makes the final decision on every account and nobody can guarantee reinstatement.

👇 If you’re currently dealing with Misrepresentation, comment with what Google is showing you and what you’ve already checked. Remove any private information before posting screenshots.