Google Ads and Merchant Center Both Suspended: Which Do You Fix First?

Google writes the order down. Its Merchant Center help page on linked account suspension says: "The Google Ads suspension must be resolved before your Merchant Center account issue can be reviewed." In August 2024 Google added this status to its Merchant Center policy. Inside Merchant Center it shows up as "Linked account suspension", which means a suspended Google Ads account is linked to your store's Merchant Center.

So a Merchant Center review sent while Ads is still down is a wasted shot. And reviews are not free. Google's request a review page says a failed review can start a cool down that greys out the button, and the wait can grow each time.

Unlinking is the shortcut everyone tries. It does nothing. Google's words: removing or unlinking the suspended Ads account "won't unsuspend or resolve your Merchant Center account issue."

While both are down, your Google ads stop. Your shop stays open, but a suspended Ads account is read only, so no campaign runs. And Google Ads help says a suspended Merchant Center has to be fixed before a Shopping campaign can serve.

Open both accounts and read the exact reason on each one.

In Merchant Center, the reason sits under Products, then the Needs attention tab. If it says "Linked account suspension", the store itself may be fine. The Ads account is the block. Fix Ads first, then check if Merchant Center still needs a review.

If Merchant Center shows its own reason, like misrepresentation, you have two real problems. Both accounts point at the same website, so start there. Look for wrong contact details, a price that differs between the page and the feed, shipping times that do not match, and claims you cannot prove. Fix those once, on the site, and both appeals get stronger.

In Google Ads, the red banner and the suspension email name the policy. Circumventing systems, misrepresentation, billing. That email decides what your Ads appeal must say. An appeal that cannot name the policy and the fix gets nowhere.

An r/PPC thread shows the trap. A new store got its Google Ads account suspended for circumventing systems. A few hours later Merchant Center went down for misrepresentation. Two weeks later a second Ads email said the Ads account was suspended because Merchant Center was. The owner reported that Ads support blamed Merchant Center, Merchant Center support blamed Ads, and none of his appeals showed up in the Ads appeal history. Months of that.

Google's own page is the way out. Ads goes first. So write one Google Ads appeal that names each policy, lists every fix with a date, and adds your business documents. Then wait. Google says it may not process too many appeals for the same suspension, and if it thinks you are misusing appeals it stops processing some of them for 7 days. Extra appeals for the same suspension can simply be ignored, so they do not help.

When Ads is back, go to Merchant Center and request the review. Google says to do that if the account is still suspended, so check first. Sometimes the store comes back with the Ads account.

A fresh Ads account or a second Merchant Center feels like the fast fix. It is the slow one. Google's Ads suspension page says accounts tied to a suspended one, like the same email, the same payment method or the same manager account, will be suspended too. New accounts the same advertiser opens get suspended as well. In Merchant Center, a second account to dodge a suspension counts as circumventing systems, which is its own violation.

Nobody can promise a reinstatement. Google says it reinstates Ads accounts only in compelling circumstances, like a mistake. If you are fixing this yourself, bring both notices and your fix list to our free Google Ads eCom Lab on Skool. We run it, so weigh that, but members post what got their accounts back. We run Google Ads for 300+ stores. If yours spends at least €10K a month on ads, our team can take on both accounts and work the appeals in the right order with you.