GMC 'Untrustworthy Promotions': 12 Real Examples + Fixes (2026)

The untrustworthy promotions policy [1] is one of the easiest Google Merchant Center suspensions to misread. The notice says "untrustworthy" but does not list the specific promotion. Most merchants think it is about something they wrote in a sale banner. It is usually not. The most common trigger is a pre-selected subscription option that the merchant did not realize counted as a promotion at all.

This article catalogs the 12 real patterns that trigger this suspension, with concrete examples drawn from suspension recoveries. Fix the ones that apply to your store and the appeal succeeds at a 60-70% first-attempt rate, based on patterns we have observed.

What the policy actually says

Google's untrustworthy promotions policy prohibits any offer that creates a different cost, commitment, or experience at checkout than what was advertised. Specific patterns called out in the policy doc [1]:

• Hidden recurring charges (subscriptions that look like one-time purchases)
• Misleading reference prices (strikethrough prices not actually offered at that level)
• False urgency (countdown timers, fake stock counts, perpetual "limited time" offers)
• Bait-and-switch (promoted price not the actual checkout price)
• Surprise fees revealed late in checkout
• Promotions inconsistent with the advertised price in the feed

Each of the 12 examples below maps to one or more of these patterns. The fix in each case is to align the promotion with reality.

1. Pre-checked subscription on product page

The Shopify case. A merchant runs Recharge, Bold, Yotpo Subscriptions, or Loop. The product page has two purchase options: "Subscribe & save" and "One-time purchase." The subscription option is selected by default. The shopper has to manually un-pick it to buy one time.

From Google's view: the advertised one-time purchase price is the headline, but the default state of the page commits the shopper to a recurring charge. That mismatch is the violation.

Fix: open your subscription app settings → default selling plan → change to "one-time purchase." Specifically:

• Recharge: Settings → Sell more options → Default selection → One-time
• Bold Subscriptions: Settings → Product display → Default selection
• Yotpo Subscriptions: Subscription widget settings → Default frequency
• Loop Subscriptions: Settings → Widget → Default selected option

Test by opening a product page in a fresh browser tab. The subscription option should NOT be checked or pre-selected on first load.

2. Hidden recurring charges

Less common than #1 but more serious. A product page sells what looks like a one-time item, but the checkout (or the fine print) reveals a recurring subscription that auto-renews monthly.

This is a direct violation of the promotions policy AND, in many regions, a consumer protection law violation (UK CMA, US FTC, Australian ACCC).

Fix: if your business model genuinely requires recurring billing, the recurring nature must be the most prominent text on the product page. Bold, above the fold, with the dollar amount and the cadence. Then double-confirmed at checkout.

3. Sale price greater than reasonable discount

Google's policy on the sale_price attribute [4] requires the sale price to be a reasonable discount from the regular price. The unstated threshold is around 50%; deeper discounts trigger review. Examples of what gets flagged:

• Regular price $200, sale price $19.99 (90% off, looks too good to be true)
• Perpetual 70%+ off across the entire catalog
• Identical "regular" price across SKUs that suggest the regular price was synthetic

Fix: set the regular_price to a price the product has actually been sold at. If your catalog is genuinely deep-discounted, lower the regular_price to a level closer to the sale price. Run sales as time-limited campaigns rather than perpetual states.

4. Perpetual 'limited time' offers

An "ends tonight!" banner that has been on the site for six months is the textbook untrustworthy promotion. Google's reviewers run multiple manual checks over time. If they see the same "limited time" message across multiple check dates, the urgency is fake.

Fix: set real end dates on sale banners. Use Shopify's scheduled-publish feature or a banner-management app that supports actual scheduling. Rotate the offers; they cannot all run forever.

5. Strikethrough price that was never the real price

A common dropshipping pattern: Aliexpress sourcing price is $5, "regular price" on the store is $89, "sale price" is $29. The strikethrough $89 was never an actual price the product sold at.

Google's reviewers look at the site over time and compare against the price-history pattern that legitimate stores show. Perpetually-discounted "regular prices" trigger the policy.

Fix: set strikethrough prices only when they represent a real historical price. If the product was at $89 in Q1 and dropped to $29 in Q2, the strikethrough is fair. If $89 was a marketing fiction, remove it.

6. Free shipping that requires a code not advertised

Banner says "Free shipping." Checkout reveals "Free shipping with code SHIP10, on orders over $75, US only." The conditions are buried.

Fix: make the conditions prominent in the banner itself. "Free US shipping on orders over $75" beats "Free shipping*" with a footnote. The fewer surprises at checkout, the safer the promotion.

7. Coupon code that does not work

Promo banner advertises code SAVE20. Customer applies it at checkout. Code is expired, restricted to certain SKUs, or shows "Invalid code."

Google's reviewers test promotions. A broken or restricted code on a product page is a direct violation.

Fix: audit every active promo code monthly. Remove banners advertising expired or product-restricted codes. If a code applies only to certain products, the banner should say which.

8. BOGO with restrictions buried in checkout

"Buy one get one free" banner. Customer adds two products to cart. Discount does not apply because the BOGO is restricted to specific collections, specific SKUs, or a minimum order value not stated up front.

Fix: state the restrictions in the banner or directly next to it. "BOGO on summer collection, see eligible items" beats a banner that fails silently when the wrong items are added.

9. Free trial that auto-converts to a paid plan

Common SaaS pattern, increasingly applied to ecommerce subscriptions: 7-day free trial that converts to $29/month if not cancelled. If the conversion details are not as prominent as the "free trial" copy, Google reads it as a hidden commitment.

Fix: the auto-conversion details must be at least as visible as the free-trial copy. Same font size, same proximity. Some merchants require an additional checkbox at signup acknowledging the conversion; that strengthens compliance.

10. Bundle pricing that does not actually save money

"Buy the bundle and save 20%!" Customer compares: the bundle is $80, the individual products total $80 at their regular prices, the bundle is exactly the same price as buying separately.

Fix: bundles must actually be discounted. Either lower the bundle price, or stop calling it a discount. "Buy the set" is fine. "Save 20% on the set" requires real savings.

11. Countdown timer that resets on refresh

Javascript countdown timer that starts at 24 hours, goes down to a few minutes, then resets when the page is refreshed. Or different visitors see different timers. Both patterns trigger the policy.

Fix: use timers tied to real sale-end dates, not session-based timers. Apps like Hextom Countdown Timer Bar and similar have a "real deadline" mode versus a "session-based urgency" mode. Pick the real-deadline mode.

12. Promo banner inconsistent with feed price

Site banner says "20% off everything this weekend!" Google's feed receives the regular prices, not the discounted prices. When the reviewer checks, the feed and the page advertise different prices.

Fix: when running a site-wide sale, push the sale price into your product feed via your platform's sale_price field. Shopify and WooCommerce both support scheduled sale_price syncs. The banner price, page price, and feed price must agree.

If your account is already suspended for untrustworthy promotions

Run through the 12 patterns above. For each, screenshot your product pages or banners before and after the fix. Reference both in your appeal.

The appeal text structure that succeeds:

Untrustworthy promotions suspension received [date]. Audited every product page and promotion banner against the policy. Fixes:

1. Subscription default on /products/* changed from "Subscribe & save" pre-selected to "One-time purchase" via [app name] settings.

2. Sale prices on [N] products restored to within reasonable-discount range.

3. "Limited time" banner removed from homepage; future sales will use scheduled end dates.

4. Free shipping banner now states "Free US shipping on orders over $75" instead of unqualified "Free shipping."

5. Strikethrough prices removed from products where the strikethrough did not represent a real historical price.

All changes live as of [date]. Please re-review.

For a broader suspension recovery framework, see the 7-day GMC suspension recovery plan.

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