Google provides translated versions of the Advertising Policies Help Center, though they're not meant to change the content of the policies. The English version is the official language used to enforce Google Ads policies. To view this article in a different language, use the language dropdown at the bottom of the page.
Ads or destinations that deceive users by excluding relevant product information or providing misleading information about products, services, and businesses can compromise user trust in the Google Ads platform. The Misrepresentation policy strives to ensure that ads are clear, honest, and provide information that users need to make informed decisions.
Learn more about the Misrepresentation policy.
Failure to clearly and conspicuously disclose the payment model or full expense that a user will bear before and after purchase is not allowed.
Examples (non-exhaustive):
- Not disclosing the total price, including all taxes, fees, and surcharges
- Failing to explain the payment model, such as one-time purchases or subscriptions
- Omitting recurring costs and the billing interval
- Not disclosing all applicable shipping costs, including those for returns if the designated return shipping location differs from the business address
- Failing to disclose interest rates if applicable
- Not disclosing late payment fees
- Using premium rate phone numbers in call assets without disclosing the associated charges
- Not clearly showing the price and billing interval for subscriptions or memberships
Examples (non-exhaustive):
- Bait-and-switch tactics: Deceptively advertising a product or service at an enticing, often unrealistic, low price to lure customers, with no genuine intent to sell it, only to pressure them into buying a different, typically more expensive or inferior, alternative once they’re engaged
- Price exploitation: Exploiting individuals in vulnerable situations or under duress, leveraging their immediate need or lack of reasonable alternatives to demand a payment significantly higher than the prevailing market rate. For example, a locksmith threatening to leave the customer unless a cost above what was quoted is paid on the spot
- Promoting apps as free when a user must pay to install the app
- Promoting a free trial without clearly stating the trial period or that the user will be automatically charged at the end of the trial
Options to fix
If this policy is affecting your ad, review your options to fix below.
Check your ads for required payment model and billing information
Make sure that your landing page or app clearly and conspicuously discloses how your billing process works and the full expense that a user will pay.
- All pricing information should be available to users before using your service. Including this information on your landing page ensures that users can easily access it.
- Your fee structure should be easily understandable. For example, any formulas presented to explain how the cost of the service is determined should be as simple and straightforward as possible.
- To ensure transparency for urgent, on-site services with variable pricing like emergency repairs or specialized technical assistance, businesses must clearly and prominently disclose in their ads or on their landing pages all applicable fees, such as call-out charges, emergency hour surcharges, and whether their estimates are binding. This helps users understand the true cost upfront, even when specific situational factors make pricing unpredictable.
- Your site shouldn’t make it difficult for customers to find information related to costs by using similar or identical text and background colors, very small fonts, or other page elements that block this information visually.
- If you use a premium rate phone number, you should clearly show the cost to the user, including the price per call or price per minute of the call.
- For app installs, make sure you remove any content from your ad creatives that make users think your app is free to download if it isn’t.
Edit your ad and destination to comply with this policy
To resolve issues with this policy, add any required information that’s missing from your ad or destination. If you can’t fix the ad’s destination, update the ad with a new destination that complies with this policy. If your ad already complies with the policy but you made changes to the ad’s destination, make an edit in the ad and save it to resubmit the ad and destination for review.
- Go to Ads within the Campaigns
menu.
- Hover over the ad or asset and select Edit.
- Edit the ad or asset so that it complies with the policy.
- Select Save.
Your ad will be automatically reviewed again. Check the ad’s status in the “Ads & assets” page for updates.
Learn more about how to Fix an ad with policy violations.
Appeal policy decision
If you believe there’s been an error and that you haven’t violated Google Ads' policies, appeal the policy decision directly from your Google Ads account to request a review. If the review determines that your ads are compliant, they can run again. If you aren't able to fix these violations or choose not to, remove your ad to help prevent your account from becoming suspended in the future for repeated policy violations.