Before you can get started with Google Shopping you have to get Google Merchant Center running smoothly. And when you’re just getting started on the platform, things don’t always go as planned.
You might experience trouble uploading your product feed, dealing with errors and product disapprovals, or even getting suspended.
It’s not always super clear what the problem is, and what you need to do in order to fix the problem.
So in this article, we’ll lay out the top 4 ways to get Google Merchant Center support.
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The 4 Different Types of Google Merchant Center Support
There are four different options to get support for Google Merchant Center problems you’re facing.
- Self-service Googling
- Google Merchant Center product forum
- Contact Google support
- Expert help
In this article, we’ll break down the different options.
Option 1: Self-service Googling
This is where I hope that most will start.
Just put your problem into Google and explore the answers:
Not all results might be equally useful or your EXACT problem, but at minimum, you’re learning more about the problem you’re facing.
One of the best resources often are the official Google support articles.
But sometimes, these articles fall a little short of addressing the real problems. (Google doesn’t always want to admit where they’re failing)
Lucky for you, there are also a ton of experts that have created resources to help. That’s why we’ve created several help articles on things like solving account suspension, fixing feed errors, or other Google Merchant Center issues are great examples of that.
And once you understand what the problem is they hopefully give you some clues as to what you can do to fix things.
Option 2: Google Ads Help Community
If you’ve ever encountered a problem with Google Merchant Center you couldn’t instantly fix, you’ve probably ended up in the Google Ads Help community.
Here is an example:
This is a place where you can ask questions to other users that have expertise in that particular area.
It’s important to know that the people that are responding are not Google employees.
So when you’re super frustrated about encountering the same issue for the Xth time, don’t work out your anger on them. 🤬
Most people in these forums are passionate about helping others. So treat them right.
Some might also help people for free and also run a side business where you can pay to get extra help.
One of the people you’ll see appear again and again is Emmanuel Flossie, who is a Diamond product expert in that Google Ads community. He gets a special shoutout because he has had the right answers many times 🙂
Emmanuel also runs Feedarmy, which I’ll mention later in the article.
Option 3: Contact Google Support
The third option is to get in touch with Google.
The reason I list contacting Google directly only third is that it’s important you have a good grasp on the problem.
In general, Google doesn’t provide great support for products you don’t pay for.
For Google Search Console, their SEO tool, only provides a community, like the one I’ve described above.
Google Merchant Center is kind of in a grey zone. You don’t directly pay for it, but it’s a necessary requirement if you want to run Shopping Ads.
Because Google doesn’t want to properly support GMC, much of the support is automated. That makes it a lot harder.
And when you do get a human on the chat, email, or phone, they will often follow a very strict script with many of the basic recommendations.
So the better you understand the problem, the quicker you’re able to see if the advice you’re getting is actually useful. And if it’s not, you can ask better questions!
That means that Google has tried to automate a lot of the support and reviews
How to contact Google Merchant Center support
Here is how you can get in touch with Google:
In your Google Merchant Center account, click the question mark in the top bar, then click “Help center and support”.
A box will appear, scroll to the bottom and click “Contact us”.
If you don’t have access to your GMC account, you can use this page to see the same information, or read our Step-by-step guide to granting access to Google Merchant Center.
From the Contact Us form, the first thing you need to do is to select the account that you need help with.
Next, specify the issue you want to resolve. The input field only accepts up to 100 characters, so define the issue briefly.
Then, click on the Next button.
At this point, Google will show you a list of possible descriptions of the issue. Choose the one that best describes your problem, then click Next step.
Then, depending on the information you provided, your location, and your account, you will see the contact options:
- Get a call
- Chat
Note: sometimes the contact options are even different depending on which account is requesting the support. I’ve seen cases where someone is unable to get chat/phone support. But then when I add the Google Merchant Center account to my manager account, I see a lot more options.
Google Merchant Center Support Phone Number
If you want to be more proactive, you can call up Google’s Worldwide Phone Support.
From that page, select your country, and Google will automatically provide the relevant contact details.
Pro tip: if you feel like you’re not getting the quality support you need, and you master multiple languages, try switching countries.
Sometimes when I need support for a US account, I will contact the Belgian number (my country), and get support that way.
Special Google Merchant Center requests
Google doesn’t provide an external email address to contact them.
But with a few problems you can get additional support if you complete a special form:
- Merchant Center disapproved accounts, feeds or items
- Data feed upload issues
- Request for additional quota of items, feeds or sub-accounts
Pro tip: Leverage Google Ads support
As I mentioned before, Google doesn’t put a lot of support resources behind its free products.
So if you feel like you’re getting nowhere with Google Merchant Center support, you can use the support options inside of Google Ads to your advantage.
First, if you have some kind of contact at Google, use it. Now it’s time to contact all of the 10 different “Account Strategists” who have been emailing you 24/7 with “useful tips”. You have their email /phone number so use it!
In most cases, they won’t be able to help you, but they might be able to connect you to a different team that can help.
If that still doesn’t work, use the “Contact us” feature inside Google Ads.
Option 4: Get expert help
At this point, if you’ve exhausted the options above, you will have a very firm grasp on the problem you’re facing.
But you might not know how to fix it.
If you have the budget, you can get expert help.
The options here range from a $5/hr job on Fiverr to paying a Google Ads agency to manage your campaigns and sort out your feeds.
The main advice I have is to ask for references, and get proof that they’ve fixed the exact problem you’re having.
There are 2 sources for help I’d like to point you to
- Store Growers Lab
- FeedArmy: they can help you with a variety of GMC issues (including suspension)
Making sure you get the support you need
Many of the lingering problems in Google Merchant Center can be frustrating to fix.
The first few support options outlined in this article should give you a much better idea of the actual problem that you’re facing.
Then you can be more effective in dealing with Google to get your problem sorted.
And if that still isn’t helpful, there is a big group of consultants or service providers that can further help you.
