Google's Circumventing Systems Policy: What to Do Next

What is Google's Circumventing systems policy?

Google's Circumventing systems policy bans any attempt to trick, bypass or interfere with the systems Google uses to review ads and product listings. It exists in Google Ads and in Merchant Center, with almost the same wording. If an email says "your account violated the Circumventing systems policy", Google has concluded that your account, or something connected to it, tried to get around a review.

The Google Ads policy page says Google Ads "doesn't allow advertisers to attempt to trick or circumvent our ad review processes with their ads, content, or destinations." In Merchant Center, the same rule sits inside the Abuse of the network policy and applies to product listings, content and destinations.

Three facts shape everything else in this guide:

• It is an egregious policy. Google defines an egregious violation as one "so serious that it is unlawful or poses significant harm" to users. Circumventing systems sits on the same list as counterfeit goods and malicious software.
• There is no warning. For policies that are not egregious, Google sends a warning at least 7 days before it suspends an account. Egregious violations lead to suspension "upon detection and without prior warning".
• Google looks beyond the account. Google says it "may review information from multiple sources including your ad, website, accounts, and third-party sources." The cause can sit in an old account or in your website code.

The policy does not cover small mistakes. Google states that accounts "aren't suspended under this policy for having ad disapprovals related to editorial issues like formatting or misspelled words."

What are Google's circumventing systems examples?

Google gives a non-exhaustive list of examples in both help centers. Five appear in both, almost word for word. Merchant Center adds three technical examples, and Google Ads adds one for gambling advertisers.

Google adds that an account may also be suspended over regulatory warnings or rulings about your advertising, or direct complaints from users or businesses. Merchant Center also has a separate egregious rule, linked account suspension, covered below.

The three named parts of the Google Ads policy

As of October 2026, the Google Ads policy page splits the policy into three named sections, and your notice may name one:

• Cloaking. Google defines it as "showing different content on your website to different people or to Google to try to hide things that might break Google Ads' rules." Its examples include a pop-up that blocks most of the site so Google cannot check the page, and click trackers that send people to prohibited content.
• Multiple account abuse. Creating more Google Ads accounts after a suspension to keep breaking the rules, or creating dozens of accounts to run a scam.
• Advertiser verification. Giving false or fraudulent information during verification. You lose verified status and the account is suspended.

If your Merchant Center notice names a different policy, such as misrepresentation, the fix is different. See our guide to fixing a Merchant Center misrepresentation suspension instead.

Why do legitimate businesses get flagged for circumventing systems?

An honest business can get this notice without ever setting out to trick Google. Something in its setup matches a pattern on Google's list: a second account, a link to a suspended account, or a website that shows Google something different from what visitors see.

A new account opened after a suspension

This is the most direct match. Google's examples include "after a previous suspension decision, attempting to use the Google Ads system again by creating new accounts to re-enter the system." The first suspension may have been for something small, like an unpaid balance, and a freelancer may have opened the new account for you. It still counts. Google's suspensions overview says new accounts a suspended advertiser creates "may also be suspended", and recommends reinstating every suspended account before creating new ones.

Accounts linked by payment, domain, login, documents or agency

Google does not publish exactly how it connects accounts. It says that "accounts related to the suspended account may be suspended", and that accounts verified with the same identity documents can be suspended together. Its best practices for multiple account abuse point to the usual links: use trusted payment methods, connect each account to a real business, resolve suspensions on connected accounts, and "check with your agency."

So list everything your business shares with any other Google Ads or Merchant Center account:

• The same credit card, bank account or payments profile
• The same website domain, or a domain you used before
• The same Google login, as owner or as a user
• The same verification documents or legal business name
• The same manager account, usually one that belongs to an agency or a freelancer

The agency link is easy to miss. A past agency or freelancer may have opened an account in your name or added your card to one you never logged in to.

Redirects, cloaking and apps that hide the page from Google

Cloaking does not need bad intent. Google's examples include a pop-up that "blocks access to the majority of your website's content" and click trackers that send people somewhere Google never reviewed. Merchant Center goes further and lists "restricting crawler access to your landing pages" as circumventing systems. Everyday setups to check:

• Geo-redirect or currency apps that send visitors to a different store or domain than the one in your ads
• Age gates, newsletter pop-ups or cookie walls that cover the whole page
• Bot protection, firewall rules, a password page or a country block that stops Google's crawlers
• Tracking templates or link shorteners that redirect through domains you do not control
• A hacked site. Google warns that "websites can get hacked and cloaking content can be added without you knowing."

Showing other languages, location-based offers or a lighter page on slow connections is fine. Google allows it, as long as the product or service you promote is the same for everyone.

Editing a disapproved ad or product just enough to get it through

Google lists creating variations of disapproved ads, domains or content to bypass enforcement. Merchant Center adds "manipulating product data or site content in order to bypass our automated system checks." Re-uploading a disapproved product under a new title, misspelling a restricted word or moving a rejected page to a new domain all match that pattern.

Editing to comply is different, and Google reviews a compliant edit automatically. Google even suggests a minor edit to force a fresh crawl after a genuine fix. The test: did the edit remove the problem, or only hide it?

A suspended Google Ads account linked to Merchant Center

Merchant Center's linked account suspension rule bans having a suspended account linked to your Merchant Center account, and Google treats it as egregious. So a Google Ads suspension can take down your Shopping ads and free listings too. Google's linked account suspension guide says that "removing or unlinking the suspended Google Ads account from your Merchant Center account won't unsuspend or resolve your Merchant Center account issue." The Google Ads suspension has to be fixed first.

What Google's systems see

• A new account from a suspended advertiser
• A payment method used on a suspended account
• Google sees one page, visitors see another
• A landing page Google cannot load
• A disapproved product back under a new title

Everyday causes to check

• A "fresh start" account after a billing suspension
• A past agency or freelancer reused your card
• A redirect app, full-page pop-up or hacked code
• Bot protection or a password page blocking crawlers
• A title edit instead of a real fix

Ad disapproval vs account suspension: what is the difference?

A disapproval stops one ad or one product. A suspension stops the whole account. Each has its own fix, appeal route and limits (see Google's guide to fixing a disapproved ad), so confirm which one you have first.

A temporary account hold is a third state, and it belongs to a different system. For repeat violations of certain Google Ads policies, Google uses strikes: a warning, then a 3-day hold, then a 7-day hold, and a suspension at the third strike. Circumventing systems skips all of those steps. Even the strike acknowledgement form states that creating additional accounts to get around enforcement is prohibited.

What should you do after a circumventing systems suspension?

Stop, map every connected account, fix the cause, then appeal once with a clear explanation. Order matters more than speed. Google gives Google Ads advertisers at least 6 months from the suspension date to appeal, while Merchant Center review attempts are limited.

1. Do not open a new account. No new Google Ads account, no new Merchant Center account and no new domain for the same products. Each one matches an example on Google's list and can be suspended too. Do not delete or unlink accounts either. Unlinking does not fix a linked suspension, and you need the history.
2. Read every notice and confirm what is suspended. Check the emails, the Google Ads banner and, in Merchant Center, Products › Needs attention › View setup and policy issues. Note the exact policy name (for example "Circumventing systems: multiple account abuse"), the date and every account named.
3. Map every account and shared detail. List all Google Ads, Merchant Center and manager accounts that you, your staff or any agency opened for the business, with each one's status, payment method, domains and logins. Ask past agencies and freelancers directly.
4. Find the cause in the account history. In Google Ads, read the change history around the suspension date, check final URLs and tracking templates on ads and assets, and look for unfamiliar domains in the landing pages report.
5. Check the website the way Google's crawler sees it. Open your landing pages in a private window and on a phone. Remove full-page pop-ups and redirects to other domains, let Google's crawlers past bot protection, and check your domain in Google's Safe Browsing tool. If the site was hacked, clean it and update everything.
6. Fix the cause, then resolve linked suspensions. Remove the redirect or cloaking setup and stop using any duplicate account. Google asks for a separate appeal for each suspended related account. If you were suspended because another account used the same identity documents, Google says you are reinstated automatically once that account's appeal succeeds.
7. Complete verification if asked. Some advertisers must pass advertiser verification before they can appeal, with 3 attempts allowed. Merchant Center often asks for identity verification before the review button appears. Use real, unedited documents.
8. Appeal or request a review once. In Google Ads, select Contact Us in the suspension notification and complete the appeal form. In Merchant Center, follow Google's review request steps: choose I fixed the issue, or I disagree with the issue if Google got it wrong, then select Request review. If a linked Google Ads account is suspended, appeal that one first.
9. Wait for the email. Do not resubmit while the account shows "Appeal pending" or the issue shows "Under review". Google sends an email with the outcome.

StopNo new accounts, no unlinking

MapEvery account, card, domain, login and agency

FixRedirects, crawler blocks, duplicate accounts

VerifyAdvertiser or identity verification

Appeal onceFacts, dates and proof, then wait

What not to do

How do you write a circumventing systems appeal?

Write a short, factual account of what happened, what you changed and how you will stop it happening again, and attach proof. Google reinstates accounts "only in compelling circumstances, such as in the case of a mistake," and asks you to be "thorough, accurate, and honest."

Google's tips are to follow its best practices, explain your situation and complete verification if asked. In practice, cover:

• Who you are: legal business name, website, and what you sell or the service you offer
• Why you have more than one account, if you do, and who opened each one
• For cloaking: why Google saw different content, and what you removed (for example, a geo-redirect app or a full-page pop-up)
• For linked accounts: how the other suspensions were resolved or appealed
• What you changed, with dates, and what you now do to prevent it
• Documents that back it up, such as business registration, domain invoices or emails with a past agency

How long does a circumventing systems appeal or review take?

Merchant Center account reviews typically take 7 business days. For Google Ads account suspensions, Google says you get an email with the outcome but, as of October 2026, publishes no standard turnaround. Google's own figures:

Worked example: a linked Google Ads and Merchant Center suspension

For example, take a store selling kitchen knives. A freelancer opened a second Google Ads account with the store's card after the first account was suspended for an unpaid balance. Months later, both Google Ads accounts are suspended for circumventing systems, and the linked Merchant Center account is suspended too. This is an illustrative case, not a client result.

The store pays the old balance, stops using the second account, gets a note from the freelancer explaining it, and appeals each Google Ads account separately. Using Google's published figures, the fastest path, if every step passes the first time, looks like this:

Day 0Both Google Ads appeals filed

5 business daysGoogle Ads support replies

Review requestedMerchant Center, after Ads is reinstated

About 7 business daysTypical Merchant Center review

Within 24 hoursApproved products eligible again

That number is a floor, not a forecast. Google decides every step, and a rejected appeal restarts the clock. Opening a third account while it waits would cost the store far more time.

How do you avoid a circumventing systems suspension?

Keep one clean set of accounts per business, fix problems instead of working around them, and make sure Google sees exactly what visitors see. These habits cover every example on Google's list:

• Run one Google Ads account and one Merchant Center account per business unless you have a clear reason for more, each tied to a real business and its own trusted payment method.
• Resolve any old suspension through an appeal before you open anything new.
• Give agencies and freelancers user access to your accounts instead of letting them open new ones, and remove that access when the work ends.
• Use click trackers certified by Google, and keep final URLs on the domain you verified.
• Let Google's crawlers reach every landing page: no password pages, country blocks, bot rules or full-page pop-ups in the way.
• Keep the promoted product the same for everyone, even when language, offers or currency change by location.
• Install security updates for your store platform and plugins.
• Fix a disapproved ad or product by meeting the policy, never by changing the wording just enough to pass.
• Submit only real, unedited documents for advertiser and identity verification.
• Keep a dated list of every account, user, payment method and domain, so you can answer a notice in hours instead of weeks.

If you are opening Merchant Center for the first time, our Google Merchant Center setup guide walks through setting it up once, under the right business details. New to the tool? Start with what Google Merchant Center is and how it connects to Google Ads.

When should you get help with a circumventing systems suspension?

Get help when you cannot find the cause, when an appeal or review has already failed, or when Shopping brings in a large share of your sales. At that point each attempt counts, so have someone check the full account history and the website before the next one.

Logical Gecko recovers suspended Google Merchant Center accounts, including circumventing systems suspensions. If only your Google Ads account is suspended, the appeal goes through Google Ads itself, using the steps above. We are an independent agency, not affiliated with Google, and Google makes every reinstatement decision. Our Merchant Center suspension recovery starts with a free audit: we review your store and account and tell you whether we found what is causing the suspension. If your notice says misrepresentation instead, see our Merchant Center misrepresentation fix.

You can see how past recoveries went in our Merchant Center case studies. Postery had 62,177 products approved after Google marked its suspension unlikely to be reversed, and Humane Innovations had 506 products approved after multiple failed appeals.