- Hey guys, Sam here from KeyCommerce.com.
Do you have a returns and refunds page on your store?
And does it comply with Google's shopping policies
and what they want you to have on that page?
A bad returns and refunds page is a very common cause
of a Google Merchant Center suspension.
Google really wants to know
that if someone has a bad experience with your store
or with your products,
that your returns and refunds policy
is going to protect that customer.
If you treat your customers poorly,
you rip them off or even you just don't provide
a good policy for them,
when there's a problem with their products
that they've purchased from you,
then that's gonna be a bad experience for your customers.
And Google really wants you to treat your customers well.
They really care about this page
because if people have a bad experience with your store,
after going through Google shopping,
then people are gonna think that Google shopping sucks,
and they're probably going to go to Amazon instead.
So this is why they're suspending a lot of stores,
and we see that the returns and refunds policy page
is often a big cause of that.
Okay. So what do you need to keep in mind for this page
for your own store to fix your suspension.
First, make sure the page actually exists.
It should be its own page, returns and refunds.
Also link it in the footer of your store.
I also recommend that you link it from your product page
just to be sure.
Google suspends a lot of stores when this page isn't clear,
but also when it's not easy to find for those customers.
Okay. What about the contents of this page,
the returns and refunds page?
Google is very picky about what you put on this page,
so make it as clear as possible.
They even mentioned an outline in their policies
of what you need to include.
I'll give a link to the actual policy below
so you can see it for yourself.
They give us these four points.
You need to include on this page,
one, what the customer needs to do
when they want to return a product or get a refund,
two, under what circumstances
do you offer returns and refunds,
three, the timeframe in which you accept returns,
and four, when your customer can actually expect
to get that refund.
This gives us a pretty good structure
for the returns and refunds page.
And I recommend following this when you craft your own one.
Let's go through them one by one
so it's really clear for you guys.
Firstly, one, what is the customer required to do
if they want a refund or to return a product?
This means that you need to be very clear about the process.
Explain it step-by-step for that customer.
How do they contact you to get a refund?
Do they call you, email you, fill out a contact form?
Do they need to ship that product back to you
to be eligible?
What is the address for this?
Do you provide this address
when they request to return the item?
is shipping paid by you or paid by the customer?
Do they need to take a photo to show you the damage
or the problem or whatever?
The next thing you need to do is make sure it's very clear
when you actually offer returns and refunds,
the circumstances.
Here's some example of situations
that you might want to address on this page.
One, exchanges.
What if they just don't like the product?
What about change of mind,
what if they want a different product on that store?
What about faulty products that break
or don't work even after a couple of months or a year or so?
What about products that are damaged on arrival?
What about when they received the wrong product
when you stuff up
and you send the wrong product to the customer?
What about when the product never arrives?
What about when they want to cancel their order?
Maybe you've shipped it already, maybe you haven't,
what happens in those situations?
Okay guys, the next thing you want to conclude on this page
is the actual timeframe
for when they can actually request a return or a refund
for that product.
Do you offer returns within 30 days, 90 days, a year?
What is your policy?
What if the product is broken or damaged on arrival?
I have seen some stores get suspended
because they have the worst returns and refunds policy
in the world.
Even if the stores stuffed up
and they sent the wrong product to the customer,
well, they made the customer pay for return shipping,
it was insane.
The store stuffed up,
why should the customer pay
and have to go through all that work
to ship the item back and then pay for their own shipping?
Ah, it just blew my mind.
This is the crazy thing to make your customer do,
like why should the customer pay for your mistakes?
So obviously, Google doesn't like this,
so they're going to suspend a store
that does something like this.
Really think about this guys,
what if you sell the product to this customer
and it breaks in six months,
do you have a warranty for that product?
Because if you don't have a warranty,
that can be a red flag for Google.
The next thing you want to have on this page
is the timeframe for when the customer
can actually expect to receive that refund.
Does it take seven business days
to go back to their credit card?
Also, what is the method of return?
Does it go to their credit card?
Do you send it to their bank account?
Do you give them a gift card?
Is it an exchange for a different product of the same value?
This of course can depend on the situation,
if they're exchanging, refunding or what have you,
but you need to make it clear at what actually happens here.
And my tip is to provide as much information as possible.
Make it deadly clear so that your customers,
and especially Google knows what's going to happen
in each given circumstance.
When I'm writing my own returns and refunds page
for my own store,
I need to really carefully consider my operations,
how I wanna run my business, my store,
and what I believe is fair for the customer.
You need to find a balance to yourself,
but you also need to play within Google's rules.
So when you're writing your page,
follow that same structure that I've outlined here,
those four big things.
This is so important if you wanna fix that suspension
for your Google Merchant Center account.
I really don't recommend copying someone else's page.
It's gotta be specific to your store.
And if you're not suspended and you're watching this video,
get this right the first time
before you create your Google Merchant Center account.
As I'm sure you've seen in the comments on my videos,
it is so frustrating for a lot of e-comm store owners
that are just starting their new store
and they're getting suspended by Google.
It's so frustrating.
I've spoken about this on my last few videos,
but I've actually created a full guide
for getting your Merchant Center account unsuspended.
I go through an 87 point checklist
where you can audit your store
and your Google Merchant Center account.
I also show you how to properly request a review,
how to contact Google
and how to avoid it from happening in the future.
I'll leave a link to that below.
I've spent the last few months,
a lot of hours, hundreds of hours,
working on this guide with my team
to make sure that it's very very helpful.
Otherwise guys, if this video was helpful for you
to set up your returns and refunds page,
please give it a like,
let me know in the comments below.
And I hope to see you in the next video.
Bye for now.
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