How to fix a Google Business Profile Suspension?

Google Business Profile Suspension

Google Business Profile, formerly known as Google My Business Page is a profile that you create and manage on Google to improve your online visibility. It is a way to showcase your local business to your audiences. A typical Google Business Profile includes your contact details, locations, reviews, and products that you offer. Here’s what a usual Google My Business profile looks like –

Interesting fact – Did you know that 80% of Local searches convert to paying customers? 

Imagine you run a medical practice that provides exceptional care and has been operational for a few years now. Inevitably, your practice has a strong google business profile with a lot of positive reviews that inevitably bring in a lot of new customers every day.

Now imagine you wake up one morning and see no active callers. The ones you have appointments with a call for directions to your practice. You can’t help but wonder why people aren’t referring to your  Google Business Profile. The incoming inquiries have suddenly stopped, and people are asking for directions; something has got to be wrong with your Google Business Profile.

You hastily check your profile on Google but can’t find it, you realize that your business no longer exists on Google, No reviews, No directions, No Contact details, and No products. All gone. If something like this happens, it means that your Google Business Profile has been suspended. When you dig further into finding your business on Google, there will be a notification ‘Your listing has been suspended due to quality issues’. 

When you receive such a notification, what do you do? Do you create a new profile? Or do you have it reinstated? While creating a new profile is quick and easy it also means sacrificing those positive reviews that are bringing you business, having your profile reinstated is a better option. 

This is because if your business is genuine, your profile will be reinstated sooner or later, So, do not create a new Google Business Profile just yet. 

But why was your profile suspended? What triggered the suspension? What should you do in case your profile is suspended? Let’s find out! 

Google Business Profile Suspension Guidelines

When a business lists itself on Google, there are some guidelines that the business agrees to comply with. The guidelines revolve around the accurate representation of the business, authentic information, content, and product categories. This image shows the guidelines that you must follow when you represent your business on Google: 

A Google Business Profile is suspended when the free listing of a business is questioned for its validity. The suspension means that the listing won’t be available on Google Maps and will not be under the business owner’s control. It means that the listing is considered ‘unverified’. Even if your profile is suspended, the question arises: how serious is the suspension? 

Businesses that can have a Google Business Profile (Under Certain Conditions):

• Companies or agents that offer lead-generation services 
• Rental or for-sale properties 
• Business at a location that you don’t own 

Businesses That are Eligible for a Google Business Profile:

• Food services that offer only delivery 
• Sales or leasing offices 
• Rental kiosks, drop boxes for express mail, ATMs (Provided that the location and contact information are specified)
• Seasonal businesses 

Considering nearly 97 percent of users learn about a business online, it is important to have control over your Google Business Profile and ensure that it doesn’t get suspended. 

Types of Google Profile Suspension

Well, to answer this question, we first need to understand the two types of Google Business Profile suspensions: 

Hard Suspensions

In this case, the listing, which is the knowledge panel, is entirely removed from Google. The reviews, contact details, and product information are all gone. This can prove to be a risky deal for any local business as people who search for services on Google make their purchase decisions based on the information that is available on the Google Business Profile of the local business.  

The highlighted portion in the a above image is the knowledge panel, which will not be visible in the case of a hard Google Business Profile suspension. 

If the profile is not available on Google, the potential customers will naturally move on to some other service provider as they don’t know whether your business exists. A hard suspension occurs when a business is using spammy tactics or doesn’t qualify for a Google My Business listing. 

Soft Suspensions

In the case of a soft suspension, your knowledge panel will be visible, but you won’t be able to make changes to it. The status of your Google Business Profile listing will be unverified, and you will lose access to manage it or make any changes to it. It means that such a suspension can invite user-suggested edits, which can put your business at risk of demonstrating incorrect information. Such suspensions occur for service area businesses.

According to Google, a service area business is one that visits customers directly or delivers services personally, but not at their business address. 

Repeatedly stuffing your business name as the keyword and adding fake google reviews are the factors that cause soft suspensions. 

Owner Account Suspension

In this type of suspension, the owner’s Google account will be completely removed. This includes all listings and reviews. Though the listings can be reinstated after having the suspension removed, but all reviews will be gone. 

Manager Account Suspension

In this type of listing, the manager loses the authority to work with a particular listing. However, the listing in question remains unaffected. 

Factors that Cause the Suspension of a Google Business Profile: 

Operational Hours

Mentioning incorrect hours of operation can lead to the suspension of your Google Business Profile. For instance, if you mention that you’re 24/7 operational, but only offer services for a couple of hours, then your profile can be suspended. 

Keyword Stuffing

Your name must reflect your signage, which means that your google business profile should have the same name as your business cards, banners, and hoardings. Stuffing keywords in your business name is utterly unnecessary and can put your Google Business Profile at risk of suspension. 

Multiple Listings

Never have multiple listings at the same address as it can cause the suspension of your profile. Make sure to remove the fake listings from your dashboard immediately. If you have multiple listings covering a large geographical area, then ensure to have legal proof of running a business at those locations. 

Address at a Virtual Office

Virtual offices or co-working spaces come out to be a grey area when considered to be added to Google listings. In the case of coworking spaces, you can use its address on one condition: you need to display signage at the coworking space. Come to think f it, why are coworking spaces allowed as addresses by Google? Here are some reasons: 

• They aren’t a permanent spot for businesses 
• The signage displayed is that of the space and not the business, which confuses Google
• They are often used by businesses that want to display multiple listings on Google
• The spaces aren’t occupied by employees during business hours  

So if you are looking forward to adding a coworking space as your address, make sure you read Google’s guidelines pertaining to the same.

1. Multiple edits in a listing: If you make edits repeatedly in your listing within a very short time span, then you are attracting Google’s attention. If you want to make edits to your listing, make sure that there is a minimum 60-second gap between each edit. 
2. Being a part of a high-risk business category: A high-risk business category includes service providers such as lawyers, plumbers, rehabilitation centers, HVAC contractors, locksmiths, etc. If you are a part of such a category, then you are at a higher risk of having your profile suspended.  
3. Displaying a physical address unnecessarily: If you own a service-area business or an online-only business but are displaying a physical address on your Google Business Profile, then you are obviously raising suspicions about your business. This can cause the suspension of your profile. 
4. Wrong URL: When you add your website’s URL to your Google Business Profile, make sure that the URL is correctly entered. Adding a URL that redirects the user to a different website altogether or links out to a social media page, your Google Business Profile listing can be suspended. 
5. Making significant changes to your listing: If you change your business type from being a storefront to a service area business, then it does invite attention from Google. Any discrepancies in your profile in this regard may lead to suspension. 
6. Shared addresses: If two or more businesses share the same address and have it listed on their respective Google Business Profiles, then it can cause Google to be suspicious and can prompt a suspension. 
7. Algorithmic sweep: Every once in a while, Google carries out sweeps to get rid of fake listings. In this mass suspension, even legitimate profiles get suspended sometimes. You could be one of those suspended. 

How to Fix Google Business Profile Suspension

When you see the dreaded message that says that your profile has been suspended, the first thing you should do is not panic. As long as you have a legitimate business and a sound listing on Google, then you need not worry as the suspension can be revoked. However, no matter what you do, DO NOT create a new listing. 

Often when a Google Business Profile is suspended, Google gives the user an option to create a new listing. If you create a fresh listing for your business, you will have to engage in the entire process again, and all the hard-earned reviews that you had garnered for your business all this while will be gone. So do not create a new listing. Instead, file for reinstatement of your profile. 

Before you file for reinstatement, sit down and read Google’s guidelines carefully. See if there have been any alterations made in the guidelines and compare each parameter with the particulars in your Google Business Profile listing. As you go through each of the parameters, you will realize where you went wrong. Also, you can make the required edits before you file for reinstatement. This will ensure that your listing doesn’t get suspended again.

How do you File for Reinstatement of Your Google Business Profile? 

After fixing all the possible problems with your listing, you are all set to file for reinstatement. 

Follow these steps to file for reinstatement:

Step-1: Fill out a reinstatement form on Google. 

Step-2: Carefully go through the guidelines stated by Google and understand the factors that could have led to your Google Business Profile suspension. 

Step-3: Analyze the gaps in your listing and try fixing the errors. 

Step-4: As you are redirected to the form, you will be asked a series of questions and your answers will determine the further course of reinstatement. Make sure that you answer all the questions honestly and accurately. 

Here is an example of questions that you will be asked: 

1. Does your business operate in a service area? 
2. Is the page for your business compliant with the Google My Business quality guidelines? 
3. Is your business located at the address mentioned on your page? 
4. Have you submitted a reinstatement request for your business before? 
5. Do you own multiple pages for the same location? 
6. Have you set your address settings correctly? 

Step-5: After you answer the questions, provide your contact information, which includes your name, the name of your business, your email address, the address or service area of your business, and the URL of your business’s listing. 

Step-5: Additionally, you will have to add proof that demonstrates the legitimacy of your business. Here’s what you need to attach as proof: 

• Pictures of your storefront 
• Permanent signage outside and inside your building
• A walkthrough video of the office 
• Proof of business’s registration with the Secretary of State

Step-6: After furnishing all the required details and documents, hit ‘submit’ and relax. 

Typically, Google takes around 3 days to respond to reinstatement requests. If it doesn’t respond within a week’s time, then you can simply send an email asking for updates. 

How to manage your GMB Profile and Prevent Another Suspension

There is no doubt in the fact that it requires a lot of effort to reinstate a suspended GMB profile. How do you prevent another suspension? Here are three tips for you: 

Be Upfront with Google’s guidelines

Whenever you fill out your listings, make sure to keep the guidelines in mind. Not only will you be able to provide your users with every bit of information they need about your business, but will also keep suspension at bay. 

Ensure the Accuracy of Information 

When you create a business listing, make sure that the information you add there is the same across all platforms on the web. This includes your website, review sites, and your google business profile. Remember, consistency is key. 

Have Fewer People on the Listing

Sometimes google business profile suspension occurs as a result of multiple people on the listing. Only include those who can manage the GMB profile, and remove all unnecessary people. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Summing Up

in an age where people look up local businesses to avail services having a legitimate profile on Google is crucial. If your Google Business Profile is on point, you will be able to attract customers with ease and also have a good online presence as a result of the reviews that you generate on your profile. 

However, if your profile gets suspended, don’t worry, and simply submit a request for reinstatement. Also, make sure that you keep an eye on Google My Business quality guidelines and comply with those. Keep the aforementioned causes of Google Business Profile suspension in mind and avoid those mistakes to ensure that your listing doesn’t get suspended. So, be careful, be authentic, and be true to Google and your customers; and your profile will stay intact.