Is your Google My Business Listing Suspended? Here’s How to Fix It

For a local business, having a Google My Business (GMB) listing suspended can greatly impact them. It’s a significant setback to their attempts to grow their customer base via organic traffic on search results.

A suspended listing can be hugely problematic for businesses as it leaves them with either a listing they have zero control over or no listing at all.

Has your GMB listing been suspended? Discover the steps you can take to fix it and how to avoid a suspended listing in the future.

What is a Google My Business profile?

Google My Business is a tool that enables a company to manage and optimise their Google business listing on Google search results.

A Google Business Profile is Google’s term for a company’s Google business listing, which displays all relevant information for customers to view. This includes business hours, address, phone number and email address, reviews, pictures, the business name, and a location on Google Maps that can display directions when prompted.

It allows businesses to display all of their vital information on search engines so customers can easily find them.

Customers can add reviews and photographs of a business on the GMB listing. They can also ask questions that can be answered by the business.

How important is a Google Business profile for local businesses?

GMB is a free tool that helps businesses manage their online presence on search engines and Google Maps. A Google My Business listing can create trust between customers, proving how genuine you are.

It also produces useful information that tells potential customers exactly where you’re located, how to get in touch with you and your opening hours. 

Why could your Google My Business listing be suspended?

Google wants all of its users to have consistent, high-quality listings to find and review. This benefits everyone as it provides the best possible experience for browsers and businesses.

However, as a result, Google has a strict process with extremely high standards, which many businesses can struggle to meet. Because of this, it either leads to a failure to submit a listing good enough for approval, or a listing is suspended.

There are a few things that can lead to Google My Business profiles being suspended, including keyword stuffing, and a virtual office, while a service area business can often struggle with suspension.

Typical reasons why a Google My Business suspension can occur include:

• More than one business at the same address
• Service area business
• Multiple listings for the same business
• Mistakes or variations of the business name
• The NAP doesn’t match directory listings
• No physical location
• Keyword stuffing
  

Multiple businesses at the same address

A business suspension can happen if there are several businesses listed at the same address. If there are multiple businesses in the same location, they must all have signage and branding to distinguish themselves from one another.

Service area business

A service area business (SAB) can often struggle with Google suspensions.

There is a lot of spam associated with SABs as it’s quite common to see fake listings.

A SAB is a business that visits or delivers to customers but doesn’t deal with customers face-to-face at their business address. For example, cleaning services or electricians would be classed as SABs. They’re only able to create one profile for the area that they serve. They are, however, able to name service areas within their GMB profile.

Multiple listings for the same business on Google Maps

If there are multiple listings for the same business on Google, they’ll be treated as duplicates and will be suspended. Google may think you’re attempting to beat their system, too.

Just submit one listing for your business with all of the correct information that Google demands.

Mistakes or variations of the business name

Suspension can occur when there are mistakes or regular changes to your business name. Google tends to find activity like this suspicious because how often does a business address or name change? Not often.

The NAP doesn’t match directory listings

The NAP (name, address and phone number) is important to your Google My Business listing. You must be as consistent as possible and, often, a GMB listing will be suspended if the NAP doesn’t match the directory listing.

No physical location

Your listing will also be suspended if your business is just an online store or virtual service. P.O. boxes also do not qualify as a physical address for Google My Business guidelines.

Keyword stuffing

Another major red flag for Google is the keyword stuffing of a listing. This can include adding keyword terms to the business name to try and force more visibility on search engines.

What types of suspension are there?

Before you try to send a reinstatement request, you must first understand which type of suspension you’ve been dealt.

Soft suspension

A soft suspension notice means your business has been listed as ‘unverified’. Your listing will still show online but you cannot manage it until you provide proof of verification.

Hard suspension

A hard suspension is much more serious as it’s been determined that your listing has violated the guidelines that Google has set.

Manager account suspension

There are two types of account suspensions: manager and owner.

The manager suspension removes a manager’s ability to manage a listing, while the listing remains unaffected.

Owner’s Google account suspension

An owner suspension completely removes an owner’s account and any Google My Business listings and reviews. If the account is reinstated, all listings will return but the reviews may not.

How to get reinstated after a Google My Business suspension?

So, your Google My Business listing has been suspended. For businesses that rely on the organic traffic of Google My Business, it can be a huge worry when this happens.

Here’s how you can get it back.

If you have been dealt a soft suspension, you can create a new Google account and reclaim the GMB listing. From here, you must complete the entire verification process again, this time making sure you meet all of Google’s guidelines. If you resolve the issue that resulted in the suspended Google listing, you should be able to get everything back in order and on track.

For hard suspensions, you must contact Google to find out the cause behind their decision. Then, send a local business reinstatement request and resolve the issue to try and regain access to the listing. If the reinstatement request was successful, you must resolve the issue that caused the suspension before your GMB listing can go back online.

You’ll be required to send evidence that proves your ownership of a legitimate business as well as proof of its location. You may have to submit the following:

• Legal documentation like a tax form or business license.
• Utility bill with an address that matches your Google My Business listing.
• Proof of physical legitimate business, such as a storefront image with signage and address.
• Proof you’re not sharing office space with another company.
• The URL of your GMB listing’s dashboard.

A good point moving forward, if you do get your listing back, is to remove access to accounts that are breaking Google’s guidelines. This is to prevent the risk of suspension in the future.

Local SEO help from an expert agency

If you’re a local business and require support amplifying your local SEO strategy, we can help you.

At Paramount Digital, we’re an SEO agency that has conducted successful SEO strategies for businesses of all sizes. We know what it takes to make business listings appear on a Google search, so don’t hesitate to contact us to help you.

You can email us at marketing@paramountdigital.co.uk or give us a call at 01744 747474.