Has the Google My Business listing been taken down? To fix your GMB profile issues and submit a reinstatement request, follow these steps.
Google My Business (GMB) is the marketing lifeline for the majority of small enterprises.
Many small companies rely only on their Google My Business profile to drive traffic, generate calls, and draw visitors to their storefronts because it's free.
Marketers are aware that putting all of your marketing eggs in one basket might be dangerous.
However, a free GMB listing is frequently the only thing a small business has to sell their brand online if they have a tight budget or none at all.
This implies that if the company experiences any issues with their Google My Business profile, it might significantly harm their business and trigger an immediate panic:
In 157 direct searches per month and 852 discovery searches, the typical business is located, according to BrightLocal's Google My Business Insight Study.This totals 1,009 searches on average each month.There are many prospective consumers there for the majority of small enterprises.
It might be terrible to lose that much online exposure, especially if they aren't making any other online marketing attempts.The suspension of a company's Google My Business profile has the power to halt sales in their tracks.A suspended GMB listing will also put a lot of stress and concern on the business owner, especially because most don't know why the listing was suspended in the first place.
What Is A Suspension For Google My Business?
When your GMB listing is no longer viewable on Google and Google Maps or you no longer have control over it (your business listing is essentially "unverified" and you can't manage it), Google My Business suspends your account.
When you get the following warning in your GMB dashboard, you will know that your listing has been suspended:
Google withholds the specific reason for suspending your listing when it happens.Many of the reasons why GMB listings can be suspended have to do with spamming practices or if the GMB listing owner violates Google My Business Guidelines.If Google reviews your listing and discovers a problem with it, they may also give you a Manual Suspension.
This evaluation frequently follows a GMB Redress Form complaint about one of your listings.A user can also utilize the Suggest an Edit function to look for listings on Google Maps and report them.
It's possible that their request to remove the business listing or make detrimental adjustments might take effect right away if that individual is "trusted" enough by Google.
Suspensions may also occur if you modify your listing.
For instance, once I altered one of my client's listings from a storefront with a physical address to a service area business by eliminating the address, the listing for that client's landscaping company was instantly stopped.
His GMB profile was suspended immediately after I removed the address from the listing.
Suspension comes in two flavors:
- Hard Suspension.
- Soft Suspension
Hard Suspension: What Is It?
A hard suspension occurs when your Knowledge Panel does not appear online when you search for your business's name and location. This is extremely detrimental since it prevents potential clients from finding your GMB listing on Google Maps or in search results.
Hard suspensions typically occur when Google decides your company isn't eligible for a GMB listing or if you're engaging in spamming practices.
Soft Suspension: What Is It?
A soft suspension occurs when your company's Knowledge Panel is still accessible via your GMB dashboard and appears to be available, but you are unable to control or amend your listing since it appears to not have been validated.
Your GMB profile is more susceptible to user-suggested updates while you are in a soft suspension, making it more susceptible to inaccurate alterations and inaccurate information being displayed.
Additionally, suspensions are more likely to occur in some businesses than others.
These categories are more likely to be suspended since they are known to include more spam and false listings.
It's extremely likely that someone will report your profile if you are breaking any Google My Business regulations if you are in one of these industries because Google ads and SEO experts have been trying to crack down on spammy and fraudulent GMB listings.
Typically Service Area Businesses (SABs), these spamming groups include:
- -Locksmiths.
- -Lawyers.
- -Plumbers.
- -Services for pest control.
- -HVAC.
- -Etc.
Google My Business Suspended Notification, the Horror!
You're lucky if your listing hasn't already been suspended.Most listings will eventually experience a suspension. (Therefore, it's best to be ready!)
Read now : Getting Started with Google My Business (Google My Business)
How come you were suspended?
If your GMB listing is suspended, you probably did something questionable, spammy, or against the terms of service for Google My Business.For a variety of reasons, Google suspends listings, but notably if you are not abiding by the Google My Business Guidelines.
How can you tell if your Google My Business profile has been blocked?
The majority of business owners first observe a decline in calls or customers.When they enter into their Google My Business account, they will notice a notification informing them that their listing has been suspended. They will then do a quick search online and may not even see their listing at all.
At that point, you must try to determine the precise reason why your listing was suspended and start the process of resolving the issue.
Find Out Why Your Google My company's listing was taken down
The fact that Google doesn't inform you why your listing was suspended makes it difficult to determine the cause, which is one of the main problems with suspensions.
For instance, just because you work in a field that receives a lot of spam, like law, locksmithing, or plumbing, you can have your listing suspended.
Another circumstance that could lead to Google becoming suspicious and resulting in a suspension is if you sat down at your computer and made several adjustments to your Google My Business listing.
Additional major causes for the suspension of Google My Business listings include the following:
- Cramming your company name with keywords.
- Using a UPS store or P.O. Box as the address.
- You create your listing at a coworking or virtual office address.
- You are providing a physical address and operating a service-area firm.
- You solely conduct business online.
- You operate in a high-risk industry, just like attorneys, plumbers, HVAC, locksmiths, rehabilitation facilities, etc.
- if another company uses your address.
- You recently made numerous updates/changes to your GMB profile.
- The URL you include in your GMB profile leads to a social network page or forwards/redirects to another website.
- If you switch from a storefront to a service area business listing (SAB).
- Your website and other online business citations/directories do not reflect your address or business hours.
- Your website lists a 24/7 business schedule.
- Your listing was suspended as a result of a manager on your listing having their Account suspended.
- Multiple listings for the same company at the same address were made by you (duplicate listings).
If you have committed any of these offenses, you must make the necessary corrections before attempting to have your
Google My Business profile restored.
Before submitting the reinstatement form, fix any issues with your GMB profile.
You'll undoubtedly feel panicked when you read the suspension notification, and you might be inclined to immediately complete the reinstatement form.
But hold on!
You must correct the issues with your listing before you can submit an application for reinstatement. Many people who have their listing suspended believe that the easiest way to avoid repairing the suspended profile is to simply start a new one.
Avoid making a new listing!
That will only make things more challenging. You should first carefully study the Google My Business Guidelines to make sure you didn't break any of the rules before attempting to rectify what led to the suspension.
Additionally, you should carefully review every field in the "Info" portion of your Google My Business profile to see whether there are any that might be illegal.
For instance, to get your listing reinstated, you would need to change your company name if you had keyword-stuffed it.
In the aforementioned instance, the real estate agent padded the name of her company with unnecessary, spammy phrases.
She must remove the phrase "- Florida: The Smart Choice For Real Estate!" from her company name before submitting her reinstatement paperwork.
If you believe that your suspension resulted from your hours being listed as 24/7, you should change your hours to something more reasonable, such 8:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m., before submitting the reinstatement request.
(Note: The hours you specify on your GMB profile should correspond to the times when staff or workers are available to meet with customers at your place of business. Google wants to know if you physically assist clients by having staff on site.
Do you have a problem with duplicate listings? Have you established multiple businesses at the same location?
Before attempting to get your listing reinstated, you would first need to address the duplication issue.
It's time to get a second opinion once you believe you have identified the problems and have rectified your profile.
It is a good idea to visit the
Google My Business Help Forum before completing the reinstatement form, post the details of your suspension there, and request a second opinion on the potential causes of your suspension and how you resolved them.
Please give specifics on the circumstance, explain why you believe you might have been suspended, and provide the following information for the benefit of the forum's volunteer moderators.
It's time to get a second opinion once you believe you have identified the problems and have rectified your profile.
- URL of the Google Local Page.
- Authentic business name.
- Address (one used to verify – even if you are a service-based business).
- URL of your website.
- The "Info" part of your GMB Dashboard as seen on screen.
- Publish pictures of your company's name and address on permanent signs or in other forms of visual identification (like a business license or documentation from your Secretary of State).
- Describe the changes you made just before your listing was taken down.
The forum moderators can then review your information, provide advice on your suspended listing, and provide suggestions as to what you might modify to increase your chances of being reinstated.
The Google My Business Reinstatement Form must be completed.
Once the issues with your listing have been resolved, you should submit an appeal for reinstatement.
You will be required to respond to a series of questions.The question that follows depends on how you respond to each one.All of the questions must be answered thoroughly and honestly.On the reinstatement request form, you will be asked a number of questions, some of which are illustrated here as examples.You must submit images or pictures proving your legitimacy as a company, as well as documentation of your address if you operate a physical storefront.
These ought to showcase images of:
- Your building's front or your storefront as seen from the street.
- both inside and outside of your building, permanent signage
- When clients enter your store, they first view the interior of your business.
- a link to the Google Street View image of the street or area where your business is located, if one is available.
You should also give Google any further documentation you have that demonstrates your company's name and address, such as:
- a business permit or evidence that the enterprise has been registered with your secretary of state.
- insurance policy papers.
- images of your company's logo on a vehicle.
- a walk-through movie of an office.
- a photo showing your name in the office building's directory.
- Etc.
You are able to upload proof in the form of photos, videos, documents, and PDFs.This is where you may argue your case, so make sure you attach any and all documentation that demonstrates you are a legitimate company operating at the address you have provided.
To prove information about your company, upload documents and images.After you submit your application for reinstatement, Google will examine the data you provided and decide whether or not to reinstate your company profile.Google will email you to let you know how your reinstatement request is progressing.If you have other inquiries or if Google requires more information from you, you must respond to that email.
Advice: Avoid sending the Google My Business team several reinstatement requests or contacting them about the same issue via other Google My Business support channels as this will only result in delays.
Google normally reviews reinstatement requests in a matter of two weeks.You can ask GMB support for an update if it's been more than three weeks and your listing hasn't been restored by contacting them on Twitter or Facebook.
NOTE: Email is the only method of communication with Google My Business Support during the COVID-19 epidemic.
Google needs to verify your ownership of the account whenever you contact customer service.Enter the suspended company listing in your Google My Business dashboard and copy the URL to demonstrate that. You should also include the CID number for your GMB listing.If you have a physical place, you can generate the CID number using a program like BrightLocal's Google Review Link & Place ID Generator.
You might discover that your reviews have vanished if your business is reestablished.Remember that it can require more time for your reviews to display again following reinstatement. They could not even reappear in your GMB listing for up to a month. After a month, if your reviews still haven't shown, get in touch with the GMB support staff to see if they can help.
Final Reflections
With greater knowledge regarding GMB suspensions, you should be more ready if the Suspended alert appears on your dashboard. Keep in mind that GMB suspensions can occasionally occur for arbitrary reasons, such as if you make too many changes at once, if a rival suggests a modification, or even if there is a bug on Google's end. Be sure to be ready and not to solely rely on Google My Business for your web marketing initiatives. And remember that Google has the advantage; always attempt to abide by their standards.
