What Caused Your Google My Business Listing To Be Suspended? - SEO Tips From Semalt
Last year, we mentioned Google My Business and how it helps organizations and businesses become more accessible to the public. It makes it a lot easier for companies to find your business, learn about your business, and it serves as a form of verification for your business.
However, this article is for businesses who already have a profile but wonder if their Google My Business (GMB) profile is still listed as valid. If you fall into that category, we have a list of common reasons why GMOs get suspended. We use this as a guide to ensure your GMB is on track so that it never has to deal with the wrath of Google.
Why is Google My Business so important?
Many local businesses rely on GMB as one of their primary online marketing tools. In fact, many local companies use GMB as their only internet marketing tool. Now we don't advise you to do this as it is risky and not wise. However, few local businesses that do not have enough resources to fund other forms of advertisement should capitalize on the GMB tool.
The risk they face is that when they run into issues with Google My Business, they lose out on their only method of marketing. Sadly this phenomenon is quite common since these small businesses are hardly able to afford professionals to help manage their GMB listing. Without care, they get suspended.
To these businesses, GMOs are their only form of advertisement and a very effective one at that. Since GMOs carry their local location, reviews, About Us descriptions, and services provided, it is the perfect budget-friendly tool.
So with a Google My Business suspension, your profile stops appearing on Google search or Maps, or your listing is unverified, and you can't make any changes or manage your profile. Why it is so important that you find out the possible reasons that could warrant a suspension is that Google wouldn't tell account owners why their accounts got suspended. Newbies and business owners who are uneducated on the rules of engagement are then left guessing what they may have done wrong that resulted in the suspension.
In this article, we will be reviewing some of the most common reasons why GMB listings get suspended and how you can stop it from ever happening. Semalt is an SEO and web management company that is designed for even the smallest businesses that want to gain and convert traffic. To ensure we are accessible to all, we run various budget-friendly packages that you should check out.
It is vital that you get some form of guidance when working with Google and their special tools. You can always come to us when you need assistance.
What are the common reasons why a Google My Business profile may be suspended?
Now the last thing you'd want is to wake one beautiful morning and get an email notification from Google that your account has been suspended. Best believe that it can ruin the taste of your coffee. If you aren't paying close attention to your profile, days, weeks, or months can pass before you notice that your listing has been suspended.
We believe in handling issues before they get a chance to develop or spread. That is why we use the proactive approach and learn about the common reasons why most business listings get suspended. With this knowledge, we know the possible reasons why Google Business listings get suspended, and we can avoid them.
Address related discrepancies
This is one of the most common causes of GMB suspensions. This could happen when you:
- Have an address which is close to a UPS store.
- When you use PO Box or virtual office / shared workspace or a UPS box address.
- If there are several GMB listings for the same location/address.
- When you have a listing for a business that runs in a building, you do not own.
- A move suspension as a result of a change in location. It could be from a virtual/shared office to a new office location.
- If a Service Area Business displays a residential address on the GMB listing.
- Another issue is when businesses rent out their virtual offices or co-working spaces to other businesses.
It is important to note that a virtual office address cannot be used unless that company leases an executive or dedicated office for its exclusive use. In such cases, the business must also have:
- A permanent sign guard outside their office door and inside the office or lobby area.
- They must have a unique suite number.
- The business must be listed on the office building directory and carry their suit number.
- They must have their employees in the office during work hours.
If you are using a virtual office address, and you get suspended, here is a list of things to try:
- Find a new dedicated office location. It is by far the best and safest way out.
- You can rent out a dedicated office at the virtual office location if it's available.
When filing your reinstatement request, provide proof of your dedicated office rental by submitting a copy of your lease agreement, including videos and photos showing:
- You when walking into the building you own.
- An office directory with your business name and suite number.
- Your dedicated office door with a signage.
- The business signage inside the office lobby.
Google My Business suspension for making too many profile edits at once
What you will realize not too long after opening your GMB profile is that working on it can be a hassle. It is indeed a lot easier said than done. Sometimes, making a bunch of changes on your profile at once can trigger a suspension.
The truth is no one really understands why this happens, but it could be that Google considers some of these updates as suspicious. For this reason, we often advise that you make a hand full of changes at a time, usually one or two. You then wait for about 30 minutes before making another change. Making too many changes at a time isn't worth the risk of suspension.
Algos, Flukes, Bugs, and Google Sweeps
Sometimes, bad things happen. GMB accounts have gotten suspended because of defects in Google's algorithms, bugs, or for no good reason.
Google may be making small changes in their GMB dashboard, which can trigger the suspension of some accounts. They could be doing a sweep to clear their system of spammy businesses or industries, and you may get unlucky even if you are legitimate.
If this happens to your account, you can rectify it by reading over the Google My Business guidelines carefully and ensure you are in compliance. After that, you can proceed to fill out the reinstatement request and wait for about 72 hours to get a response from Google.
Online only businesses
This might seem to be of no consequence, but Google My Business listing was created to help local businesses. As a result, strictly online businesses do not qualify for Google My Business listing. So if you have created a GMB profile and it got suspended, do not bother brainstorming what you did wrong.
Violating Google My Business TOS
As with many other services, violating Google's terms of service is one way to get your account suspended. Google's My Business terms of service are guidelines for everyone. It is wise to check these guidelines at least once a month to stay aware of any recent developments.
Sometimes, these guidelines are tricky and vague, which makes them subject to a variety of interpretations that confuse experts. However, the more you know, the better, so still attempt reading it, and you can ask questions in areas you do not understand.
NB: these are only a few reasons why your account can get suspended. There are, however, many other reasons why GMB listings get suspended. To figure out why your listing is no longer appearing on Google's search engine, try fixing all the issues above. If nothing changes, kindly contact Semalt to review your profile.
Conclusion
Your GMB profile an important internet marketing asset. It is better to be proactive, understand, and fix these common efforts before they result in a suspension. We have provided well researched and detailed guides on these issues and how to fix them if they ever happened. And if you are still stuck, you can always come to Semalt for help.
Our customer care service team is made of experts who wouldn't hesitate to pick your call or reply to your messages. We can also provide answers to any quest you have relating to this topic or any other SEO / Web Management problems.