How to Avoid Google Business Profile Suspension (and Why You Must)
Running a small business can be challenging at the best of times. Ferocious competition from all corners is the norm, regardless of your niche.
Then, you have the issue of attempting to curry Google’s favour with effective local SEO. Setting yourself up with a Google Business Profile (after claiming your business on Google Maps) is vital, as is injecting as much credibility and appeal as possible into your listing to give you an edge over your competitors.
Which is fine, but why are so many local businesses waking up to find their Google Business Profiles suspended? What can you do if your business profile suddenly disappears entirely from Google?
Prevention vs. Cure
First, avoiding suspension is far easier than turning things around later. Right now, Google is warning of backlogs and delays of up to several weeks in hearing and considering requests for re-listing.
Your Google Business Profile will technically not exist during this time...and the consequences could be catastrophic.
Therefore, your goal should be to avoid suspension. This begins with understanding why Google is currently suspending so many business profiles.
Justification for suspension varies from one case to the next, but most are attributed to one or more of the following:
High-Scrutiny Industries: For reasons that have never been fully disclosed, Google is far more heavy-handed with its approach to some industries than others. Examples include financial service providers, legal services, insurance, medical services, and real estate. Operating within these sectors naturally brings a higher risk of scrutiny and suspension.
Same Address, Multiple Businesses: Google prohibits multiple businesses from sharing the same physical address. This can be problematic because many companies often share the same address. To reduce the risk of suspension, the advice is to set up a unified Google Business Profile for all the companies that share an address, then use GBP categories to list the services on offer at the premises.
Use of a PO Box: A physical address is a fundamental requirement for a Google Business Profile. Therefore, Google believes there is no reason a genuine brick-and-mortar business would need to use a PO Box. This is despite many thousands of companies across the UK using PO Box mailing addresses for perfectly valid reasons.
Spammy Business Names: As explained by Google:
“To help customers find your business online, accurately represent your name. Your name should reflect your business’s real-world name, be used consistently on your storefront, website, and stationery, and be known to customers.”
“Including unnecessary information in your business name is not permitted and could result in suspending your Business Profile.”
In a nutshell – keep things simple, accurate, and honest.
24/7 Opening Hours: You can also expect to face heavy scrutiny from Google if you list your opening hours 24/7. Again, even though countless legitimate local businesses welcome customers 24/7, you could also face suspension if the opening hours on your Google Business Profile do not correspond with those on your website, social media profiles, or elsewhere.
Online-Only Businesses: Last up, Google Business Profiles are restricted exclusively to businesses with physical premises. If you run a clothing store and sell your products online, no problem. By contrast, you cannot have a Google Business Profile if you run an ecommerce business that sells clothes online only. Even if you have a physical office, the fact that you don’t welcome customers and sell products on-site means you are not eligible.