You often only notice a suspended Google Business Profile when a customer tells you they can no longer find you on Google Maps. Or you see a notice in your dashboard. Panic is understandable, but the first reflex, quickly creating a new profile, usually makes things worse. Below I explain why Google suspends or disables profiles, what to do in which order and when it makes sense to get help.

What exactly happened

Google can suspend or disable Business Profiles that don't follow its guidelines. If you think that's wrong, you can file an appeal. That's on the help page about appealing a suspended profile.

There's also a heavier version. Anyone who repeatedly breaks the rules can get a restriction on their entire Google account. Then every Business Profile on that account is suspended, not just the one where things went wrong (Google on restrictions and eligibility).

And then there's removal. A removed profile is no longer visible to the public, and the owner and managers can't do anything with it. If the owner's Google account is deleted, all of that owner's locations disappear. Deleting a profile to start over is not a fix.

Why Google suspends a profile

According to the guidelines for representing your business, it comes down to three things: avoid prohibited content and prohibited behaviour, represent your business accurately and follow the product guidelines. In concrete terms, things often go wrong on these points:

  • More than one profile per business. You're allowed only one. Also pick as few categories as possible to describe your core business.
  • Extra words in the business name. Marketing slogans, store codes, ® symbols, words in all caps or opening hours in the name can lead to suspension.
  • An address where you don't actually work. A virtual office, a rented mailing address where the business doesn't really operate, is not eligible. A PO box as your address results in a suspended profile. If Google finds that your business doesn't exist at the stated location, the profile is disabled.
  • Coworking without a real presence. An office in a coworking space is only allowed with clear signage, if you receive customers there during opening hours and your own staff are present at those times.
  • No in-person customer contact. A business must have in-person contact with customers during its stated hours. Lead generation businesses and online-only businesses are not eligible.
  • Working at the customer's location. These service-area businesses get one profile for the central office, with a defined service area. A virtual office isn't allowed here either, unless it's staffed during opening hours.
  • Major edits. Google can reject changes that significantly alter the nature of the business, such as a big change of name or category. If a different business now occupies your location, mark the old profile as permanently closed instead of renaming it.

There are also separate measures around reviews. For fake reviews or reviews given in exchange for a benefit, Google can impose additional restrictions: no new reviews for a while, existing reviews temporarily taken offline, or a warning on your profile that fake reviews were removed. Google lets you know by email beforehand.

Why you should look at it now

Even if you do nothing wrong, you can lose your profile by neglecting it. Owners who don't log in for a long time can lose access after a warning, and their content may be removed. A profile once set up by a former employee or an agency is therefore a risk.

One caveat: Google's help pages don't show a publication or revision date. What I write here is based on how they read online today.

You only get one shot

The most important fact: you can only appeal once. That appeal has to be right the first time. You can attach evidence, such as an official business registration, a licence, tax certificates or utility bills for electricity, phone, water or internet. The business name and address on those documents must match your profile.

The appeals tool shows the date of the decision, the reason, a link to the policy that was violated, whether you can appeal and the status: Submitted, Approved, Not Approved, Can't be appealed or Eligible for appeal. Read that reason carefully before submitting anything.

According to the explanation of the appeals tool, businesses in the UK or the EEA can use that tool to appeal a suspended profile, rejected edits to name, category, address, phone or website, and restricted media. Note: a suspended or disabled profile must be reinstated first before you can appeal decisions about content.

How to approach it, in this order

  1. Don't create a new profile for the same business.
  2. Check your profile against the guidelines: real business name without extra words, no PO box or virtual office, a correct address or service area, one profile per location. Fix whatever is off.
  3. Check whether your Google account itself is restricted. If so, appeal that first via myaccount.google.com/restrictions. Only once that restriction is lifted do you appeal for the profile.
  4. Prepare your evidence: business registration, licence, tax certificate or utility bill, with the same name and address as on the profile.
  5. Submit one appeal through the appeals tool (support.google.com/business/?p=manage_appeals), with attachments and a short, factual explanation.
  6. Wait. The review can take up to 5 business days. Don't submit a second appeal for the same issue during that time, and follow the status in the tool.
  7. If your appeal is rejected, request an additional review with new evidence via support.google.com/business/contact/local_appeals.
  8. If you're in the EEA, you have further options after that, see below.
  9. If you still have problems with the profile after reinstatement, contact Google Business Profile Help.

If you manage more than ten profiles, for example for several branches, you can request reinstatement in one go with a spreadsheet listing the profile ID of each suspended location.

If Google keeps saying no

After a rejection, Google may be able to do an additional review, through a separate form where you can add new evidence. If that fails too, businesses in the EEA covered by the Digital Services Act can turn to a certified out-of-court dispute settlement body. The European Commission publishes the list of those bodies. Google is not bound by their decisions, though. Going to court remains possible. These are heavy tools, but for a business that depends heavily on local visibility they can be worth it.

Do it yourself or outsource it

A simple case you can fix yourself: a slogan in your business name, a duplicate profile, a PO box as your address. Correct it, gather evidence, file the appeal.

Outsourcing pays off when your account is restricted, when you manage several locations or profiles, when your address situation is complicated, such as coworking or working at customers' premises, or when your first appeal has already been rejected. Because you only get one appeal, a second pair of eyes beforehand is no luxury.

I include the Business Profile in maintenance and security: who has access, does the name match your website and invoices, does someone log in regularly. If you're dealing with a suspended profile right now, get in touch. We'll look together at what went wrong before you file that one appeal.