Dealing with a Google Business Profile suspension is frustrating for many reasons.
Not only can something as simple as updating your profile lead to a suspension, but Google doesn’t always tell you what you did wrong or how to fix it.
In this post, I explain reasons why your profile might be suspended, ways to fix it and how to prevent it from happening.
Google Business Profile Suspended: Overview
Google Business Profile (GBP) visibility is essential for local businesses. Losing your profile or losing access to it can be detrimental, and unfortunately, suspensions are becoming more common over time.
Google suspensions come in different forms based on how severe a suspension is and whether the suspension resulted from a profile violation or account violation.
Google Business Profile suspensions have two levels of severity:
- Soft suspensions – Your listing is disabled, meaning it still appears on Google Maps, but you aren’t able to edit it.
- Hard suspensions – Your listing has been removed from Google Maps entirely.
You can tell what type of suspension you’re dealing with by searching for your business on Google and Google Maps.
If it’s there, you’re dealing with a soft suspension. If it’s gone, you’ve been hit with a hard suspension, which is quite serious as it means you’re at risk of losing access to your reviews and the reputation you’ve built on Google.
Suspensions are typically caused by one of the following:
- Suspension waves in which Google conducts automated sweeps to catch and suspend profiles that violate its guidelines
- Account-wide suspensions in which your Google account being suspended or your account for another Google product being suspended leads to a suspension of your business profile
- Manual suspensions in which a particular action* led to a Google employee personally inspecting your account and finding it to be in violation of Google’s guidelines
*Sometimes Google reviews your profile manually if a user reports it on Google Maps. Competitors do this if they want to decrease another business’ visibility on Google.
Fixing a suspended Google Business Profile requires you to fix any guidelines you violated and submit an appeal to have your profile reinstated.
Unfortunately, Google typically doesn’t tell you exactly which guideline you violated. It’s up to you to figure out what you did wrong.
Because you get a limited number of attempts at appealing your suspension, I highly recommend hiring a professional to go over your profile. They’ll have a much deeper understanding of Google’s guidelines and processes and have likely helped other businesses recover from suspensions.
An online reputation management service like RepuRocket is suitable for an issue like this.
Alternatively, ask the community in the Google Business Profile forums to look over your listing.
Google’s AI Sweeps Lead to Mass Suspensions
As for automated sweeps, Google is now using AI to conduct suspension waves.
AI-driven sweeps led to the suspension of over 39.2 million Google Ads accounts in 2024 alone.
Google confirmed it uses AI to catch violations in a statement made to Channel 2 Action News in Atlanta. The station’s article states:
“This week, both Google and Meta told Channel 2 Action News they are using artificial intelligence to identify and remove scam accounts and other policy violations.
In a statement Wednesday, Google said AI helps the company stay ahead of bad actors and fraudulent businesses.”
However, it’s important to note that the occurrence of false positives caused by AI is not an issue that has been cited by Google or industry experts.
Reasons Why Google Suspends Business Profiles
- NAP inconsistencies
- Incorrect open hours
- Changing your address
- Having a service area business (and not setting it up properly in GBP)
- Having an online-only business
- Not having a commercial address specific to your business (virtual office and co-working spaces)
- Having multiple listings that use the same phone number
- Having multiple listings in general
- Keyword stuffing, especially in the business name field
- Too many edits, especially in a short period of time
- Incorrect pin location
- Lack of permanent signage
- Security issues on your website
Profile Issues
Your business hours on Google must reflect your open hours, or the timeframe that represents when customers are able to visit your business.
Some businesses make the mistake of using their support hours on Google Business Profile. In actuality, your listing must reflect the hours your business doors are open to customers.
Google also wants profiles to be unique. This means the phone number listed on your profile should be the only profile that uses that phone number.
Similarly, your business should only have one listing. Don’t try to game the system by creating a different listing for each service you offer or service area you operate in.
Finally, take care when making edits to your profile. Although your listing should include relevant keywords, don’t add too many, and don’t add keywords to your business name.
When you make edits to your profile, wait at least a minute between edits. Making too many edits in a short period of time can trigger a suspension.
Address Issues
Many suspensions are triggered by address issues or an issue with the physical location of your business.
For instance, when you move and have a new address, you might face a suspension when you attempt to update your address on GBP. This is due to Google’s automated system flagging the edit as fraud.
You might also face a suspension if you don’t have a commercial address that’s specific to your business. This is a common issue for home-based businesses who use a virtual office address as well as co-working spaces where multiple businesses use the same address.
Having multiple listings for one address is also an issue.
Poor signage or lack of signage may get you suspended as well. Your listing must include a photo of a permanent sign attached to your business.
Finally, check the location of your pin on Google Maps. Google sets it automatically, but you should make sure it’s not misplaced.
Website Issues
Inconsistencies with a business’ NAP (name, address and phone number) between the business’ Google Business Profile and website can also lead to a suspension.
The name, address and phone number listed on your website must match the name, address and phone number listed on your profile.
Related: How to Manage Local Business Listings
Google will also suspend your profile if your website has a security issue (and the website URL on your profile points to your website).
Business Issues
The type of business you operate can also lead to a suspension.
Businesses that only operate online and therefore do not have physical locations cannot be listed on Google at all.
Service area businesses might also find themselves facing suspensions.
A service area business is a business that goes to the customer’s location rather than the customer coming to them. Examples include Roofers, cleaning services and painters.
Under Google’s guidelines, a service area business that does not serve customers at their business location should remove their address from their profile and set service areas instead.
They should also use one listing for all areas they serve.
A hybrid business, which is a business that serves customers at a physical location as well as the customer’s location, should list their address and set service areas.
However, if the hybrid business does not have permanent signage, Google advises them to label themselves as a service area instead.
How to Get a Google Business Profile Suspension Lifted
Getting a suspension lifted involves fixing violations you made, authenticating your business with Google and submitting an appeal.
You only have 60 minutes from the time you submit your appeal form to upload any evidence documents you have, so I highly recommend gathering everything you need before submission.
Documents you need include:
- Business license
- Business registration
- Tax certificate
- Utility bill
Photos of your lease/deed, business signage and address number might help as well.
This forum post from a Diamond Product Expert of Google’s community forums has a longer list of documents you can include as evidence of your legitimacy.
Important: The name and address on each of these documents should match the name and address on your profile.
As for why you feel you should be reinstated, explain what violation you fixed as plainly as possible. Google only wants the facts on the appeal form. If you believe you were suspended by mistake, explain that.
Do not make any edits to your profile after you submit your appeal. Make your changes before you hit Submit.
If you can’t find a violation, ask for help from Google’s support forums or a service like RepuRocket.
Use this form to request an additional review if your appeal is denied.
How to Prevent a Suspension
- Make sure your Google profile is as consistent with the information on your website and official documents as possible
- Use accurate open hours
- Do not create a profile unless you have a physical business location. Residential locations (like your apartment) don’t count nor do virtual offices or co-working spaces
- Add permanent signage to your building, and have a professional photographer capture photos of them
- Remove your address from your profile if you’re a service area business
- Avoid making too many edits to your profile in a small period of time
- Don’t create a separate listing for your business if it’s already claimed. You need to claim the profile instead
- Don’t create more than one listing for your address
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