5 Reasons Why Your Google Business Profile Could Be Banned

A Google Business Profile is an effective marketing channel for local businesses that interact with customers in person.

But when you’re running a local business, one of the worst things that can happen to your business is getting your Google Business profile suspended.

When a Google Business Profile is suspended, it either disappears from Google completely (which is often the case) or becomes inaccessible to the owner or administrator of the profile. Neither is good news.

For many business owners, this is devastating. (Many of my clients have told me they had to close their business if they couldn’t restore their business profiles.)

Google typically doesn’t disclose the reason for a ban, which can frustrate business owners trying to fix the breach and restore their profile.

Why are Google business profiles banned?

When your business profile is suspended, the first step is to thoroughly read the guidelines for representing your business on Google.

In many cases, you can find out which law you broke.

But some “unwritten” rules can lead to profile bans, which makes things more complicated.

Determining what caused your suspension is like being a detective.

Let’s put on our detective hats and discuss five common reasons why Google Business Profiles are banned.

1. Address violations

Google has extensive rules regarding the types of addresses that qualify for Google Business Profiles.

Some of the most commonly violated guidelines include using:

• PO Box Address.
• UPS box address.
• Virtual office or co-working space address.

None of these types of addresses are allowed.

It is the only unique co-working space address that meets the following criteria:

• You have rented a dedicated office.
• The place has a permanent sign.
• You can see customers wherever you are.
• The office is open during business hours. (Both you and your employees must be there. And, no, your coworkers are not your employees, so they don’t count!)

As you can see in the example below, co-location addresses – and even overlapping collection numbers – are used by many businesses for their Google Business Profiles.

Another address violation is showing your home address on your Google business profile when you don’t have a permanent sign in your home and you don’t see customers.

If you have a Service Area Business (SAB) and run your business out of your home, go outside For your customers to do the work, you are not allowed to display your address in your GBP.

A quick look at Google Maps shows that this landscaping company is breaking the rules.

When you search for a business address on Maps, you can see a photo of the business owner’s residence. Another profile is waiting to be banned.

Some businesses may get away with violating address guidelines for a while, but eventually they will catch up.

2. Making changes to your profile

Editing of master data in GBP (ie, business name, address, phone number or business categories) may result in a ban.

If these key areas are edited, Google may find it suspicious.

After all, how often does a business change its name? Their address? Their phone number? What kind of business are they?

The answer: not often.

So think twice before changing the main fields in your business profile. You may unwittingly trigger a ban.

---

---

3. Filling your business name with keywords

Have you considered adding more words to your company name – like a city name or keywords? Not a good idea. (Yes you May Have a high rating but no rating will be given when your profile is banned.)

In the example below, the realtor is considered a “practice” and must use only her first and last name as her business name – just another term.

As you can see, she filled her business name with the keywords “realtor” and “real estate agent”. (Realtors are among the biggest offenders of business name guidelines.)

The short-term benefits you can get from keyword stuffing your business name are not worth the risk of getting your Google Business Profile banned.

4. Two businesses that share the same address or phone number

Google generally doesn’t like it when two businesses share the same address or phone number. (Same address difference for office buildings, shopping malls, car dealerships, different service/car repair businesses, etc.)

This rule primarily protects against:

• Home based businesses from creating multiple business profiles at their home address.
• A single business rather than creating more than one business at the same location/address.

An example of this was recently seen on the Google Business Profile Help forum. A landscaper had arranged GBP for his landscaping work, which he ran from his home.

He then set up another Google Business Profile for a “new” business he had started – a sod-laying business. (But isn’t planting sod part of landscaping?)

He couldn’t figure out why the new sod-laying Business Profile was banned.

It was clear to me – and to Google – that this guy was trying to game the system by creating two GBPs at the same address to get higher rankings.

What he had to do was add “Sod Supplier” as a category to his existing landscaping business profile.

Google doesn’t want people to set up more business profiles to try and get higher rankings.

5. Someone has reported your violations to Google

Another way your business profile can be suspended is if someone reports your violations directly to Google.

Have you noticed the “Suggest Edit” link in Google Business Profiles?

If your GBP listing violates the guidelines, all one has to do is make a suggested edit to correct your violation, and this may result in your profile being banned.

Think of it as a “Neighborhood Hour” type of program. This option helps keep everyone on the platform honest.

A recovery form can also be used to report GBP violations.

Are there other reasons why your profile might be banned?

There are dozens of reasons why Google might block your profile – most of which only Google knows. So your best bet is to follow the instructions. all of them.

Take my word for it. Getting your business profile listing suspended – and reinstated – is no walk in the park.

In many cases, it can disrupt businesses. It’s not worth the risk to mess around trying to skirt the rules. So read – and follow the rules.