Google My Business is a must-have tool for online marketing, but what happens if you violate Google Business’s quality policy and Google Business is suspended? In this article, we will introduce 8 common reasons for Google Business suspension and how to apply for reinstatement to save your business.
What is Google My Business
Google Business is a free marketing platform that allows business owners to increase exposure and attract potential customers by displaying their products or services on Google search results pages and Google Map. A good Google Merchant optimization is almost like a guarantee of orders.
Google Business Suspension Reason
Google business must comply with Google’s quality policies, and business accounts may be suspended if violations of these policies are detected by Google robots. Detailed policies can be found in All Business Profile policies & guidelines.
There are many reasons why my business are suspended, here are some 8 common reasons:
Include unnecessary information in the business name
The business’s name must comply with Google’s quality policy and must not include unnecessary information in the business’s name, such as fraudulent, misleading or infringing information, or additional keywords, location information, promotional slogans, phone numbers, web addresses, special character symbols, products or services, or other content that violates Google’s policy, which may result in the suspension of the business’s profile.
Descriptions include web links, inappropriate content, poor quality, irrelevant or distracting content
A common mistake made by business administrators is to include too many keywords in business description, such as: Tainan Gourmet Snacks / Yongkang Gourmet Snacks / Rende Gourmet Snacks / Sinying Gourmet Snacks…, but this practice does not help to improve the search ranking in any practical way, and may even lead to suspension due to the low quality of the content and distracting users.
Proper business operations must avoid this practice and focus on creating high quality and relevant content.
Use redirect or short URL to a URL that is not the actual place of business
Using Redirection to direct users to sites that are not actually in business, or using short URLs, may have a certain chance of being suspended by Google for violations.
If you want to post a URL in Google Business, regardless of the length of the URL, it is recommended that you copy and paste the original URL directly:
- Correct: https://www.genape.ai/
- Error: https://tinyurl.com/ye7aftsd
Create multiple duplicate places for the same business
A common reason for suspension is that the status in the business information is determined to be a duplicate place. Usually, owners create multiple places with the same contact information in order to increase their exposure on Google search results pages or Google Map.
Online business builder without a physical storefront
A major policy of Google Business establishment, Businesss must have a physical storefront or on-site services, and can provide face-to-face services to customers to qualify for Business establishment; business models without a physical storefront such as e-commerce, resellers … and other online businesses are not allowed to establish Google Business.
Significant change of business address information
Usually, Google Businesss do not need to re-authenticate after verifying their address information. However, if a Business’s address suddenly changes drastically, especially to a cross-county location, for example, if a Business originally from Kaohsiung changes to Taichung, there is a high chance that the system will determine that the address is abnormal and is suspended.
Offensive, inappropriate, illegal, fraudulent activities
Content information on a business’s page that contains inappropriate content, such as false and misleading, inflammatory and explicit, promoting terrorism, advocating violence, advertising sexual services, etc., may result in suspension of the business’s rights.
The place where the service or course is offered is not owned by the owner
There is also a policy and terms in the Google Business Guidelines for ineligible types of Business, such as those who do not own the venue being used to provide services, classes or meetings, and who do not have the rights to advertise the venue.
For example, “a clinic provides free psychological counseling services in conjunction with the government at a local health board” does not meet the criteria under the Business Code because the clinic does not provide long-term space rental services and does not own the rights to advertise the space.
How to do when business suspended
Business suspension complaint process
- Step 1: Browse Google My Business Guidelines and Restricted Content Guidelines to compare merchant information for compliance with merchant policies.
- Step 2: After confirming My Business compliance and correcting all location information, you can apply for Google Business reinstatement.
After submitting a reinstatement complaint, the Google Business Support team will confirm and notify you by email of the outcome of the complaint (reinstatement or rejection), and how long it takes to receive a reply is not certain, usually about 2 weeks, sometimes more than 3 weeks.
Business suspension complaints need to know
In order to improve your chances of getting your application approved and to avoid wasting more time, please note the following:
- Physical store: Business must provide a clear photo of the exterior with the sign name, and the business name must be exactly the same as the sign name.
- Service business: It is recommended to provide a trusted website that clearly states the scope of services, business hours, and contact information. Also note that the business hours should not be set to 24 hours as much as possible to avoid being judged suspicious by the system.
Conclusion
This article introduces the common reasons for Google business suspension and the tips to avoid it. If a Google business is unfortunately suspended, you can try to reinstate it by filing a complaint. Finally, if you need to optimize or correct Google business content, we recommend Genape’s Google business tools to help.
