How To Prevent Your Google Profile From Being Suspended

Google Business Profile (GBP) is essential for local SEO. It helps improve your local visibility by making it easier for customers in your area to find you. It also helps boost your rankings on search engines. GBP is undoubtedly a powerful tool that is and should be part of every business’s online marketing strategy.

But of course, with great power comes great responsibility. Google has very strict guidelines that all businesses should follow lest they get suspended. If you purposely try to circumvent these rules or don’t bother reading any of their guidelines, then your local SEO is at serious risk.

If you had been suspended, Google isn’t going to tell you what your profile’s been suspended for. They expect you to figure it out and fix it on your own.

As an SEO company in Los Angeles, we know how frustrating that can be. That’s why we’ve compiled a list of common reasons Google profiles get suspended. 

1. Your Business is High Risk

Some businesses are more prone to spammy and fraudulent Google profiles. Google looks at these industries more critically than others, and you might just get caught in the crossfire if you’re even a pinky toe out of line!

Examples of high-risk business categories include plumbers, real estate, insurance, pest control, landscapers, locksmiths, and plenty others.

If your business is in a high-risk category, you want to make sure you never give Google an excuse to suspend your profile. 

2. You Have a Lot of Stuffed Keywords

You should have your business’s official, real-world name on your Google profile and your business name alone. Making it look like an Amazon product with a ton of keywords shoved in it is just asking for trouble! In fact, with a recent algorithm update (dubbed Vicinity), keyword-stuffed profiles now tend to rank lower than the others.

Here’s what Google had to say:

“To help customers find your business online, accurately represent your business name. Your name should reflect your business’s real-world name, as used consistently on your storefront, website, stationery, and as known to customers.”

3. You Use a P.O. Box or UPS Store as an Address

Google Business Profiles are strictly for local businesses with local addresses or local businesses who go to their customers. If you use a P.O. box or a UPS store as your address, customers won’t be able to go to your store.

According to Google’s rules:

“P.O. boxes or mailboxes located at remote locations are not acceptable.”

It’s as simple as that.

4. You Use a Virtual or Co-Working Space as an Office

There are some companies out there that offer private meeting rooms. They tend to be temporary (i.e., you don’t actually own or rent the place and just use it sometimes), virtual (i.e., you don’t operate your business from there), and co-sharing (i.e., anybody and everybody can book). It’s like a hotel but for businesses.

Here’s an example:

As you can see, this address has multiple businesses operating from a single spot. That’s a big no-no. Your address must be dedicated to your business with permanent signage outside, and your employees must be there during business hours.

5. You Have a Residential Area as Your Business Address

As we mentioned earlier, Google profiles are also for local businesses that go to their customers. Customers call you when they need you, and you head over to wherever they need you. This is called a service area business, and examples of these include plumbers, locksmiths, and landscapers. 

If you run this type of business, you shouldn’t feel obligated to put your residential address or any other random address if you don’t have a dedicated office. Your customers don’t need to visit you to avail of your services anyway.

Google will suspend any profile with a residential address as it can be quite dangerous for random people to know where you live.

6. Your Business is Online-Only

If your business doesn’t have its own office and doesn’t involve meeting customers face-to-face, then there’s not much point in having a profile. Google Business, after all, is meant to serve your local customers.

Online businesses are not qualified to have a Google profile. Period.

7. Two Businesses Share the Same Address

Sometimes people have two or more businesses set up at the same address.

For example, you could be a landscaper and a handyman at the same time. You might be tempted to have two separate profiles with the same address, but it’s actually best to have a business name that covers both of these services. If you make separate profiles, Google might think your address is co-sharing and have both of them suspended.

Conclusion

Keep in mind that these are only some of the ways you can get suspended. There are other reasons we haven’t mentioned!

Treat your suspension as a wake-up call. If you had followed all of Google’s instructions in the first place, you probably wouldn’t have had to deal with this mess. Before making your profile, you should always make sure that you’re not violating any of Google’s guidelines.

Additionally, don’t just think GBP is a one-time thing. Google’s policies are always changing, so you should always be informed of the latest updates to see if you’re still complying with their rules.

But if you’re rule-abiding and proactive at all times, then you will have nothing to worry about.

Need help with your Google Business Profile? Drive Traffic Media is here for you. We are an SEO company in Los Angeles that can develop a profile that’s optimized for search engines and follows Google’s guidelines. We can be contacted at (310)341-3939.