Are Virtual Offices Allowed on Google My Business?

[Greg Schueler]

I know about the risks of using a Regus office and virtual offices in general, but I have a client that uses leases an office in a Regus complex that they use and have staffed M-F.

All has been well since they moved into the office until 2 weeks ago the GMB listing was suspended and no longer visible in the search results. They had the hours listed as 24/7 since they have after hours call answering services, but they only staff the office 830-5. So I switched the hours in case this was the issue. (The suspension didn't say why, just 'quality issues'. There was also an additional category that was similar, but I removed that extra category too. Once done I resubmitted for appeal.

I received a canned response stating:

The address used in your listing doesn’t match the address of your business. You must list your business at its correct location.

In particular: Do not create a listing, or place your pin marker at a location where the business does not physically exist. P.O. Boxes/Virtual offices are not considered accurate physical locations. Your business location should be staffed during its stated hours. Please note that mailboxes at mail receiving locations are also not considered accurate physical locations.

Please change your listing to comply with our policies and submit it for review. We’ll review your listing and if it complies with our policies, we’ll lift the suspension.

The address formatting that is used in this office complex is a little strange in that the main address is 1234 Example Ave Suite#100. Then inside that suite #, there are individual room numbers. All offices inside use the same Suite#100. The preferred mailing address is just the client's business name and the Suite #100 address. they normally don't need to include the Room #, but in response to the GMB message I added the Room# in addition to the suite# and sent back a full explanation of how the office formatting was at this location.

One day later I get the same response:

The address used in your listing doesn’t match the address of your business. You must list your business at its correct location.

The address DOES match the address of the business. It is listed on the website, they get mail there, it is formatted correctly, and it is staffed (small staff, but still staffed.)

Is there any way to reason with GMB Support or any way around this issue? It's like they don't listen, or the address is flagged as a whole.

We are not worried so much if search results get filtered for keywords, but this office has lots of caregivers and vendors that need to find the address by business name searches and stop by to drop off and pick up supplies, so showing up in maps for them is very important.

Thanks for any insight.

 

[adammaxum]

Greg, you could have gone an extra step by providing proof they have a business license with that address and also a BBB Accreditation. That would have been sufficient to keep the address.

@adammaxum Virtual Offices have come under scrutiny more in the past year simply because of the abuse by many industries, lawyers being the biggest one.

I will reply to your thread on the support community and see if I can help.

thanks...we can provide video and such if that would remove the suspension...we've already provided paid invoice receipts showing the locations which should be sufficient proof I'd think

 

[JoyHawkins]

The issue is that a lease doesn't prove that someone is there. I've [unfortunately] seen many cases where people rent an office and it's just locked all day. Video evidence is definitely the way to go if they do have their employees work out of that location during work hours.

 

[Remedy12374]

Joy, how does taking a video work when trying to get your suspended GMB listing re-instated. In filling out the GMB reinstatement form, it doesn't look like they allow you to attach any images or files? So how exactly does this work? Am I missing something? Please let me know. Thank you!

 

[JoyHawkins]

I would wait until you get a reply and then you should be able to send them photos.

 

[Colan Nielsen]

Second what Joy said. Google will let you know if they need/want photo or video evidence. In the description section of the form you can indicate that you have photos ready to send over to them as a reminder as well.

 

[Remedy12374]

Joy and Colan, I'm guessing a better way to handle this might be to proactively upload photos and videos to the GMB listing. I checked and surprisingly still have access to this part of my GMB listing despite the suspension. And then simply mention that I've done that in my reinstatement form request. From what I've seen, the people who get their suspension reinstatement requests denied simply receive a generic form letter that says your suspension has been denied because you are in violation of the guidelines. I don't believe you get a specific answer from someone you can reply to and send pictures and videos to? I'm not sure though.

My plan is to upload pics and a video or two of my employee working in her office, to my GMB listing. Then, I'll re-submit another reinstatement request, letting them know that I've uploaded that stuff, along with my official business license number that is registered with the Office of the Secretary of State - my official business license lists my office address that is on my GMB listing. I really hope this will be enough proof.

Thanks to both of you for your guidance on this subject!

 

[Remedy12374]

Second what Joy said. Google will let you know if they need/want photo or video evidence. In the description section of the form you can indicate that you have photos ready to send over to them as a reminder as well.

Well, I got some advice from Joy and someone else who also indicated that using a company virtual office address will always be an issue - even if I got reinstated, I could be suspended again...is what some many people are saying.

Also, it appears that many people in my industry (resume writing service), are hiding their addresses and that seems to be working.

So, instead of providing photo and video evidence proof that I am staffed at this location, and providing by business license info which lists the virtual office address...I decided to delete the address on my suspended GMB page and fill out the reinstatement form. I was hoping that hiding my business address (even though it is counterintuitive because we are staffed at this location) would be the solution and look better in the eyes of google.

However, on the reinstatement form, it requires you to provide an address. So, I provided the same address of 3131 McKinney Avenue, Suite 600, Dallas, TX 75204. But, now I'm wondering if this will still be an issue because that address is affiliated with a virtual office? I mean, if hiding the address was all you had to do, then everyone would just rent a virtual office and hide the address, right?

I'm really thinking I should have gone with my first strategy of proving that we are local and staffed with photo and video evidence. I'm so confused as what to do next.

This has been such a difficult dilemma and I recently had to layoff 5 employees because of how much business has dropped as result of all of this.

Could really use some additional help and advice regarding path forward. Thank you!

 

[JoyHawkins]

I would not set it up as a service area business unless you were using your home address. Ben Fisher gave a really good tip on another thread that you can have the GMB team see your photos by adding them directly to the listing inside the GMB dashboard, even if the listing is suspended.

 

[BenFisher]

I also upload a secretary of state screenshot, city license, and BBB Accreditation if you have it.

I have gotten Virtual Offices reinstated, it is not easy to prove but it can be done..

Just had one go live today!

 

[LaurenHoward]

I wanted to get your opinion on this situation that happens occasionally. I have clients (mostly attorneys) that previously used virtual offices to meet clients by appointment and so set up their GMB with that address. When they come to my company, we explain that virtual offices are against GMB guidelines and get permission to update the listing to their home address and hide it so that they're set to a service area since that's the most accurate representation of how they're operating their business- working from home except for appointments with clients at another location. However, my clients still display the virtual address on their website so that clients can find their meeting location, Google Agency support has already said that is not an issue if a by appointment address is on the site but not on GMB.

Do you advise continuing to use the virtual office on other directories we manage for a better user experience so that users know where they can meet the business (by appointment) or do you hide the address and set as SAB on all listings for the sake of NAP consistency? In a lot of these cases, the home address we hide is usually not in the same city/zip as the virtual office.

 

[Colan Nielsen]

Hi @LaurenHoward I don't see any issue with having the virtual office address on the website if that is an address where they meet clients and would be useful for clients to know.

I would avoid using the virtual office address for their citations.

 

[LaurenHoward]

Got it! So keep all listings consistent and only list address on the website. Thank you!

 

[GmyB Guru]

GMB is perfectly fine with the use of virtual offices. The key thing is that the user must register the business with GMB as a Service Area business. This is the way Google differentiates between Storefront (physical presence) businesses and other businesses. So there should be no concerns about anyone using the virtual office with GMB. There was a period a several years back when Google cracked down on people trying to cheat the organic search system using virtual offices to boost SEO value. But the creation of the Storefront and Service Area designations eliminated that issue.

I'm dealing with this issue right now...

Suspended Listings - GMB Support Issues - Google Business Profile Community

apparently ALL regus office locations are prohibited from being on GMB? Even if you're paying for an actual office space within the building.

Google has basically taken the approach to ban ALL addresses that have any hint of Regus attached to them without reviewing specific cases that prove it's not a virtual office.

This is factually incorrect. GMB is fine with use of a virtual office. The important thing is to list the business as a "Service Area" business. Google knows the address is a virtual office. By definition for Google "Storefront" means you can post your signage out front where people can see it. In a virtual office or executive suites environment you can't post your business sign out front. That's why Google will not allow you to list a virtual office as a Storefront. Just list it as a Service Area business and Google will be happy to allow it on GMB.

 

[LaurenHoward]

GMB is perfectly fine with the use of virtual offices. The key thing is that the user must register the business with GMB as a Service Area business. This is the way Google differentiates between Storefront (physical presence) businesses and other businesses. So there should be no concerns about anyone using the virtual office with GMB. There was a period a several years back when Google cracked down on people trying to cheat the organic search system using virtual offices to boost SEO value. But the creation of the Storefront and Service Area designations eliminated that issue.

GMB explicitly states that virtual offices are prohibited and from experience with our Google Agency reps, even if an address is hidden, if a listing is suspended Google support still takes into account the address that was verified on the back end. Clients who came to us with hidden addresses that were originally verified with (unbeknownst to us) PO Boxes got suspended, and Google had us change the address to the home address even though it remained a hidden address before they would reinstate the listing. So it's my understanding that Google still cares about which address is used to verify the listing, regardless of it being hidden or not.

From GMB guidelines:

 

[GmyB Guru]

Hey Tony,

I'd still not recommend using a virtual office address even if the address is hidden. Google still knows what address was used to verify the listing so if it ever comes up they could still delete the listing.

That is incorrect. Google will NOT delete the listing because it is a virtual office. There are lots of misconceptions out on the internet that Google will not allow virtual offices for Google My Business. This bad information arises from a time years ago when Google clamped down on businesses using virtual offices to try to beat the local organic search protocols. Google created a simple solutions with two catagories of businesses "Storefront" and "Service Area" Google won't accept business listings at a virtual office address that try to say they are a "Storefront" business. By Google's definition "Storefront" means you have signage visible to the public along with other criterea. Google knows the location is a virtual office and is 100% fine with the use of the virtual office with GMB as long as the user lists their business as a Service Area business. Adding multiple virtual office locations in a city as Service Area locations will not help or hurt in organic SEO.

GMB explicitly states that virtual offices are prohibited and from experience with our Google Agency reps, even if an address is hidden, if a listing is suspended Google support still takes into account the address that was verified on the back end. Clients who came to us with hidden addresses that were originally verified with (unbeknownst to us) PO Boxes got suspended, and Google had us change the address to the home address even though it remained a hidden address before they would reinstate the listing. So it's my understanding that Google still cares about which address is used to verify the listing, regardless of it being hidden or not.

From GMB guidelines:

I see the confusion. The first part of what you are quoting is referring to a 2nd business location other than the primary business locations. The GMB guidelines are a bit confusing here. The intent of that statement about virtual offices is Google's policy designed to stop businesses from spamming markets with multiple "virtual" locations in an attempt to spoof the local organic search results, and does not portend to block use of virtual offices.

The second portion can also easily lead one to misunderstanding. I wish Google would better clarify here, as Google does allow use of a virtual office address provided the location has offices or Conference Rooms the businesses can use for meetings with clients during business hours. Google does recognize the virtual office personal as part of the businesses "team" and the ability to use offices or Conference Rooms during business hours meets the on site requirement.
The intent as described to me by a Google My Business representative is to block the use of PO Boxes, UPS Stores, Mailboxes Etc, and a myriad of other retail based mailbox locations that really can't be used for conducting in person business (meeting clients). The use of a true "virtual office" in an office building is perfectly acceptable.

Again, I wish Google would better write what they mean in the guidelines, but in actual practice they are doing the right thing. I work for a business that operates numerous virtual offices. A few years back, Google My Business representatives actually contacted us when they started cracking down on the abuse of local businesses using virtual offices to gain better local organic search results. They wanted detailed information about each of our virtual office locations to ensure it meets their guidelines for on site meeting capabilities. Throughout our locations, we have thousands of virtual office clients that use Google My Business without problem and lots have done so for many years.

So in your situation and your concerns about attorneys using a virtual office, I would recommend considering Google's actual practice of allowing businesses to use virtual offices, vs. an interpretation the intent of the guidelines. I know in the legal industry you probably prefer written rules, but in the internet guidelines world, it's easier for businesses like Google to paint a broader statement in the guidelines than to be super specific. I can assure you that Google is very thorough in allowing only the use of proper virtual offices. Hope that helps.

 

[JoyHawkins]

Virtual offices are not allowed to be used by Service Area businesses. Google clarified this a few years ago. See Google Updates GMB Guidelines - Virtual Offices are NOT Allowed for SABs - Sterling Sky Inc

 

[JoshuaMackens]

Google does not allow a virtual office. As the rule exists currently on this date, the location must be staffed.

 

[JoyHawkins]

Yep, I commented on a different thread about the same topic. Google explicitly clarified that service area businesses are not allowed to use them back in 2017. Google Updates GMB Guidelines - Virtual Offices are NOT Allowed for SABs - Sterling Sky Inc

 

[JoyHawkins]

The case outlined on that thread that prompted Google to chime in was a single-location service area business. You are not allowed to use a virtual office for a first location, or any location. This hasn't changed in years. We see them remove hundreds of these (maybe thousands?) every time they are reported.

 

[JoyHawkins]

Oh, and to clarify, the thread that I'm talking about is the one referenced in this article: Google Updates GMB Guidelines - Virtual Offices are NOT Allowed for SABs - Sterling Sky Inc