More threads by Greg Schueler

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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.
 
Solution
No change, this is still not allowed and is right in the guidelines.

Address
  • If your business rents a physical mailing address but doesn't operate out of that location, also known as a virtual office, that location is not eligible for a Business Profile on Google.
I can confirm that Google My Business (GMB) will definitely allow virtual office to be used for Service Area Businesses, and ONLY for Service Area Businesses. The guidelines posted on GMB are truly just "guidelines", not rules, and are geared toward preventing businesses from trying to beat the local organic search algorithms with 2nd or multiple addresses using "virtual" offices.

Before I go further, I need to state that virtual mailboxes such as a PO Box, UPS Store, Mailboxes stores, etc. are not allowed any longer by GMB. And, businesses claiming to be a "Storefront Business" are not allowed to use a virtual office. The deciding factor about if a virtual office is allowed to be used for Service Area Businesses, is 'Can the business meet and conduct business at the location?' Virtual offices in office buildings with Conference Rooms or offices that are available for a business to use during business hours are acceptable by Google and are not blocked by GMB.

I am a person involved in the management of multiple virtual offices and have personally had several conversations with Google My Business representatives on this subject. In fact a few years ago, when Google cracked down on the use of virtual offices by businesses trying to "beat the local organic search system", GMB contacted us and we went through a substantial screening process to ensure we provided on site meeting spaces available to our virtual office clients. We have thousands of clients in our various locations that are on Google My Business. I have asked our Google reps why this information isn't clearer on the Guidelines, and they always say they will submit it for review, but it never changes. My guess is that it is easier to put forth broad guidelines, but allow those who are doing it right to not be impeded by the guidelines designed to help prevent abuse of the system.

Unfortunately, there is a lot of bad information on the internet on this subject and lots of people simply read the guidelines and take it as rules and restate it as fact, when in reality it isn't. I am just trying to help people understand how GMB applies those guidelines to support businesses doing things right, and blocking those trying to "beat the system". It's a good balance that GMB has created.

I hope that helps.

Yes, there were thousands removed back in the day they abused the system trying to use virtual offices for local organic search spamming, but that it not the case anymore. GMB's new policies make the system work for everyone. It was a great job done by Google to balance the needs of businesses needing an address against those abusing the system. Virtual offices can definitely be used on GMB as Service Area Businesses.

I am new to this forum and a bit surprised to see an Administrator fight so hard on a topic when the facts of the matter have been put forth. I am not trying to argue or promote the business I work for. Just want to ensure people are not being misled or lose out on opportunities due to only having partial information.

Best wishes
 
Joy Hawkins is a GMB Product Expert. Not only has she done extensive research in this topic, she has repeatedly asked Google for clarification. She is not arguing, but stating her findings for her extensive research. I assure you Google is cracking back down on illegitimate business listings currently. The GMB Forum has seen a massive uptick in threads where businesses are reported that have been suspended overnight by Google. I am seeing a lot of cases where businesses using virtual offices are getting suspended. I am seeing similar talk on several seo groups too.
 
I wish I had some statement by GMB on this subject. All I can say is that GMB put our virtual offices through a vetting process about two and a half years ago. We provided them with all kinds of documentation and pictures of offices and Conference Rooms, as well as website links to prove that we were not just a mailbox store like UPS Stores. We were instructed to ensure our clients registered with GMB as Service Area Businesses as they would not be approved as a "Storefront" business. Once that vetting process was completed the GMB submissions by our clients were accepted and verification pins were issued and they are still live today. GMB does hold us to a higher standard than other businesses. GMB reps asked that we help police the businesses that cancel their virtual offices to ensure those businesses update their addresses on GMB, or remove their GMB listings. If not done by the business, we put in a report to GMB that the business is no longer at this address.

I am very glad that GMB is cracking down on those abusing the system. We as a virtual office regularly receive verification pins in the mail from businesses trying to use (hijack) our address when they are not a client. We do our part to police our end. The GMB rep that vetted our virtual office business a few years back asked for our support in ensuring businesses that are no longer clients remove or update their GMB listing. Sometimes that falls on us to report to GMB. I think over the past few years the virtual office industry has found a way to work together with GMB that supports the needs of legitimate small businesses while inhibiting those trying to abuse the system.

If you wish to dig more into this, I am sure you could call any number of local virtual offices that are in office buildings, and have Conference Rooms or offices clients, to get their input and experience on this subject. Best wishes.
 
Now it all makes sense, you have a personal stake in this, financial. We can’t change Google, their TOS and how and when they choose to enforce their guidelines. Google is cracking down and suspending listing using virtual offices. Unfortunately the rampant abuse appears to be the reason why Google is cracking down. If a business creates a second listing at virtual office, they run the risks of becoming suspended and needing to go through vigorous checks to ensure that they qualify for a GMB listing.
 
Yes, I have a stake so that is why it's important to debunk these myths that are spread on the internet. I don't understand the fear mongering talk of "suspensions" associated with use of virtual offices. Sure, we all hope Google cracks down on those who abuse the system. But, using a legitimate virtual office will not lead to any negative impact on a legitimate business.

It's very important to help people understand the truth of how GMB works with virtual offices so they are not afraid to make that next step to grow their business. Many people look here to get info from the "GMB Product Experts", so it's important that the "experts" have the correct information and don't spread false information. I'm just trying to help educate people on what is fact and what is false rumor based in incorrect interpretations or previous false information. Hopefully everyone will be better off going forward and all the experts will take time to learn more so they can more accurately give guidance to people. The more knowledge we share the better off we all are.

Just think of the massive negative impact of providing the incorrect interpretation of GMB Guidelines on this forum. Think of all those poor businesses that previously thought they could not use a virtual office and instead kept their home listed as their address and didn't use GMB (probably the best free advertising for a small business) to help grow their business.

I hope that everyone on this forum is trying to give the best advice they can. It's always tough to learn that what we believe to be true isn't. But, with knowledge comes improvement and hopefully going forward, those statements of absolutes that may have been valid many years ago, can be adjusted to the the current situation where virtual offices are perfectly fine to be used in association with GMB Service Area listings. Hopefully now that the localsearchforum GMB Product Experts have the most up to date and correct information, they can cross reference it with their own research, make calls to various virtual office businesses (that meet Googles requirement of having Conference Rooms or offices the clients can use during business hours to meet with clients) to verify the validity, and then hopefully help spread that information.

Best wishes
 
I am not “fear mongering” as I am seeing an major uptick in suspensions in the last weeks. Other forums and FB groups are referencing the same suspensions as they say in November. I didn’t see any signs of those suspensions in November. I did see suspensions last March and a massive wave in June. The June suspensions started the Sunday before the WSJ article came out detailing Google’s Map spam issue. I presented in this as well with Local Marketing Institute. I have linked to the GMB forum where users are complaining about listings getting suspended or a delay in getting verified. If a business is a true SAB, they can hide their home address and use their house, and it’s free to do so.
I too am trying to help business owners navigate GMB and stay safe. I am not looking to make money and I offer my services pro bono too. If a business creates multiple SAB listings and they get reported Google will remove the duplicate listings. That is fact and not conjecture. I have reported and remove countless SAB and listings using co working spaces. I have also helped legitimate businesses get unsuspended using a VO. There are ways that it can work, however telling people to create a second listing at VO is not only bad advice it is also self serving to only you.
 
A business owner came to the forum because he was suspended for being at a VO. This is the reality of what happens to business owners who don’t know the rules. The forum is filled with pleas for help just like this.
 
I'm really not trying to be self serving. That business could be anywhere and could use any virtual office. In that situation I was under the impression from the original post that he was using a different business name for a second legally formed business entity. I agree with you if it was the same business name to be used at both his home and at a virtual office, that could cause a red flag and the need for a detailed explanation to GMB.

Good point on the problems with co-working spaces. To my knowledge, many local co-working spaces expressly prohibit use of their address in their service contracts. Co-working is very different animal than a virtual office. It's good that you brought that up as that gets into a new grey area. I have no knowledge of how GMB handles those.

A business owner came to the forum because he was suspended for being at a VO. This is the reality of what happens to business owners who don’t know the rules. The forum is filled with pleas for help just like this.
My guess is they probably listed their business as a "Storefront" instead of a "Service Area". We have seen people do this and run into problems. I know it's not easy to untangle that mess once its created. 6 months ago one of our clients listed his business on GMB as as Storefront, got blocked by GMB, then tried for months to get it changed to a Service Area business. Amazingly, GMB eventually set up a scheduled video chat with him and our staff to establish what was really happening. We had to verify that he is in fact a virtual office client of ours and then they approved his GMB listing. I was impressed that GMB was willing to do that level of interaction to resolve an issue.
 
Many people look here to get info from the "GMB Product Experts", so it's important that the "experts" have the correct information and don't spread false information.
I have to chime in here. GmyB, Joy, Jason and myself are GMB Product experts. What this means is we talk to GMB on a daily basis, we meet with the teams live. So, I can safely state that we have the correct information. You may not like it, but it is facts.

A business that has a virtual office as their main or secondary address will have a target painted on their backs. They will be reported to GMB as fraudulent, GMB will act as they deem fit, usually suspending the listing and causing the listing owner to proceed with reinstatement. This is not fear-mongering, it is the reality that Joy, Jason, me and other PE's see on a daily basis.

I have clients that are in a VO, BUT have an executive office. These are fine. A SAB at co-working is ok at this time, but a SAB at a VO is not. This is simply because of the constant abuse.
 
I have to chime in here. GmyB, Joy, Jason and myself are GMB Product experts. What this means is we talk to GMB on a daily basis, we meet with the teams live. So, I can safely state that we have the correct information. You may not like it, but it is facts.

A business that has a virtual office as their main or secondary address will have a target painted on their backs. They will be reported to GMB as fraudulent, GMB will act as they deem fit, usually suspending the listing and causing the listing owner to proceed with reinstatement. This is not fear-mongering, it is the reality that Joy, Jason, me and other PE's see on a daily basis.

I have clients that are in a VO, BUT have an executive office. These are fine. A SAB at co-working is ok at this time, but a SAB at a VO is not. This is simply because of the constant abuse.
Ben, I am sad that you would say this with such authority. I suspect that the people you and yoru team meet with and speak with are not the (GMB) people related to this issue of Virtual Offices. As an expert you should want to gather the facts before speaking with authority. In this case you are factually incorrect and that statement furthers the spread of misinformation. I hope this misinformation is not for monetary gain for you and the forum expert team. Please improve your "expert" status and speak with people high enough in the GMB hierarchy to learn the truth, learn what GMB approves within "the guidelines". A little bit on knowledge tied with conjecture, disjointed experiences and a personal interpretation of "guidelines", not rules, is a dangerous things when portrayed to the public as fact.

The information you have is actually backwards. A business renting a space at an executive suite can not list as a Storefront, as they do not meet the GMB minimum requirements for signage. We have learned this from first hand experience. But a business can use a VO or an executive suite as a Service Area Business (SAB) provided they are have facilities (office or Conference Room) where they can meet with their clients during business hours. The VO staff acts as an extension of the businesses "team".

GMB has done a great job balancing the support of legitimate businesses and the prevention of abuse. I am sure it will always be a battle for GMB, but they are doing a great job weeding out the problems. I hope this forum can transition to one of helping businesses better utilize local services like GMB instead of scaring them away from this wonderful free advertising tool.

If you and your team do in fact meet with GMB representatives. Please help encourage them update their guidelines to spell out exactly how they allow the use of executive suites and real virtual offices (that include meeting space during business hours). Clearly the use of non office building "virtual offices" like PO Boxes or UPS Stores don't meet the requirements and do not do the internet viewer any benefit, hence not permitted to use the address on GMB. This is the active practice, so it would be great if GMB put it in the guidelines that way. I personally have made this request to GMB reps and they always say it will be submitted. I imagine GMB legal prefers to keep a broad and open guideline so they can operate as needed and focus on the problem businesses.

I hope you and your team fight to help make GMB more inclusive in their guidelines. Please don't take this battle with me over what is allowed or not and carry it forward as an attack on the legitimate users of GMB with virtual offices. The goal should be to seek the best outcome for every small business trying to legitimately get their business on the internet. Thanks
 
I am not sure what else we can say to you. We have all spoken with multiple people from various departments with GMB, including the Trust and Safety team. We have routine hangouts with GMB where we discuss policies, spam, and new features. We just got back from the yearly PE Summit. We spoke extensively with the Trust and Safety team.

There are ways that using a VO or Executive offices are allowed. I have clients in legitimate VO/ EO's. They need to have an office where they can meet clients directly and in person. They are not SAB's. A SAB is a business that travels to its customer's location, a plumber, a carpet cleaner, locksmith and not a lawyer or a data recovery company.

The bottom line is any business owner can create a free GMB listing using their home address and mark it as a SAB. There is no need to rent a VO to create an SAB listing.
 
I have a client which provides at home tutoring services and has a dedicated office space in a Regus location for an employee who is there everyday. The listing is verified at the Regus address as an SAB. It was suspended last year, but pictures were provided and it was reinstated. Is this not officially ok? Should the listing be technically verified at the owner's address instead?
 
I have a client which provides at home tutoring services and has a dedicated office space in a Regus location for an employee who is there everyday. The listing is verified at the Regus address as an SAB. It was suspended last year, but pictures were provided and it was reinstated. Is this not officially ok? Should the listing be technically verified at the owner's address instead?
Typically if you have an employee of your business (not an employee staffed by the building/virtual office) at the location during the business hours, and you're not just using a virtual office space "by appointment" then it is allowed. Because Regus is associated with virtual offices, it often triggers red flags/suspensions even if you did rent out a real office, it's just difficult to get Google to see that you have a legit office.

To get a head of this, I like to add photos of the office with signage of the business name to the photo album- then you have some documentation ready and available for support if the listing gets suspended. If the address is intended for customers to visit, then I would not hide the address- hiding the address is only if the address is private/not intended for customers to visit.

In general though, Regus and other offices associated with the virtual setup are not recommended because it's hard to get Google to believe it's not virtual, despite the possibility that it's the office space you truly work out of.
 
I have a client which provides at home tutoring services and has a dedicated office space in a Regus location for an employee who is there everyday. The listing is verified at the Regus address as an SAB. It was suspended last year, but pictures were provided and it was reinstated. Is this not officially ok? Should the listing be technically verified at the owner's address instead?

By definition, what you're describing is not a virtual office. Providers that offer virtual offices often also rent physical space. Virtual offices would be if you + the staff you employ are not there during stated hours.
 
Okay so just in case anyone thought the article referenced from 2017 was outdated or no longer applied 3 years later, I got confirmation (publicly) from Google that service area businesses are still not allowed to use virtual offices.



I'll be updating my article with this info too so the date is more current.
 
Okay so just in case anyone thought the article referenced from 2017 was outdated or no longer applied 3 years later, I got confirmation (publicly) from Google that service area businesses are still not allowed to use virtual offices.



I'll be updating my article with this info too so the date is more current.


That means a service area-based business can use a virtual office from the providers like Regus if they are properly staffed during stated hours and can attend to phone calls from the customers. Correct?
 
Yes, but in that case they wouldn't actually be a pure service area business. They would be a hybrid business. What Joy was referencing is in reference to pure service area businesses.

We are proposing to get a VO from Regus in order to be verified using the postcard and then hide our address in GBP. I just want to make sure that we are not violating any Google guidelines.
 

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