GBP Profile Suspended, No Response from Google Support - Need Help!

[MaryAnne G]

Hi -
On 7/17 I went in to a client's profile to update categories and the profile was immediately suspended. Thinking at first it was something in my choice of categories, I removed all except the primary category (which is unquestionably valid) and filed the reinstatement request. I have not received a reply from Google Support and their GBP profile is still suspended.

Looking at the original suspension email, it said it was suspended for "suspicious activity" ??? This has been my account for at least 5 years so I don't know how they would consider my updating anything as "suspicious activity."

I have posted a thread in the GBP forum with a link to a Google doc containing the details. I got one reply asking for the very information I had already posted and have heard nothing further in the 1.5 days since I replied to that.

Can anyone please help? The client is very dependent on Google Business for local leads and is really hurting!

GBP community thread is here: Profile Suspended, No Response from Support - Help Needed! - Google Business Profile Community
Link to the Google doc with the details in the initial post, please lmk if you want me to repost the link here.

 

[Phil Rozek]

@MaryAnne G, I suggest removing the service areas and specifying the address publicly. (It's visible on the business's site and on the Yelp page, so presumably it's not a big secret.) If the client had other GMB pages with service areas and the service areas overlapped, that could have triggered the suspension.

Also, for an NYC business in an unrelated industry I saw a similar issue that involved no change to the categories and only to the service area.

After removing the service area and specifying the address, the owner will need to owner-verify the page again. Which shouldn't take long.

As always, there's no guarantee that will work, but that's the next thing I'd try. Process of elimination. SABs are more prone to issues like this.

 

[keyserholiday]

I am going to disagree with Phil here. The address is a private residence so if the client doesn't have signage, they can't show the address. It is taking Google 15 days to reply, so you should hear back tomorrow if you applied for reinstatement on the 17th. If you applied on the 18th, then you will hear back on Tuesday. You neglected to post the case id for your reinstatement. That will hinder anybody from escalating the issue to Google, which is a moot point as you will hear back faster than a PE would.

 

[MaryAnne G]

Thanks for the replies!
@Phil Rozek - the business was suspended a couple of years ago for having the address and the service areas. We removed the address to get it reinstated.

I didn't have a case ID previously because I had no reponse from Google at all. I did get through to support - this is their reply:
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Follow up to Google Business Profile support query [2-1947000032626]

Thank you for reaching out to Google Business Profile Support team. I hope your doing well!

I understand that your profile "NY Brite" is showing pending and you want your profile to go live.

As per our investigation we are really sorry to keep informed that our team has conducted a few checks regarding the business page. Based on the same checks, we were unable to confirm the existence of the business and also confirm your affiliation to the same business. Therefore, we regret to inform you that we would not be able to proceed further with your request.

If you'd like more help on this issue, reply to this email. We'll be happy to help! For help with other issues, you can always reach us via our Help Center.

Within 48 hours of our last interaction, you'll receive a short survey via email. We'd love to hear your feedback about our interaction today and your overall experience with Google Support.

We appreciate your patience and understanding.


Regards,
Ambati
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So what do I do now???




Thanks -

 

[keyserholiday]

This is your case ID: 2-1947000032626 and Google support just got back to you. They are stating that you are not a user on the business profile. Are you set as an owner or a manager? Did you submit any paperwork for your reinstatement?

 

[MaryAnne G]

This is your case ID: 2-1947000032626 and Google support just got back to you. They are stating that you are not a user on the business profile. Are you set as an owner or a manager? Did you submit any paperwork for your reinstatement?

Yes, I finally have a case ID as of last night.

I am set as a manager of the profile and have been a manager for years. There has been no change in my info. I filed for reinstatement within 1/2 hour of the listing being suspended - after a quick look through the guidelines, I thought it might be an issue with the categories (the only change I had made) so I removed the secondary categories leaving just the primary. The only category now is "House cleaning service", which is what they are.

 

[keyserholiday]

What documents did you upload when you applied for reinstatement?

 

[MaryAnne G]

What documents did you upload when you applied for reinstatement?

None. I thought at the time it was a category issue, fixed it and submitted the reinstatement form. Just provided the profile info, what I believed the issue was and what I had done to rectify it.

 

[keyserholiday]

That's why you were denied. Reply to the email with this attachment.

 

[Phil Rozek]

@MaryAnne G:
If the current back-n'-forth with Google doesn't work out, then I would still suggest showing the address, removing the service area, re-verifying the page. Right before or after that you'll probably need to do more work on your citations (so as to corroborate what's on GMB). You may also want to get "owner"-level admin status in the GMB page.

That tends to be the most problem-free setup because it's the most straightforward.

Jason's suggestions are good, but there are several flies in the ointment: Google's stated policies differ wildly from their enforcement, many of your competitors show their addresses or use residential addresses or do both, Google is used to seeing that kind of setup, and (at least in my experience) Google is less likely to enforce the "this is a private residence" policy when the address is a large building with many occupants (both residential and possibly commercial).

If simply following the instructions from the Google rep can clear up this issue and prevent future issues, great. But it very well may not, in which case you'll need to try a different tack anyway.

 

[keyserholiday]

@MaryAnne G:
If the current back-n'-forth with Google doesn't work out, then I would still suggest showing the address, removing the service area, re-verifying the page. Right before or after that you'll probably need to do more work on your citations (so as to corroborate what's on GMB). You may also want to get "owner"-level admin status in the GMB page.

That tends to be the most problem-free setup because it's the most straightforward.

Jason's suggestions are good, but there are several flies in the ointment: Google's stated policies differ wildly from their enforcement, many of your competitors show their addresses or use residential addresses or do both, Google is used to seeing that kind of setup, and (at least in my experience) Google is less likely to enforce the "this is a private residence" policy when the address is a large building with many occupants (both residential and possibly commercial).

If simply following the instructions from the Google rep can clear up this issue and prevent future issues, great. But it very well may not, in which case you'll need to try a different tack anyway.

Phil, this business is not eligible to show the address. It's a TOS violation and will never get reinstated by Google. Trust me, I know.

 

[MaryAnne G]

Thanks @keyserholiday - I have replied with that attachment. I also included a screenshot of the dashboard (with the URL plainly visible) showing me listed as a manager of the account. Hopefully this will get a more positive response from them.

 

[MaryAnne G]

Update: Thanks to everyone for your input and support!
Good news: After a lot of back and forth, confusing and conflicting info from support, an additional suspension notice right before they reinstated it, the listing has been reinstated! Details in the Community Forum thread - Profile Suspended, No Response from Support - Help Needed! - Google Business Profile Community
Bad news: The couple of changes I made right before the suspension appear to have been have been rolled back - all the categories are in orange. For good measure, they have also put a line through the business description. So it looks like our listing has no active categories and no description? See attached.

Question: Am I correct that these categories are not currently active? And dare I go in to accept as appropriate (they clean upholstery but they aren't an "upholstery cleaning" service) and restore the business description?

 

[keyserholiday]

Just reject the edits from Google.

 

[MaryAnne G]

Thanks. Have to admit that by now I'm a little afraid to touch it!!