Listing Suspended, Business Owner Upset, What Do I Do?

[Caroline S]

Hi All,

Last week, after making a change to a client's GMB listing, the listing was immediately suspended. I had changed the primary category from chimney service to chimney sweep, and I had added an appointment link. We got a hard suspension (Not showing up in maps at all). I immediately applied for reinstatement. I read through the guidelines line by line and couldn't find anything wrong with the listing. The client has some unrelated photos added to the listing (Photos of dogs and a selfie of him and his wife) mixed in with other photos of chimneys, but nothing that would be considered inappropriate, and nothing that can think would immediately give us a hard suspension, rather than a soft suspension. Like I said, I've already applied for reinstatement (Last Tuesday, Feb 25). I've heard it can take 1-2 weeks for my suspension to be lifted/escalated.
The client is very upset and worried and they say they are losing business. What else can I do? I've tried looking for ways to contact Google, but I can't find a phone number or even a contact form. I've tried reaching out to them on Twitter in the past but NEVER heard back from them.

How do I contact Google to at least see what the status of this is? Do we know for sure that they'll contact me if it doesn't get reinstated?

 

[StephanieNewton]

Hey Caroline,

Sorry to hear about all the trouble you're having. It seems you're not alone and there have been plenty of seemingly unjust suspensions recently, as well as some trouble with GMB support.

Usually I would suggest contacting GMB through Twitter (make sure you use the @GoogleMyBiz handle, not just @Google) — personally, I've found them to be really responsive but it's possible that due to higher demand they've got slower response times at the minute. You can also reach their support through Facebook, which might be worth trying if you're not having luck with Twitter. From my own experience and others', social media support seems to be your best bet with Google.

Best of luck with the reinstatement!

 

[Caroline S]

Thanks so much, @StephanieNewton! I'll give Twitter another shot, but I'll definitely also try Facebook if I don't have any luck.

 

[MarianoF]

Hi Caroline, I have been suspended twice in the last 2 weeks.
Here is the link to talk to them. They will call you immediately.

Google Business Profile Help

Official Google Business Profile Help Center where you can find tips and tutorials on using Google Business Profile and other answers to frequently asked questions.

support.google.com

Cheers
Mariano

 

[keyserholiday]

Google is experiencing a major backlog with suspensions at the moment. It is taking about 2 weeks to receive an answer. Please do not contact support after you filed for reinstatement. It is adding to the backlog and they will tell you either file for reinstatement or to wait. The workflow that Google wants is to file for reinstatement and wait.

 

[StephanieNewton]

Google is experiencing a major backlog with suspensions at the moment. It is taking about 2 weeks to receive an answer. Please do not contact support after you filed for reinstatement. It is adding to the backlog and they will tell you either file for reinstatement or to wait. The workflow that Google wants is to file for reinstatement and wait.

My bad! Thanks for correcting me @keyserholiday

 

[Caroline S]

Thanks for your help everyone. I'll give it some more time and wait for now.

 

[ausworkshop]

Stories like this are so common now unfortunately. Those who work at Google have no idea what it's like to be a business and survive day to day when your life depends on algorithms.

Forget about becoming the best in your field. Or providing the best chimney sweep service in the UK. Your whole life stops with the next Google glitch. So unfair that he loses money now until those in power fix it. It doesn't matter how good you are at your job anymore. This will improve nothing online. The rich get rich and the poor get no help as usual. They go home and sleep after algorithm updates while we business owners are up all night with worry. They continue to grow and make huge profit.

So unfair the way business works now online. You need a full time SEO department working 24/7 just to sweep chimneys and even then there is no guarantee of success! Goodluck to all

 

[Caroline S]

Thanks for all your help everyone! I was able to get a hold of support through Twitter, and the listing was reinstated today.

 

[EmilyW]

So glad you got it resolved! This exact scenario has happened to me--change categories, change appointment link=suspension. As a rule of thumb, if I change name, business category, or contact information, I do not touch the listing again until it is no longer "under review" (usually 24 hours). Its just not worth the risk! Also, for future reference, after the 2 week wait time from submitting the lifted suspension request, you can use this as follow up. I've gotten very tired of Twitter, and seem to have better luck through the email method. Its a mixed bag, either way! Best of luck.