Our six listings remain suspended after several edits and appeals (and reinstatement notice from Google)

[joeyM]

Hello everyone,

Two weeks ago, our firm's entire account received a suspension, which included six separate office locations "due to quality issues." As a primer, each of these offices are staffed during the posted hours of operation, each of these offices are visited by clients, and I'd like to think we have a decent amount of proof of their existence.

The six locations have shared the same business title for as long as they existed. We have however changed the title of each of the businesses several times since the suspensions. We have also changed the hours of operation to better reflect our customer-facing hours. I'm hard-pressed to find anything that could be perceived as a violation of the guidelines (which I have pored over excessively, at the request of many very friendly Google My Business reps on the phone).

We have perhaps received more information from Google than most I see. I've put a screenshot of one of their responses in the above Google Doc. The response from Google, which started with "your business is not eligible to display on Google Maps," also listed a non-exhaustive list of quality violations:
"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."
"Your business location should be staffed during its stated hours."

We made what we thought were the appropriate changes, and we eventually received an email from profiles-support (also seen in Google Doc), stating "we were able to reinstate the listing for you. No further action is required on your part to verify it at this time." Our team thought this was great news and that our account would soon be reinstated. However, a week has passed since the email and all six listings remain suspended. Google may have meant that just a single listing was going to receive reinstatement, but we haven't seen that quite yet.

[EDIT:: Here's the support ticket code on the email above: 1-3642000026339]

We've also talked with a Google rep that claimed we needed to make some changes to our actual website, specifically our Locations page that lists all of our office location addresses. This seemed odd. But we've made sure our Locations page and Contact Us pages contain all of the pertinent address information.

Again, I'm not sure where our listings may be against the guidelines. And if they aren't and it's an issue with our website, then that is going down a whole different rabbit hole of mystery on what Google may want. Anyone have an idea on how we should proceed?

Please, let me know if there is any additional information that could help y'all out, and I'll do my best to get it for you.
Thanks, J

 

[JoyHawkins]

Joey,

Your entire account is likely not getting reinstated because of listing #5. Delete that listing from your dashboard and reply to the case and they will likely reinstate it.

Let me know how it goes.

 

[joeyM]

Joey,

Your entire account is likely not getting reinstated because of listing #5. Delete that listing from your dashboard and reply to the case and they will likely reinstate it.

Let me know how it goes.

Hi Joy,

Thank you for the response. Before I altogether remove the Austin (#5) listing from our account, I wanted to run this new development by you. Our law office in Austin has moved from the 901 S MoPac Expwy location (which is a Regus building, and I assume this may be the reason for our woes?) to a different office building at a new address. Our attorneys and support staff have made the move to this new location found at this address:

5705 Southwest Pkwy, Suite 125 Building 2, Austin, TX 78735

Do you think we should move forward with changing this Austin listing’s address and applying for reinstatement on each of our six listings at that point? The reason I ask is we would like to maintain the reviews we have accrued thus far on the #5 listing, if possible, rather than removing the listing and creating a new listing for our new office.
Edit:: Another reason I ask about the address change is we're concerned it may throw red flags to Google for changing a suspended listing's address. However, it is a legitimate office move that was in the works prior to the suspension.

Let me know what you think, and thanks again for the help! It truly is appreciated.

Joey

 

[JoyHawkins]

If your new address has the signs like the others you listed then I would say move it. If you have no photos of exterior signs or inside an office I would not try. A directory lobby sign won't be enough.

 

[joeyM]

An update on our listings:
As of yesterday evening, each of our six GMB listings have been reinstated!

Joy, we went ahead and changed the Austin listing to our new address, hoping our in-office sign would be enough. Whether that was the deciding factor or not, Google certainly seemed to accept the move and signage we have up at our new permanent location and reinstated it. We appreciate your insight and help!

Unfortunately, as you have noted others dealing with in another thread, we have not seen our several hundred reviews re-appear on five of our six listings (as in, these five listings are at zero reviews). Since the reinstatement was less than 24 hours ago, should we wait a certain amount of time before reaching out to GMB support? In hopes that the reviews trickle back on their own?

Thanks again,
Joey

 

[JoyHawkins]

Joey,

Awesome to hear! The review issue is a technical issue that's been going on since the middle of April. Hopefully it gets resolved soon but it's very possible that you could be waiting another week or 2 before they come back. Subscribe to this thread for updates.