[lwptoc]
Google Business Profile suspended all of a sudden? Posts getting rejected left and right? It may be because Google is working behind the curtains to improve user experience. Don’t understand what we’re talking about? Read through our blog to see what’s been happening in the last few weeks.
New Google Business Profile Labels?
Lately, we’ve been seeing some minor changes on Google Business Profiles that actually have a big impact on customer trust. Earlier this month, Barry Schwartz, who runs the Search Engine Roundtable, tweeted the announcement below.
He observed a Google Business Profile with a label claiming that it had been “Confirmed by phone call 8 weeks ago”. Another local SEO practitioner also noticed that one of their managed Profiles had been labelled as “Confirmed by this business 3 weeks ago.” Both labels are located after the trading hours line on the Knowledge Panel.
Since this is new, we are still investigating if this will be rolled out globally as it’s only showing up for a small group of Profiles.
But what does this mean for Profiles across the Google ecosystem?
In a way, this “Confirmed by” label can further deepen customer trust for both Google and the business itself – and it may limit arbitrary changes caused by Local Guides with not-so-good intentions. If you change any info on your profile (NAP, category or trading hours, for example), you will have to re-confirm that the information is true. It can signal to the user that information is accurate and updated, helping them to make a better decision in contacting them or visiting their physical location and lessens misinformation about your business.
Google is also improving their verification processes
Another interesting update that we’ve come across lately is that Google may (heavy emphasis on “may”) verify you with more than one method. This is confirmed, rolled out and updated on the relevant support article.
We believe that the search engine is preventing deceptive or fraudulent Profiles from being verified and visible on Maps and Search.
One such added authentication method is to submit a video recording to verify your Profile. Basically, you’ll have to do a tour of your physical location starting from the exterior or storefront and into the back of your area (for those with warehouses, storage rooms or common areas). What you need to highlight are:
- Any significant signs and landmarks outside your premises;
- products or equipment used in business operation; and
- proof of management – employee-only items.
The steps are located here.
Just note that this is for first-time verification and might be unnecessary in subsequent verifications should Google request for it.
Other than these new updates, you’ll need to consistently update your Google Business Profile. Do just that and you’ll be fine.
On the other hand, however, you might have questions about Google suspending or rejecting any changes to your Profile. We’ve got a handful of queries like these in the past few weeks – probably because Google is monitoring Profiles more closely than ever before. Here are some of our most common questions.
1. Why is my Google Business Profile Suspended?
Suspensions happen for a few reasons – which we have previously discussed here – and the biggest reason is usually discrepancies in your business information. You will need to review your entire profile to see if what you recently changed or added contributed to the suspension or if a large number of Local Guides flagged your Profile.
The problem really here is that Google doesn’t tell you what you did wrong with your Profile. You just get a small notification in your Home dashboard saying that your listing has been suspended. Reinstatement is a possibility and you simply need to contact Google Support for that. They will lead you through a series of steps to get your Profile live again.
In case you verified through a third-party agency like DigitalMaas, they (or we) will get those Profiles back for you.
But prevention is better than cure. To avoid getting your Google Business Profile suspended:
If you have multiple locations, make sure each NAP is unique
Do you have several locations across your city, state, country or across international regions? If so, you’ll need to take another look at all of your Profiles and see if you have a unique business address and phone number.
One of our frequent observations is that some businesses use the same phone number or trunkline across several Profiles. This will lead to suspensions across the board as each Profile should have the information of that one unique location.
We do recommend that you add that location’s real phone number – and just add your trunkline on your website. As well, your address should be unique to that location too. What can remain consistent on multiple profiles is your website with its respective UTM tracking codes.
Review your business description
Per Google’s “Guidelines for representing your business on Google,” your description should not mislead users, contain misspellings or any type of inappropriate content and display any content that exploits or abuses children. Remember that the Business Description is your space on the Profile that allows you to tell customers WHY your business exists and HOW you can improve the lives of your target market through your products or services.
Stick with that thought, don’t do anything that could catch Google’s attention and you’ll be fine.
2. Why did Google reject my Post(s)?
While this isn’t technically about your entire Profile getting suspended, this is still important to learn about especially if you plan to heavily use Google Posts.
Let’s say you want to publish a Google Post and you do just that. But a few hours later you find out that your Post has been rejected by Google for… unclear reasons. What do you do?
First off, Google will reject any post that is considered irrelevant to your business – posts totally not related to what you do and offer. If you were a pet groomer, why would you post about the takeaway you just ate, right?
Another probable cause is that you might be adding your phone number and address to your Post. These details are already indicated on your Local Panel so you do not need to add them to your Posts. This is a small issue but it does end up in your Post getting rejected.
These issues can lead to the search engine blocking you from posting in the future and may even lead to disabling your account. While it may not ultimately suspend your Profile, a disabled post function will hamper your local search strategy. Furthermore, if you do not immediately work this out, your Profile may not be visible on Search and Maps.
The only way to prevent Google from relinquishing your Posting capabilities is to stick to their community guidelines. You can also read our guide on how to create effective Google Posts.
3. Why am I being asked to re-verify my Profile?
There are a few good reasons why Google will ask to re-verify your Profile. One is that you’ve moved and want to update your address. Perhaps Google will reach out to you via phone to confirm your new address. But in some cases, you will need to re-verify your profile.
Remember that any change may warrant re-verification. We advise our customers to, as much as possible, maintain their NAP, categories, website and trading hours unless it is absolutely necessary to change them.
Please note that this can affect your current rankings as it becomes inconsistent with past knowledge of or information about your business. You may need to build your way up again so be sure to regularly update your Profile to bring back and maintain relevance in search results.
You can read more about re-verification on this article.
Conclusion
The team behind Google Business Profile is always improving customer experience by nipping fraudulent Profiles at the bud. These changes and updates are not always announced but we do our best to stay on top of all the news to help business owners with Profiles. So in case you do get your Google Business Profile suspended or if some functions have been disabled, reinstating your Profile and the blocked feature is doable.
It’s definitely a sticky situation – that’s why it’s important to monitor your Profile and stay abreast with the news. We at DigitalMaas do our best to provide any local SEO-related news to our readers as well as make improvements to the Platform to stay in step with Google’s ever-changing ecosystem.
Stay informed and maintain your online relevance with our all-in-one DigitalMaas Platform. We’re always making it easier for you to be your customer’s first choice.
