Google Business Profile suspended? Here’s how to get it back.

What does a suspended Google Business Profile mean?

It means Google has acted on your profile because it believes something breaks its guidelines. Until it’s back, homeowners can’t find you in the map results.

Google says it “may suspend or disable Business Profiles that don’t follow our guidelines”. It uses both words, suspended and disabled, and its help pages don’t set out the difference. The fix is the same either way: find out why, put it right and appeal.

When a listing is removed, the help page says the public can’t go to it, and the owner and managers can’t act on it. For an installer, that’s your map listing, your reviews and your call button gone from the local searches that bring in a lot of solar, battery and heat pump work.

Signs your profile has been suspended

• You’ve had a suspension notice by email, about a decision on your listing.
• Your business has gone from Google Maps, even when you search for your own name.
• The appeals tool lists a decision against you, with the reason and the policy you’re said to have broken.

Suspended, or just harder to find?

If there’s no email from Google and nothing in the appeals tool, you may not be suspended at all. Check whether you’re verified, then check where you rank from your customers’ side of town.

Plenty of installers think they’ve been suspended when they’ve only slipped down the map results. Two quick checks tell you which it is.

• Is the listing verified? Google says verifying is how you gain ownership of your profile and can edit your business info. Our verification guide covers how.
• Where do you rank from your customers’ area? Google says distance from the person searching affects local results, so a search from your yard isn’t what a homeowner 20 miles away sees.

If you’re verified and still there, just lower down, that’s a ranking problem, not a suspension. Our guide on how to rank higher on Google Maps is the place to start.

How to submit a Google Business Profile reinstatement request

Use the appeals tool to submit a reinstatement request. Sign in, choose the listing and the decision, fix the cause, add evidence and a short explanation, then submit. You get one appeal per decision, so get it right first time.

1. Open the tool and sign in

   Open the appeals tool and check you’re signed in to the account that manages the listing. If you’re not, switch accounts before you go any further.

2. Choose the listing and the decision

   Select the listing, then the decision you want to appeal. The tool shows the decision date, the reason, a link to the policy you’re said to have broken and whether you can appeal. Read the policy twice. It tells you what to fix.

3. Fix the cause

   Put right whatever the policy points to before you appeal: on the listing where you can, and on your website, signage and paperwork. An appeal that changes nothing gives Google no reason to change its mind.

4. Upload your evidence

   Evidence is optional, but it’s your best chance. Upload official documents that show your name and address, and make sure they match your listing. What to send is below.

5. Explain what you changed, then submit once

   Write a short, factual explanation. Tick the box to say you’re ready, then select Submit appeal. The help page says “Appeals can only be submitted once”, and asks you not to send more appeals for the same issue before you get a decision.

Then it’s reviewed, and the decision comes by email. Each decision shows one of five statuses in the tool: Submitted, Approved, Not approved, Can’t be appealed or Eligible for appeal.

What evidence should you send with your appeal?

Send official documents that show your business name and address exactly as they appear on your listing. Google lists business registration, a business licence, tax certificates and utility bills.

Your MCS, Gas Safe or other scheme certificates aren’t on that list. If they show your business name and address, they can back up the main documents, but don’t rely on them alone.

Before you upload

• The name on each document matches your listing, letter for letter, “Ltd” included.
• The address matches the one you gave Google, even if it’s hidden from customers.
• Each document is clear and readable, with nothing cropped off.
• You’ve fixed what the policy points to, so the evidence and your listing tell the same story.

Keep it that short. Say who you are, how you work and what you changed. Leave out complaints about competitors, and don’t promise anything you can’t show.

Why installers get a Google Business Profile suspension

Most profile suspensions come back to Google’s guidelines for representing your business. For installers, the usual problems are the business name, the address, the service area and duplicate profiles.

The guidelines say breaking them can lead to “changes to your information or, in some cases, removal of your business information from Google”, and “could result in the suspension of your Business Profile.” These are the guideline violations we’d check first for any installer.

Reviews can cause trouble too. If fake or incentivised reviews are found, your listing can be blocked from getting new reviews, have its existing reviews hidden for a set time or show a warning that fake reviews were removed. Our guide on how to get more Google reviews covers the honest way to do it.

Fix the cause before you send a reinstatement request

Check your listing against Google guidelines line by line, fix everything that’s wrong, then appeal. Your appeal is judged on the business as it stands.

If the decision doesn’t make the reason obvious, work through this list. Each line comes from the guidelines.

• Your business name matches your signage, website, van and paperwork.
• Your address is real and yours, not a PO box or a virtual office.
• If you visit customers and don’t serve them at your base, your address is hidden.
• Your service area is within about two hours’ drive of your base.
• There’s one listing for this business, not two.
• Your phone number and website are yours, and the website is about this firm.
• Your categories describe what your business is, using “as few categories as possible”.
• Your opening hours are when customers can reach you. The guidelines say firms that only work by appointment shouldn’t list hours.

Our Google Business Profile audit guide walks through each check in more detail, with what to look for and how to fix it.

How long does Google Business Profile reinstatement take?

Google says appeal reviews and decisions can take up to five working days. The decision comes by email, and you can follow the status in the tool.

While you wait, don’t send a second appeal and don’t open a new listing. Keep answering the phone and keep your website working. Homeowners who search your name can still find your website, which is one reason not to rely on the map results alone. A website that ranks for your services and towns, built with renewable energy SEO, keeps bringing enquiries even on a bad week for your profile.

While you wait

• Make sure your phone number sits at the top of every page of your website.
• Text or email customers with open quotes, so they have your direct number.
• Ask recent customers for referrals. Word of mouth doesn’t need a map listing.
• Keep a note of the date you appealed and what you sent, in case you need an additional review.

What if your appeal is not approved?

Read the reason again, fix anything you missed and look for evidence you didn’t send. Google says that if a reinstatement request is denied, it may be able to do an additional review using evidence that wasn’t in the original appeal.

The tool will show “Not approved”, and the decision comes by email. If it shows “Can’t be appealed”, the help pages don’t explain the next step, so be wary of anyone who says they can get round it.

You’ll find plenty of firms selling “guaranteed” reinstatement. Nobody outside Google can guarantee a decision, and appealing is free. We don’t sell appeals. We’d rather tell you that than charge you for something you can do yourself with the steps above.

How to avoid another profile suspension

Keep your listing true to your real business, keep just one, and never buy, swap or reward reviews.

• Keep your details the same everywhere. Your name, address and phone number should match on Google, your website and your directory listings.
• Change your name or address only when they really change. Keep proof of the change, such as an updated Companies House record or a new utility bill.
• Get reviews the honest way. Ask every customer, offer nothing in return and never write them yourself.
• Look at your listing every month. Check what Google shows, and what other people have suggested, against your real firm.

A listing set up right from the start is much less likely to run into trouble. Our guides on setting up a Google Business Profile and Google Business Profile optimisation show how, step by step.

Google Business Profile suspension questions