{"id":4702,"date":"2023-01-03T21:21:22","date_gmt":"2023-01-03T21:21:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gmbgorilla.com\/?p=4702"},"modified":"2023-01-11T02:07:51","modified_gmt":"2023-01-11T02:07:51","slug":"why-was-my-google-my-business-suspended-due-to-suspicious-activity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gmbgorilla.com\/why-was-my-google-my-business-suspended-due-to-suspicious-activity\/","title":{"rendered":"Why was my Google My Business suspended due to suspicious activity?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"gb-headline gb-headline-d4bea454 gb-headline-text\"><strong>Hey, GMB Gorilla. Why was my Google My Business suspended due to suspicious activity?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Buckle up \u2013 The GMB Gorilla has a lot of explaining to do.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Your Google My Business account has been suspended \u2013 Now what? A tornado of questions storms through your mind, and you\u2019re not sure how to answer them. You\u2019ve clicked on numerous self-help articles and spammy websites to try and find the answers you need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This isn\u2019t an easy process. The good news is, the GMB Gorilla is going to make this ride a lot smoother.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When a Google My Business account suffers a suspension, you\u2019re stuck with one of two outcomes: your GMB listing is no longer visible on Google or Google Maps, or you\u2019ve lost all control of your listing.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In other words, your business listing is technically \u201cunverified\u201d and you\u2019re unable to manage it. Where exactly do you begin? Sit tight \u2013 The GMB Gorilla has all the answers you\u2019re looking for.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There are a variety of reasons why your Google My Business listing could\u2019ve been suspended. After all, Google tends to flag accounts that practice suspicious activity.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Is it possible to retrieve your Google My Business account? The short answer is <em>yes<\/em>. You can absolutely get your listing back up and running, you just have to know what went wrong. This part is tricky, especially if you don\u2019t believe you\u2019ve gone against Google\u2019s rule book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On that note, take a deep breath. The GMB Gorilla knows a thing or two about Google My Business suspensions, and he plans on helping you sort out this digital dilemma.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"gb-headline gb-headline-8c167d61 gb-headline-text\"><strong>Google Business Profile Suspensions: Suspicious Activity<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What went wrong, exactly?&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You\u2019ve most likely heard about a Google My Business Suspension, particularly if you\u2019re a frequent visitor of GMB Gorilla. To refresh your memory, a Google My Business Suspension happens as a result of a violation or multiple violations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Google takes its Ads policies and Terms &amp; Conditions very seriously to create the safest online environment possible for both users and advertisers. Accounts are often suspended because of violations to their policies or Terms &amp; Conditions.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Realistically, there are <a href=\"https:\/\/support.google.com\/google-ads\/answer\/9841640?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">multiple reasons<\/a> why Google may have suspended your account. Get familiar with some of the most common reasons Google suspends GMB accounts to see if any of them apply to your case. Observe the following list:&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>You have registered an account more than once<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>You have several listings for one business<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Your business is solely online<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Google detected fake reviews posted on your listing<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>There isn\u2019t a physical location, a PO box, or a remote mailbox<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Certain business categories are often deemed high-risk by Google<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Google suspended the manager of the GMB profile&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>There is keyword stuffing in a listing\u2019s business name<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Redirect or spamming links<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Tracking URL\u2019s<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The information or NAP is incorrect<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The GMB Gorilla suggests avoiding any of these slip ups, so you don\u2019t risk having to face another suspension down the road. Google frequently monitors a lot of your account\u2019s data, including your location and interactions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With all of this in mind, what exactly counts as \u201csuspicious\u201d activity? When a Google My Business account is suspended due to suspicious activity, Google will email the account\u2019s owner informing them of the suspension.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, it\u2019s important to note that Google won\u2019t clarify why exactly your account was suspended. Even the support team doesn\u2019t have access to this information. It\u2019s possible to build a new profile for your business and start it from scratch.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Carefully review <a href=\"https:\/\/support.google.com\/business\/answer\/3038177?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Google\u2019s guidelines for representing your business<\/a> to avoid making the same mistake a second time. After all, it wasn\u2019t fun the first time around.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now, \u201cSuspicious activity\u201d could mean a lot of things. An account will get suspended when Google\u2019s algorithm has reason to believe that either the user or the company violates one or more of Google\u2019s guidelines.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019ve found the error, simply correct it on your profile. Then you\u2019ll be able to submit a <a href=\"https:\/\/support.google.com\/business\/troubleshooter\/2690129\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">reinstatement form<\/a>. Following submission, the waiting process takes around 3-5 days.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"gb-headline gb-headline-721e2131 gb-headline-text\"><strong>Suspicious activity suspensions of Google Business Profiles are at the account level<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The GMB Gorilla is happy to explain this one.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ever heard of the term \u201caccount level suspension\u201d? Have no fear \u2013 The GMB Gorilla knows his stuff. An account level suspension means that a user or their business listing has been suspected of suspicious activity, resulting in their account getting suspended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, what differs an account level suspension from a listing suspension? Well, Google operates on a system that has soft suspensions and hard suspensions, both of which prevent a user from having control over their listing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, hard suspensions are considered to be more severe that soft ones. When an account suffers a hard suspension, their business\u2019 listing is removed from Google Search and Google Maps, along with all of its reviews. This classifies as an account suspension.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You could say this is a Google My Business user\u2019s worst nightmare. After all, their listing brings in a lot of business, and losing it will disrupt consumer traffic.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If your account has been suspended, Google will send a series of emails containing information on Shopping ads policies detected. The emails will also possess additional information regarding the account suspension.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the event that the issues that caused the suspension go unresolved, your account will remain under a hold.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"gb-headline gb-headline-88fe813d gb-headline-text\"><strong>What does it mean when your Business Profile is suspended due to suspicious activity?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What classifies as \u201csuspicious activity\u201d?&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Receiving news that your Business Profile has been suspended is extremely frustrating, even more so when suspicious activity has been detected. On that note, why was your Business Profile suspended?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There are a few possible explanations for this. Does your company name contain information about location, like an address, city, or neighborhood? Is one of your company\u2019s classes, meetings, or services being held in a location that you own or are authorized to represent?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If your account has been flagged for suspicious activity, your profile may not follow one or more of Google\u2019s guidelines. Typically, this type of suspension happens if:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>Several edits were made in a single section<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Profile edits were made to the business\u2019 name, address, phone number or category<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The owner\u2019s Google Account was suspended&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>More often than not, when a Google My Business account is suspended, it\u2019s because the profile violated the community guidelines. In some cases, Google\u2019s algorithm detected issues with your profile. Some reasons for this could be:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>Your address was identified as a residential address, co-working space, UPS Store, PO Box, or a Virtual address<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Other users reported the listing through the \u201cSuggest an edit\u201d feature&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Other users reported through the redressal form<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Conflicting information was found about your business on the internet&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Google doesn\u2019t tell owners of a GMB account why their profile was suspended. Even if you reach out to contact support, you won\u2019t get the answers you\u2019re looking for. Normally, they\u2019ll instruct you to reread their guidelines to try and figure out the reason why on your own.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to the tech giant, one way to resolve the issue is by reviewing the Google My Business Profile guidelines, ensuring your profile hasn\u2019t violated any of these guidelines, and then asking for a reinstatement.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If your reinstatement is denied, you can appeal it. However, that doesn\u2019t guarantee you\u2019ll retrieve your Google My Business account.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"gb-headline gb-headline-bb4817b1 gb-headline-text\"><strong>Why are Google My Business Profiles suspended due to suspicious activity?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Something smells fishy around here.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As previously discussed, there are two kinds of suspensions in the Google universe. They are \u201csoft\u201d and \u201chard\u201d. A soft suspension only marks your business as suspended, but it will still appear in search results.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A hard suspension, on the other hand, will completely remove your business listing from Google search results and Google Maps. As you could imagine, this isn\u2019t healthy for your business.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The GMB Gorilla has sorted out the most common violations that get accounts suspended. That way, you can identify any violations you may be guilty of. No pressure.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"gb-headline gb-headline-58330648 gb-headline-text\"><strong>Google has flagged your account due to terms of service violations<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Violating Google\u2019s Terms of Service is a pretty big no-no. To utilize a Google My Business Profile or any services related to it, you have to accept the Google Terms of Service and the Business Profile Additional Terms of Service.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Google expects its users follow each and every one of these guidelines, and they make it clear that all users are responsible for the entity listed on their Business Profile. This means that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>You must ensure that all of your profile\u2019s content is accurate<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>You must comply with all Google Business Profile Terms of Service<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>You must provide all documentation required for highly sensitive industries and categories.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>You must comply with Google\u2019s policies that apply to using the Business Profile service&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Google created their policies and guidelines to help maintain a positive, safe environment for everyone using Google My Business.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"gb-headline gb-headline-2857a771 gb-headline-text\"><strong>Google has flagged your account due to having multiple Business Profiles<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>A common scenario that we see with Google Business Profile Suspensions is that a business has more than one profile for one (or more of their locations). These duplicate profile listings can often trigger a suspension to one or more of the profiles. This is because Google prohibits having multiple profiles&nbsp;at the same location for the same business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Duplicate locations often confuse people because they were not the ones to create the duplicate. It&#8217;s good to know that Google often creates profiles using data they get from aggregators and they scrape from the internet to create new profiles themselves. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It could also be a case that an older service vendor mistakenly created another profile (instead of verifying or claiming an existing one), or even a Google Local Guide that couldn&#8217;t find your business and decided to create a listing for you not knowing you already had one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"gb-headline gb-headline-daf7c159 gb-headline-text\"><strong>Google issues a platform update and your account gets suspended by accident<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Yes, it\u2019s possible that your account was suspended by accident. Just like human beings, technology can make mistakes, too. In a situation like this one, you can get right to a reinstatement.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Although there is a 5-7 day wait period after you\u2019ve submitted your <a href=\"https:\/\/support.google.com\/business\/troubleshooter\/2690129?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">reinstatement form<\/a> to hear back from Google, you should have no issues getting your profile looked at. Unfortunately, even if you submit a reinstatement form, if there is a bug or problem with the Google Business Profile platform, it might be awhile before you can regain editing and management access.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"gb-headline gb-headline-146627db gb-headline-text\"><strong>Does a suspended Google My Business impact your profile performance?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Let\u2019s explore some of the potential outcomes of a suspended profile.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A suspended Google My Business profile may affect the results you are seeing from it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you are experiencing a hard suspension, where your profile is no longer visible when you search for you own brand, you will definitely see an impact on your results. This is because if people are unable to find your profile when they search, there&#8217;s zero chance they interact with it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you are experiencing a soft suspension, where your profile is still visible, but you can&#8217;t make updates or push edits live, then you will see less of an impact on profile performance and the results you&#8217;ve been getting. This is simply because the profile is still visible and accessible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Since suspension do have the ability to dramatically impact your business, we always recommend following Google Terms of Service correctly, so that your profile doesn&#8217;t go down for a few days to several weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"gb-headline gb-headline-488706e6 gb-headline-text\"><strong>How to fix a profile suspended due to suspicious activity<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Remain calm. There\u2019s a solution.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Getting a profile suspension notice is not the end of the world. There are simple steps you can take to fix your profile and then apply for reinstatement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"gb-headline gb-headline-6f6d4dfc gb-headline-text\"><strong>Step one &#8211; Check recent edits<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The first step is to recall if you or others have made any changes to the profile. It&#8217;s a good place to start because for the most part Google Business Profiles do not get suspended for no reason. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Common items that get updated and may cause suspensions are the business name field, the website, address, and service areas. GMB Gorilla recommends not updating these profile items whenever possible, since we know they have a high rate of triggering a suspension.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"gb-headline gb-headline-22d65c52 gb-headline-text\"><strong>Step 2 &#8211; Look for duplicate profiles<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>If you and your team have not made any recent updates, then the next step is to login to the Google Business Profile Dashboard to see if a duplicate profile exists. If you have a duplicate listing, then you will need to claim this profile and then either delete it or merge it with the original.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"gb-headline gb-headline-9ada009f gb-headline-text\"><strong>Step 3 &#8211; Review Google&#8217;s Terms of Service<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>After checking for duplicates, the final step is to review Google&#8217;s Terms of Service for Google My Business. Here you will find some general (and specific) requirements for every aspect of the profile. You will want to check your profile data against these requirements to ensure you are in compliance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"gb-headline gb-headline-c959b296 gb-headline-text\"><strong>Step 4 &#8211; Fix and file for reinstatement<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Once these steps have been completed successfully, you should know what to fix. To do this you will want to make edits directly to your profile. Although these edits will not go live until the profile is reinstated, Google will be able to see them when you submit for reinstatement. This ensures they know you took the right steps to put the profile in compliance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Note if you are facing a hard suspension, you will still be able to make edits, and file for reinstatement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"gb-headline gb-headline-663b5130 gb-headline-text\"><strong>Feeling lost in the suspension sauce? Let GMB Gorilla swing into action<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>GMB Gorilla doesn\u2019t just sit around eating bananas all day. Our <a href=\"https:\/\/gmbgorilla.com\/google-my-business-support-service\/\">Google My Business Support Services<\/a> pairs you with a Gorilla-Certified GMB expert who\u2019s worked with Google to solve profile issues on thousands of occasions. Worried about the communication aspect?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Don\u2019t be \u2013 GMB Gorilla will handle all communications until a resolution has been found. This will save you lots of valuable time and energy, and if you\u2019re dealing with the headache of an account suspension, Google My Business Support is the right option for you.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This will make the process a lot less stressful and time-consuming. GMB Gorilla wants you to get back to business as soon as possible. Don\u2019t waste anymore time \u2013 Work with GMB Gorilla\u2019s Google My Business Support Service.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hey, GMB Gorilla. Why was my Google My Business suspended due to suspicious activity? Buckle up \u2013 The GMB Gorilla has a lot of explaining &#8230; <a title=\"Why was my Google My Business suspended due to suspicious activity?\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/gmbgorilla.com\/why-was-my-google-my-business-suspended-due-to-suspicious-activity\/\" aria-label=\"More on Why was my Google My Business suspended due to suspicious activity?\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4737,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmbgorilla.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4702"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmbgorilla.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmbgorilla.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmbgorilla.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmbgorilla.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4702"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/gmbgorilla.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4702\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4772,"href":"https:\/\/gmbgorilla.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4702\/revisions\/4772"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmbgorilla.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4737"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmbgorilla.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4702"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmbgorilla.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4702"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmbgorilla.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4702"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}