It seems like there’s been a lot of Google Business Profile (GBP) issues across the board lately. Spam ownership requests. Sudden drop-offs. Random suspensions. What’s been going on?
What Happened in July?
At the end of July, Google made some changes. These changes are all very small, but they can have big impacts. Let’s take a look at some of them.
Removal of Call-Tracking
For starters, Google removed a call-tracking feature that was full of bugs. According to Ben Fisher, a local SEO pro, the feature was “a buggy mess that would redirect calls to other merchants.” View the full thread for more details.
This upgrade will not have much of an impact if you weren’t using call tracking to begin with, but if you were, you should start seeing more direct calls!
Automated FAQs
Talk about a time saver! Google has a new automated FAQ feature that will pull details from your profile to answer customers’ questions. For the moment, this only includes things like business hours, address, phone number, and similar information. But hey, that’s one less thing to worry about!
Customer View
This nifty upgrade lets you view your profile as a customer. It’s an easy way to see at a glance anything that may be missing or just how professional you appear to a potential customer.
GBP Suspensions
Let’s talk about an issue that’s been very prevalent lately—suspensions. I’ve been seeing a lot of accounts get suspended for seemingly “no reason.” With Google, there’s always a reason.
Here’s what Brightlocal has to say about Google’s recent message on guidelines:
“The clarification of account-level restrictions is important to note; these restrictions include the merchant’s Google account not being in “good standing,” their account being restricted due to repeated violation of GBP policies, and suspension due to other, non-Business Profile violations. Merchants must make sure that both the account that they’re running their GBP through and their GBP itself are in accordance with guidelines, or else they risk suspension or restriction.”
Check out Brightlocal’s blog on “Google Business Profile: New Guidelines and Policies” to learn more!
What does all of that mean? It means that Google is watching your profile, and they have very specific reasons for suspending your account.
The old reasons for having a suspended profile still stand—improper name, address, phone number, etc. But there are many more ways that you can be suspended now—yay. The good news is that if you know about them, you can get the issue fixed before you get suspended.
For example, the email associated with your GBP is very important. If your email has ever been part of another profile that was suspended or else looks spammy, Google may suspend your current profile for it. If this happens, change the email address associated with your account.
In general, I recommend using a domain email for this instead of a Gmail. This looks much more professional, and you are less likely to get flagged. Make sure that all the accounts who have access (try to keep this to a minimum) follow this as well.
[email protected] looks professional and trustworthy. [email protected] does not.
Often, suspensions come from a profile manager who’s angered Google in some way (Google tends to hold grudges), so if your account is suspended, you may need some trial and error to figure out who the culprit is.
You can also get your GBP suspended by…having too many suspensions. At some point, Google just won’t believe that you can follow guidelines and will shut it down. Try not to get to this point.
Another instance that I’ve seen a few times is Google punishing the account due to past violations. For example, I worked with an account who had been suspended for over a year when he came to us. We tried everything to get the account back up, but nothing was working. This client neglected to inform us that in the past, he had used a P.O. address in his profile (a big no-no) and had been suspended for it. This client had recently moved locations and was suspended again. So I reached out to Google, explained the situation and how the client came to us and knows better now, and just like that, the client’s profile was back up!
The summary is that Google holds grudges, so always be upfront with any suspensions you’ve ever had before.
And, of course, there’s also the old favorite of having competitors try to take you down. The best way to combat this is to look like a “real” business. Don’t let them have a case against you!
Spam Ownership Requests
I won’t go into too much depth here, but there’s been quite an increase in ownership requests. NEVER let someone have access to your GBP that you don’t know. Don’t ignore these requests either! If you ignore them, Google could still let the person requesting have access. All you need to do is deny them, and you’re good to move on.
If you want to know more about spam requests, check out our blog on “How to Handle GBP Ownership Request Spam.” We go more in-depth about what you need to know and how to deal with the problem!
Google’s Focus
With the rise of AI, Google is placing an emphasis on content written to have a focus on “experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness.” What this means is that your content should be written for humans, show how much you know about the topic, and be actually useful.
The same applies to GBPs. Follow the guidelines, don’t do anything stupid, be helpful, and you’ll be just fine.
