Google My Business Suspended Due To Quality Issues (Reinstatement Guide)
Google My Business suspended due to quality issues is one of the most common reasons for suspensions. To get your listing reinstated, ensure that your business information is accurate and doesn’t violate Google’s Guidelines.
Follow these steps to fix a Google My Business suspended due to quality issues:
- Review NAP info
- Check business categories
- Review website link
- Ensure quality photos are uploaded
- Check business hours
- Submit reinstatement request
Review NAP info
First, review the business’s name, address, and phone number (NAP) info for accuracy.
Pro Tip: You can use this guide to perform a NAP audit for your business to find opportunities for improvement.
Additionally, your business listing should be 100% complete. This includes a name, address, phone number, business description, opening date, logo, and a cover photo. There is a known bug with logos not contributing as expected to listing completion.
Business name: The name field should accurately represent the name of your business without any modified or unnecessary information.
For example, a business with the name of Noble Coffee should have the following business name:
✔️ Noble Coffee
❌ Noble Coffee Shop St. Louis
Business address: Use the exact mailing address for the business. Addresses that include a P.O. box are subject to suspension and do not meet Google’s edibility requirements for a listing.
Pro Tip: You can use Melissa’s Address Check tool to verify addresses. Once verified, enter the address on your Google My Business listing exactly as it appears on Melissa. Mailbox and suite numbers should be added on line #2 within the Google My Business dashboard. Additionally, be sure that your business citations have accurate NAP info.
Phone number: The phone number provided should be a working phone number and not a premium-rate telephone number.
Once NAP information has been reviewed, ensure that your website contains the same information (exactly as it appears on your Google My Business listing).
Check business categories
Ensure that you listing’s Google My Business categories (both primary and secondary) accurately represent your business’s products / services.
Pro Tip: Ensure you’re on the right track by comparing your competitors by following this step-by-step guide on how to find your competitors’ Google My Business categories.
Additionally, you may want to ensure your profile’s business attributes are accurate and updated.
Review website link
Next, review your website URL (and any another links) to ensure that it points to the appropriate page for your business.
Note: The website URL should not contain a redirect, and should also be using an SSL certificate (also known as the https:// protocol).
Ensure quality photos are uploaded
Google has specific recommendations regarding Google My Business photos. Uploading photos can improve the quality of your listing and help avoid future suspensions.
At minimum, your business should have the following photos uploaded:
- 1x Logo
- 1x Cover photo
- 1x Exterior photo (signage included)
- 3x Product or service-related photos
- 3x Team or employee-related photos
Pro Tip: Follow this Google My Business cover photos guide to ensure that it’s engaging and optimized. Additionally, you can use this guide for properly sizing and uploading a logo to your listing.
All photo uploads should follow Google’s quality guidelines, which state the that photos should be in focus, have sufficient lighting, and not contain excessive filters or edits.
Check business hours
Check that your business hours are up-to-date and represent the times your business serves customers.
It’s also important to be sure that your business specifies holiday hours.
Submit reinstatement request
Once you’re confident that your business meets all of Google’s Guidelines, follow these steps to get your Google My Business listing reinstated:
- Sign in to manage your Business Profile
- Submit a reinstatement request to Google
When submitting your reinstatement request, be factual. For example a good answer to the question “Please provide additional context for why you believe your account should be reinstated and any action you have taken on the listing” might look something like this:
This is the physical location for Noble Coffee, which has been serving customers at this location for over 10 years. This listing suspension limits our ability to serve customers, and complies with all of Google's guidelines.
Here’s why it works:
✔️ It’s factual and not emotionally charged (e.g. there’s no reason to object)
✔️ The statement is simple and quickly establishes credibility for the business
✔️ It implies that it’s in Google’s best interest to reinstate by aligning with their mission statement
I’ve used this exact format to lift dozens of undeserved listing suspensions over the last few years.
Additional notes for resolving suspension issues
If your listing does not get reinstated, review Google’s Guidelines to be sure nothing was overlooked. In many cases, historically inactive or newly created listings are suspended.
Pro Tip: Be sure to regularly update and optimize your Google My Business listing. This includes posts, updating business hours, and other optimizations. Accurate business information should also be reflected on your business’s local landing page.
As of 2022, it takes approximately 7-14 days for listing suspensions to be lifted.
Note: If your service area business (SAB) listing has been affected, I also recommend checking for updates in the Google SEO Mastermind Facebook Group by Scheiler Mew.
Happy SEO-ing 🙂