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If you've just found out your Google Business Profile has been suspended, the first thing to know is that it's common and often fixable. The second is that the order you do things in matters. Rushing an appeal, or setting up a fresh profile, is how a two-week problem becomes a two-month one.
What a suspension actually means
Google says it may "suspend or disable Business Profiles that don't follow our guidelines". In practice, owners run into two situations. Google doesn't use these names, but the Product Experts who run its help forum do, and they're useful.
The two kinds of suspension. Check Search and Maps while signed out to see which you have.
A soft suspension means your profile still shows on Search and Maps, but you can't manage it. You'll see a notice in your dashboard, and edits won't go through. Customers can still find you, so it's less urgent, but don't ignore it.
A hard suspension means your profile has gone from Search and Maps. Your reviews, photos and map pin vanish with it. For a trade that gets most of its calls from Maps, that's the one that hurts.
There's a third case worth knowing about. If Google restricts your whole account rather than one profile, every profile in it is suspended, and you won't be able to create or claim new ones until it's sorted.
Why profiles get suspended
Most suspensions trace back to a handful of rules in Google's guidelines. Service-area businesses like electricians, plumbers and builders trip them more than most, because the rules about addresses are strict and not obvious.
| Cause | What Google's guidelines say | The fix |
|---|---|---|
| Keywords in the name | Your name must be your real-world name. Adding services, locations, phone numbers or URLs "could result in the suspension" | Use exactly the name on your van, invoices and Companies House record |
| Showing a home address | Service-area businesses should hide their address | Clear the address and set a service area instead |
| Virtual office or PO box | Not allowed unless staffed during opening hours. Remote mailboxes "aren't acceptable" | Use the address you actually work from, then hide it |
| Duplicate profiles | One profile per business. Extra ones only for separate locations with their own staff | Remove or merge duplicates before you appeal |
| Huge service area | Shouldn't extend beyond about two hours' drive from your base | Trim it to where you really work |
If none of those fit, look at recent changes. A new name, a moved address, a new phone number or lots of edits at once can trigger a review, even when the changes were honest.
The most common one we see: "Hartley Electrical Leeds 24/7 Emergency Electrician". Customers don't need the extras, and Google treats them as keyword stuffing. Call it "Hartley Electrical".
How to appeal, step by step
Google handles suspensions through its Appeals tool. You can only appeal once per decision before you hear back, so make the first one count.
- Fix the problem first. Change the name, hide the address, remove duplicates. An appeal for a profile that still breaks the rules will be refused.
- Gather your evidence. Google's examples are an official business registration, a business licence, tax certificates and utility bills such as electricity, phone, water or internet. The business name and address must match your profile exactly.
- Open the Appeals tool. Start from Google's help page on suspensions, choose the suspended profile and sign in with the Google account that owns it. Using a different account is a common reason appeals stall.
- Submit the appeal. Keep the explanation short and factual. Say what you've changed.
- Upload evidence within 60 minutes. After you submit, Google gives you a link to add evidence. If you don't send it within 60 minutes, it isn't attached. Have your files ready before you start.
The appeal in five steps. The 60-minute evidence window is where most people trip up.
What good evidence looks like
Clear, recent and matching. A blurry phone photo of a gas bill addressed to your partner won't help. A PDF utility bill in the business name, at the address on your profile, from the last three months, will. If you're a sole trader working from home, a bill in your own name at that address plus something that ties you to the trading name, such as a public liability certificate or a registration document, gives Google a clearer picture.
Documents Google lists as evidence. Name and address must match the profile exactly.
How long it takes
Google doesn't publish a timescale. Experts on its help forum have reported waits from a few days to several weeks, with backlogs of five to six weeks in busy periods. While you wait:
- Don't create a new profile for the same business. Google says not to, and it can count against you.
- Don't send repeat appeals for the same issue. They don't jump the queue.
- Do keep the phone working. Make sure customers can still find you another way, through your website, your van and your past customers.
If your appeal is refused
You can ask for another review and add evidence you didn't send the first time. Product Experts on Google's forum point owners to this option, quoting Google's own wording. Only do it if you have something new to show. Sending the same evidence again rarely changes the answer.
If you've hit a wall, the Google Business Profile Help Community is genuinely useful. Volunteer Product Experts can escalate clear cases and spot problems you've missed.
How to stay clear of it next time
- Use your real business name and nothing else.
- Hide your address if customers don't come to you.
- Keep one profile per business, and don't let anyone else create one for you.
- Make big changes, such as a move or a rebrand, one at a time, with paperwork ready.
- Don't buy reviews or let a marketing company post on your behalf.
Why your website matters here
A suspension shows how much depends on one listing you don't control. Google can switch it off overnight, and getting it back is slow. A website on your own domain keeps working while you appeal. It's also part of what makes your business look legitimate to Google in the first place, because the details on it back up the details on your profile. Read more in Do you still need a website if you have a Google Business Profile?
Questions people ask
Will I lose my reviews?
Reviews disappear from view during a hard suspension. When a profile is reinstated, they normally come back with it. If you set up a new profile instead, you start again from zero.
Can I just make a new profile?
Not while an appeal is under review. Google says not to create a new profile for the same business, and doing so can make reinstatement harder.
Does Google accept video evidence?
Google's current help pages don't list video as an evidence type for suspension appeals. Some owners report being asked for verification videos during verification, which is a different process.
Can I pay someone to get my profile back?
You can pay for help, but nobody can buy reinstatement. Be wary of anyone who promises it, or who asks for access to your account.