Your Google Business Profile Got Disabled or Suspended. Now What?
Going down the Google rabbit hole, where no matter how hard one tries, it just gets weirder. Image generated with Adobe Firefly and edited in Adobe Photoshop.
In the fall of 2024, our Google Business Profile (GBP) was disabled without warning. Our business listing, with up-to-date information, photos, posts, and the (69) 5-star reviews we’d accrued over five years, was gone! POOF!
Like Alice in Wonderland, I was about to fall down the rabbit hole and enter a world where I encountered characters like Professor M, a Google specialist named Twinkle, and Zainub, the amenable but nonhelpful Chat Guy.
As I navigated the problem, I was left questioning the nonsensical, algorithmic rules of our AI-driven search engine world, where hard-won nuggets of validation and trust hang in the cloud-based balance. As usual, small businesses are often the first to feel the brunt of the next big thing.
PART ONE
Why are Google Business Profiles getting disabled and suspended? What should you try if this happens to you?
Our GBP got disabled in 2022, in “the before times,” as I like to call it… “before AI,” when I could email Google support and get a cogent response from a human with a name. We’d added too many service keywords. “Oops, mea culpa.” We deleted the extraneous keywords, submitted the appeal, and bamm, our GBP was back up and unscathed, with intact reviews.
This time around, we had no idea what triggered it being disabled. We only received a vague warning from Google that our profile violated their guidelines.
But before we get into the why, let’s differentiate between the three terms that Google uses when talking about the status of a Business Profile:
Unverified: The business has not yet verified its legitimacy, so it doesn't appear in Google Search or Maps.
Disabled: Google has deactivated the profile, often due to policy violations or inactivity, making it inaccessible. Sometimes the profile still exists in the Maps database, but you won’t be able to edit it in the Business Profile database.
Suspended: The profile has been temporarily blocked, usually due to serious guideline violations. Until the issue is resolved, updates or public visibility on both the Business Profile and Maps database will be prevented.
For this blog post, I will primarily use “disabled” since it’s the most accurate term for what occurred to us.
If you ask Google why this happens, it’s AI Overview says:
A Google Business Profile can be disabled or suspended for several reasons, including:
Inconsistent information: Using a different business name or address than what's on your business cards or website
Duplicate listings: Having multiple listings for the same business, even with minor differences
Suspicious Activity: Having multiple businesses claim to operate from your address
Policy Violations: Violating Google's guidelines, such as using a virtual address or PO Box
Malware: Having malware on your website
Reported Violations: Someone reported your business for violating Google's guidelines
Recent Changes: Changing your business's name, address, phone number, or website recently
As a web designer, I don’t claim to know everything there is to know about Google, but I’m not a total noob either. I thought I knew my way around a GBP, but I soon learned I wasn’t alone. GBP suspensions or getting disabled have increased, and many legitimate businesses have been flagged due to this trend.
I followed the guidelines to appeal our disabled profile, but they don’t make it easy. I had to provide documentation that my business exists and reverify it. It wasn’t a quick turnaround for the review process. More details about this below in Part 2.
And forget about trying to get any answers or help from Google Support—while their email support was limited before, it doesn’t exist now. The GBP community forum is flooded with unanswered concerns from other business owners who have had their Business Profiles ripped out from under them, with few answers from Google employees.
After the initial panic of losing our profile finally settled down and I knew our GBP wasn’t gone forever, I had a troubling thought…What about ALL the small, local businesses that rely ONLY on their Google Business Profile to maintain their digital presence? What a big mistake! If your profile can disappear in a flash, so does your livelihood!
The Power (and Potential Harm) of Your GBP
GBP is a powerful tool for businesses for various reasons. Your GBP puts your business on the map, making it discoverable on Google Search and Maps. With over 6 million users, Google Maps is the #1 app in navigation.
Google reviews have become the gold standard for online reviews. Customers and clients must have a verified GBP to leave new reviews (and read the ones you already have). Also, did I mention that it’s free? Yes, that’s another benefit—you don’t have to pay a platform to host your reviews.
So, with all your GBP's power, it can be equally harmful if it just disappears. Not only will your reviews be gone, but your potential clients may be left in the dark when trying to find your business online.
I recently spoke to a colleague at another marketing agency who told me about a mental health clinic in Alabama for which she had been running local SEO services, including GBP optimization and management. This clinic had six locations, all with their profiles suspended simultaneously. Restoring their listings took weeks to get them live again. That meant weeks of patients trying to find a clinic location in Google Maps only to find that the clinic wasn’t listed there.
How much trust would you have in a medical clinic or any business not listed on Google Maps?
Why Is Google Disabling So Many Profiles?
Google keeps its cards close to the chest. We don’t know exactly what triggers a GBP to get disabled because they don’t tell you! We also don’t understand why there has been an uptick recently.
I suspect AI is wreaking havoc on the internet. Google has become persnickety about anything that could potentially be fraudulent. Your listing might contain something suspicious or spammy, but the likelihood is that if your profile is disabled or suspended, you probably won’t know why.
Still, some circumstances make suspension more likely.
“Google will begin a gradual rollout of an “AI mode” option that will result in the search engine generating even more AI overviews. When search is in AI mode, Google is warning the overviews are likely to become more conversational and sometimes head down online corridors that result in falsehoods that the tech industry euphemistically calls “hallucinations.””
— Micheal Liedtke, Google leans further into AI-generated overviews for its search engine, AP News, March 5, 2025
Common GBP Red Flags
Unfortunately, there’s no way to know if Google will disable or suspend your GBP until it happens. However, some potential red flags will make Google more likely to question your business's legitimacy.
Listing Your Address at a Coworking Space – Using a coworking space as your business address is not strictly prohibited, but there are some rules you have to follow. Your business must have someone on staff at the coworking space during your listed business hours, you must get mail delivered to that address, and there must be signage for your business at the space.
Being at the Same Address as Another Business – If you run multiple businesses out of the same office or have a suite in a larger office building, Google may flag your profile inaccurately, assuming that the company is illegitimate. My colleague shared another client story about a law office whose listing had been suspended because they were one of many businesses in an office building. They had to provide video walking from the building entrance to their office door to show their location and get their listing back online.
Running a Business Out of Your Home – In the era of the side hustle, many businesses use a home address as their primary address. Unfortunately, that tends to be a big red flag for Google, and you’ll have to take extra steps to prove your business is legit.
Using a P.O. Box or UPS Store Address for Your Business Address – Google prohibits using a P.O. Box, UPS store, or other shipping center as a business address (even if that’s where your business receives mail). This became a problem for a client who saw clients in her home but, under Nevada state law, had to have a P.O. box to register her business.
Of course, you may not fall into any of these categories, but your listing could still be disabled or suspended.
The moral of the story? Don’t put all your eggs regarding your digital marketing strategy or online presence into the GBP basket.
“If your listing hasn’t been suspended yet, you’re lucky. Most listings, at some point, will get suspended. (Be prepared!)”
— Sherry Bonelli, Search Engine Journal VIP Contributor
What Can You Do if Your GBP Is Disabled or Suspended?
First, DO NOT create a new listing. You might think it’s easier to start over if Google gives you the runaround when you try to reactivate your listing. However, doing so directly violates Google’s guidelines and will only make things more complicated.
Instead of trying to sidestep the rules, act quickly and submit an appeal. If Google flags your listing, it may be penalized in several different ways.
It may be unverified, meaning you need to provide business documentation, suspended, temporarily removing the listing from public view, or disabled, meaning the listing is no longer available and permanently removed. Alternatively, your profile may be restricted, meaning it’s still visible but you can’t access or change it. Restricted profiles may eventually become suspended if you don’t fix the problem.
To get your GBP back online, address any potential issues in your profile. Check that your business name, hours, and website are all correct. Follow our step-by-step set up guide. You may have a specific type of violation that Google highlights, but they often won’t tell you the exact problem.
Once you tune up your profile, submit an appeal, and be prepared to provide your business documentation, like a business license, tax certificate, or utility bill, at your listed address. You may also be asked to re-verify your business listing with photos or videos.
Tips About What To Send Google:
I compiled my most recent bank statement, business license, and certification from my state: the Virginia State Corporation Commission because I don’t have a utility bill with my company name. I put all the documents into one PDF for ease of sending.
Only file one reinstatement at a time and be patient.
If you have a customer-facing storefront address, photograph your company and attach it to the reinstatement request. I took photos of a sign with my company name on my office door and of my workstation in my office.
Submit a professionally written reinstatement request and use every single one of the characters allowed to explain your business, why you believe the suspension was falsely given, and what you have done to fix it.
Fill in ALL the fields that you can!
After completing the form and doing everything I mention above, our GBP was reinstated about a week later.
YAY! But wait, what? It said “No ratings or reviews”. What happened to our 69 5-star reviews?
All the services mentioned are graphic design, but there is nothing about our core service, web design. And why is it featuring images of Emily and me from 6 years ago?
Uh, oh.
In Conclusion to Part One
If you're reading this blog post because your GBP got disabled or suspended, I hope part one has given you something of value. I wrote it to help others because I know how it feels not to know what to do.
I hesitate to tell you to keep reading because this is where our GBP journey went awry. I don’t want to put bad juju out there so proceed with caution.
PART TWO
Google Combined Our Business Profile With Another Company
I contacted Google again and requested they add back our reviews. Within days, the client reviews were back, albeit none of my responses were there. (I always respond to every client who takes the time to leave us a review.)
Everything else remained the same: dated images of Emily and me, missing posts, and antiquated services. But we had the reviews, so I left well enough alone until about a month later, when I decided to upload a couple of new photos. BIG MISTAKE!
Ugh! I received another disabled notice. Again, I appealed the decision by repeating the steps outlined in Part One. Then I received the bad news that “your appeal has not been approved.”
But I persevered and appealed again. A couple of days later, our GBP was back! But this time, it was supremely f’ked up. All our reviews were gone, replaced by three reviews from people we didn’t know.
Also, it showed Design Powers as being located in a different neighborhood in Arlington, Virginia, and there was an additional phone number that I didn’t recognize. I looked up the number and it linked to a company called Power Design, Inc.
Google had merged Design Powers, Inc. GBP with Power Design, Inc. GBP, deleting all our reviews and replacing them with three reviews Power Design had received.
There was also an additional disabled Design Powers GBP in our Google manager. Great!
I had already spent many hours on this and was feeling pretty deflated at this point. On top of that, I was about to travel outside the U.S. for a month to a remote part of the world where internet connection isn’t consistent. I wouldn’t have the time to deal with this. I needed help.
I’d heard about Professor M from a digital community I was in, so I reached out to Goncalo Matthews aka Professor M to see if he could assist. I gave him all the details and invited him to our GBP. He is delightful and responsive. He diagnosed the issue for a reasonable fee and gave me the steps to fix it. OR I could pay him to do it. I paid him because I was done trying.
Why Our GBP was Merged, Duplicated and Disabled
Business Address is a Home Address and is Visible – Google AI penalty. Google AI looks at specific business addresses, when it finds a match, disables the profile to make sure it exists.
SIDEBAR: I have a dedicated office in my home with a signed exterior door entrance. Although I’m in a residential neighborhood, I occasionally see clients by appointment in my office. (It used to be more frequently before COVID, but now everyone is habituated to Zoom, Teams, or Meet.) I’ve since read that Google only wants GBPs for storefronts or businesses that people can visit without an appointment.
This seems out of step in this era of home offices, but if that’s the case, it’s just a matter of time before our GBP gets disabled again. I’ve run Design Powers out of my home since 1996, and I won’t change that now! Our clients are primarily within the DC metro area, but we also have clients all over the U.S.
The other issue with the business profile:
The Duplicate Profile is Live – Google made a mess by creating two profiles; The live profile had the same Business Profile ID as our pre-disabled profile but a different CID, while the disabled profile had a different Business Profile ID but the same CID of our pre-disabled profile. A CID number is a unique identifier connected to your profile but differs from the Business Profile ID.
Professor M got Google to fix our location and remove the phone number. Thank goodness, too, because I was getting calls and resumes for the other company!
But our 69 5-star reviews are gone. Google erased them. Five years of work, gone. Prof M did his best but could do no more. I thanked and highly recommend him if you’re at the end of your rope!
Since then, I’ve tried to get the three reviews removed by reporting them. After several tries, the worst one was removed. The other two remain because Google says they don’t violate their policy.
I also booked an appointment with Twinkle, a Google Small Business Advisor, to discuss improving my GBP and using Google Ads. The appointment was $39 for 50 minutes. It repeatedly states that the appointment is NOT to discuss problems with your GBP. However, since the two go hand-in-hand, I rationalized that I could also get her perspective about our GBP’s current status while asking questions about running Google ad campaigns. She agreed that what happened to our GBP reviews was a bummer and she’d put me in touch with a GBP specialist…but never did.
Lastly, I chatted with Zainub on Google’s chat line to find out why my GBP manager still shows that the primary owner email indicates our GBP is suspended even though it’s not. Twinkle said it would go away eventually, but it’s been five months, and here we are. It’s been suggested that I make another Gmail address the primary owner, but truth be told, I’m skittish about making any changes to it.
Our GBP Current Day…Uh, It’s There, Untouched
We’ve been discussing what to do about our GBP but haven’t done anything yet. Thankfully, our website uses a widget with all our reviews cached, and they still show up on our website’s review page.
We thought about asking our clients to leave us reviews again in Google, but since Design Powers is a home-based business, is it even worth the effort? What happens if/when our GBP gets suspended or disabled again?
I think of Albert Einstein’s quote “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” I don’t want to invest hours building out our GBP for naught. I’ve looked into Trust Pilot, a B2B review platform, but wow, is it pricey!
There is no question that our local page rank has plummeted. We used to show up at the top or near the top for “web designers near me,” but not anymore. I don’t want to blame the GBP solely; other factors can be considered. However, I don’t view Google as a small business ally anymore. It’s the nature of technology: eventually, whatever was a go-to becomes obsolete, upgrades, or is no longer an option. It's usually decisions that are driven by profit.
I keep reminding myself that I’ve been around long enough to experience massive shifts in the design field and survived. First, I went from the manual process of paste-up and T-squares to desktop publishing. Then, I saw print design become a specialty item, and design for the web took over. Now, it’s AI.
Fortunately, our core service, design with strategy, is still viable, but for how long? We do great work and help our clients directly, but each innovation begets a sea change, and AI is a tsunami. The big wave is still at the horizon line but gets closer daily.
The absence of a reliable way to post reviews that help with local SEO reminds me that a business with its website, albeit hosted on an external server, is still something we have control over. No one will decide it should be disabled or suspended at the spur of the moment…at least, I hope not.
Take Control of Your Online Presence
If our experience can teach you anything, don’t rely solely on a Google Business Profile, a social media channel, or any online entity you don’t manage to see your business online. You must build a digital presence through assets you create, own and control, like starting with a great branded website.
Don’t leave your online presence up to chance. Schedule a call with me to take charge of your online presence if you think we’d be a good fit for your business.
Alice: “Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?”
The Cheshire Cat: “That depends a good deal on where you want to get to.”
Alice: “I don’t much care where.”
The Cheshire Cat: “Then it doesn’t much matter which way you go.”
Alice: “…so long as I get somewhere.”
An excerpt from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll, published in 1865
If you made it to the end of this blog post because your GBP was disabled or suspended, we wish you only good juju in getting it reenabled. Please feel free to comment and/or vent–trust me, I feel your pain.
