Why your Google Business Profile got suspended (and how to get it back)

You search your business name and the listing is gone. Or you sign in and Google says the profile is suspended. I look after Google Business Profiles for trades around Brighton, and this is the message people send when the phone has just gone quiet. What follows is general advice. I am not Google, and nobody outside Google can promise they will switch a profile back on.

What a suspension actually is

A suspension is not a quiet week or a lower spot on Maps. Google has restricted the profile. Customers often cannot find it, and you often cannot edit it. The profile may still be in your account but hidden, or it may be disabled with only a short notice.

Google usually emails the account that owns the listing, and the note is often vague. Keep a copy. Then sign in at business.google.com with the Google account that owns the profile.

The reasons worth checking first

Google publishes the Business Profile guidelines. I cannot see Google's internal note on your case, so this is a checklist, not a verdict.

The name is stuffed with search words. "Brighton Emergency Roofer Best Price 24 Hour" is not a business name. Use the name on the van, the invoice and the bank. Towns, services and "best" do not belong in the name. If you added them because someone said it would help you rank, take them off before you appeal.

The address does not match how customers find you. A home address shown as a shop, a PO box, a virtual office or a mailbox shop is a common problem. Most trades are service-area businesses. You go to the customer. That is allowed. If customers cannot visit you, hide the address and list the areas you actually cover. Showing a home address "so you look more local" is a frequent way profiles get pulled.

The paperwork does not match the profile. The limited company name, the trading name, the address and the person appealing need to tell the same story. If the profile says "Smith Roofing" and Companies House says "Smith Property Developments Ltd", explain that in one or two sentences and attach something that shows you trade as Smith Roofing.

There is more than one profile. A second listing "to be safe", an old profile from a previous address, or one an agency created in their own account. Duplicates make the appeal harder, especially if you appeal the wrong one.

The category does not match the work. Use the category that describes the main job. Extra categories should still be work you actually do. A rush of edits can also start a review. Begin with the name, the address and any duplicate.

What to do on the first day

Do not create a new profile to replace the suspended one. A second listing usually makes the appeal worse.

Do not keep changing the name, address and categories while an appeal is open. Decide the correct details, make the profile match them if you can still edit it, then appeal once.

Write down the trading name, whether customers can visit, the areas you cover, and the phone number that should be on the profile. If someone else set the listing up, get access to that Google account first. An appeal from the wrong login often goes nowhere.

What to gather

Google wants evidence the business is real and that you may speak for it. For a UK trade, useful items are usually some of these. You will not need all of them, and you should not invent a document you do not have.

• Companies House certificate, if you are limited.
• A bill, bank statement or insurance schedule in the trading name.
• Public liability insurance.
• Photos of the van or signwriting, with the business name visible.
• A photo from a real job, if the customer is happy for you to use it.
• A website whose name and phone number match the profile.

A website helps because it repeats the same name and phone number, but it can wait until the profile is back. Do not buy a throwaway domain the hour before you appeal, and do not rent a virtual office so the form has a street address. Describe the business as it works.

How to appeal

Use the reinstatement path in the suspension email, or the one inside the Business Profile manager. Say what you do, where you are based, and whether customers visit. Attach documents that match that explanation. Short and consistent is better than a long story that changes each time you send it.

Then wait. A new appeal every morning does not speed it up. If Google refuses, fix the reason they gave before you try again. If they give no reason, go back to the name, the address and any second profile.

I handle suspension appeals as a separate job if you are not already on a plan. I still cannot guarantee Google will say yes. I can put the documents and the explanation in an order that matches the guidelines.

What I would leave alone

Do not ask customers for reviews while the profile is down. Reviews do not unsuspend a listing. Do not add every town you have driven through into the business name. Do not pay anyone who guarantees reinstatement. They do not have a private door into Google.

When it comes back

Check the name, category, service area, phone number and website link, then leave it alone. Rewriting it the afternoon it returns can look like another risk.

Ordinary upkeep after that is real photos, a plain description, and the odd post about work you have done. That sits inside ongoing Google Business Profile management. If you want me to look at the notice with you first, start with a free website and Google review, or call or email and paste what Google said.