It is happening more and more often in Australia. As I mentioned in an earlier blog post, Google My Business listings have the ability to be edited by anybody, from rivals who want nothing better than to take you down, to advertising firms who want you out of the way so that they could build up the positioning of their clients on Google.
There are numerous reports of Google Maps listings that have had suspensions and removed.
Real businesses were suspended, Google’s trying to crack down on spam to Maps listing.
Read https://searchengineland.com/millions-of-fake-google-maps-listings-hurt-real-business-and-consumers-318629 and https://searchengineland.com/the-rise-and-further-rise-of-google-my-business-spam-314462
Parts of your Google My Business listing at most risk are your company name and / or address, telephone number, hours, categories and site address, that can kill your company in a Sydney heartbeat.
When someone decides to edit your Google My Business Listing, they click on Suggest an Edit. They have a selection to change name or other details like title, location, hours, etc..
They also have a second option to”close this place”. They can opt to mark your company as closed, nonexistent, or duplicate.
This will effectively be a nail in your coffin as your listing probably will be suspended and may even be deleted.
True non-compliance, which you may be frankly unknowing about that will get your Google My Business list suspended are:
A) You are using a vanity URL that forward to your actual website. This is fine! BUT…… do not use that vanity url on your GMB listing. Always use the actual site url or your GMB listing.
B) Your company name must be recorded the same way It’s on your Australian Business Name. Do not inflate it with keywords expecting that you will get found faster. Rather than getting found faster, you are going to disappear because you have been suspended.
C) Don’t conceal your address.
D) Do not create multiple listings to your enterprise. If you run more than one”company” out of your home, create the listing for the one which is in fact the business in your ABN. The other businesses you run are actually divisions of the business.
E) Your organization type is of sensitive nature. Check with us to see whether your company is permitted on a GMB.
F) No virtual office locations or mailboxes. Sometimes people do so to rank in numerous towns and counties.
G) You run an internet business. Not a problem, just be sure to always have your organization certification available to show Google. The company name and address on the company certification from the state MUST match the information on your GMB listing.
H) It’s entirely possible you really did nothing wrong and got suspended anyway. It does happen. Your industry niche may be one that gets spammed alot and the spam filter kicked you off.
The Google My Business reinstatement procedure is not guaranteed once you’ve been suspended. It generally takes quite a long time and a little back and forth with Google to become reinstated. And again, there are no guarantees.
GMB listings will need to be assessed daily. Business owners who are actually running their companies do not have time, generally won’t recall, and might not know what to do if some information was changed by third parties claiming to be contributing an edit. Or worse yet, check in and find their listing was suspended!
Then, company owner freaks out.
Totally expected. Our service monitors your GMB. We monitor for changes, and of course for the dreaded suspension. If you receive suspension ,do not do what many website companies do, which is create another listing! That just compounds the issue and the reinstatement, if it is going to happen, just takes longer to happen.
Give us a call today on (02) 9099 8025 if your Google My Business listing has been compromised or suspended. We’ll help you get things back up and running.
