There’s been quite a bit of chatter in the SEO community about a new appeals tool for suspended Google Business Profiles. This new tool has officially been rolled out globally and is expected to make the process smoother, and more efficient, and will provide a bit more insight on suspended profiles than the previous method.
Before we dive into the new MAT for GBP suspensions, let’s briefly review the possible reasons for your profile to be suspended.
If your Google My Business listing was suspended, you’ll want to ask yourself if you are following all of Google’s guidelines. The number one reason a listing is suspended is because of Google’s policy violations. Some of the most common violations include:
- Your address is a P.O. Box or mailing facility
- Keyword stuffing – Your business name is stuffed with keywords and not simply your business name
- You are a service area business but haven’t listed yourself as a service area business
- There’s already another business or multiple businesses at the address you’ve provided
- Your listing has a website which is a forwarded URL
- You have multiple listings for the same business within close proximity
- You’ve had several recent changes to your business listing
- You’ve made multiple field edits at once
- Simply because you’re a “high-risk” industry which seems to many spammy listings such as Garage Door Contractors, Locksmiths, Plumbers, or other home-based, service-providing businesses
- You changed your business address from one state to another
- You have too many unnecessary capitalizations or other characters in one of the fields in your profile
- Your hours of business are listed as 24/7 but you’re not actually a 24/7 business
- A user on your profile had their account suspended
To avoid suspensions, be sure to follow Google’s guidelines when creating your listing, make only necessary changes to your profile, and avoid having too many users on your profile.
If your GBP’s been suspended, what do you do now and how do you appeal for reinstatement?
A few weeks ago, Google rolled out a new tool to appeal for suspension, the Manage Appeals Tool (MAT). As mentioned, this new tool is designed to streamline the process and make the suspensions a bit more transparent.
Here’s how it works and what you should do……
The below screenshot is an example of what you’ll see when your profile has been suspended,
When you click on “Learn More” it’ll take you to the screen below, where you’ll see the possible reason for the suspension. In this example below, the reason is Deceptive content, and when you click on the little arrow next to it, you’ll be taken to Google’s Prohibited & Restricted Content page which will explain what this means.
Another good piece of information from this screenshot is that the profile is eligible for appeal, so your chances of reinstatement are still good.
At this point, before you proceed, you want to double-check, or even triple check that your GBP is compliant. Make sure all of the fields are accurate, and make edits where necessary. Also, be sure to have at least two official documents with the business name and address visible on the docs exactly as they were entered on your GBP. If you do not have this paperwork, do not proceed. You will be given one chance to have the necessary information and to have it accurate.
These are some acceptable documents:
- A scanned copy or a link to your business registration showing your business address.
- A business license showing your business address.
- A utility bill showing your business address.
- IRS document showing your business name and address.
Once you have your documents uploaded on your computer, you may proceed by selecting the profile on the left and clicking the Continue button in the bottom right corner in the above screenshot.
The next screen (screenshot below) will inform you that evidence will be required and will need to be submitted within 60 minutes of your beginning the process. Since you already have your paperwork ready, you can click on Submit.
Once you click Submit, you’ll be taken to the next screen which is the official appeals form. Most of the fields should already be completed with the correct information, but double-check them. In the Choose File field, click on each one and submit your evidence here. In the next box, you can provide additional information about the changes you made to your profile to make it compliant, why you think your profile was suspended, and let them know you’ve included proof of business. Finally, it’s most likely you’re appealing for just one location, so select the next field accordingly. Then “ Submit” the form.
Once you’ve submitted the form for your appeal, the below screen is what you should see.
To double-check your submission, you can go back to the MAT, select your business, and you should see the Details column changed from “eligible for appeal” to “submitted”.
You can check the appeals tool often to see if it changes to either “approved” or “not approved”.
Currently, you will have one shot to appeal. If “not approved”, and you believe all of your paperwork is in order, your profile is compliant, and no users on the account have suspended accounts, then you may raise your issue to the Google Business Profile community forum, including a Google Drive of your documents and a screenshot of your GBP where someone on the forum might be able to help you and escalate it further if necessary.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the introduction of the Manage Appeals Tool (MAT) within Google Business Profile emphasizes the constant changes and improvements Google implements in streamlining the processes for businesses, in this case, suspended profiles. With its user-friendly interface and guided steps, MAT allows business owners to navigate suspension appeals efficiently, ensuring transparency and fairness in the resolution process. As Google continues to innovate tools like MAT, it reinforces its commitment to supporting businesses and promoting an easier-to-use, responsive digital environment.