Suspensions, Service Areas, Reviews
Google has made several important updates to its Business Profile policies in the last couple of days that could impact visibility and reinstatement for service-based businesses. Here’s what you need to know to stay compliant and protect your profile.
1. Utility Bills May No Longer Be Accepted for Reinstatement
Business owners facing suspensions often struggle to gather the right documents to appeal and reinstate their profiles. Traditionally, utility bills were an accepted form of verification.
It appears Google updated its documentation guidelines and removed references to utility bills as an acceptable proof of business address for reinstatement purposes. This could catch many off guard, especially small service-based businesses that rely on simple forms of address verification.
Solution: To prepare for a possible suspension or dispute, ensure you have more robust documentation on hand, such as:
- A business license issued by a government agency
- Business registration
- Tax documents
Google Reinstatement Documentation Guidelines
2. Tightened Rules on Service Area Listings
Many service-based businesses attempt to widen their reach by listing very broad service areas, sometimes entire states or countries.
Google’s updated Service Area Business guidelines now explicitly stating that entire countries or states should not be listed as a service area. Businesses that ignore this may be suspended, losing their visibility in Search.
Solution: Keep your service area realistic and focused. Best practices include:
- Listing by city or ZIP code
- Staying within a reasonable radius (up to 2 hours from your base)
- Ensuring your selected service areas reflect where your actual customers are located
❌ Don’t: “Serving all of Massachusetts”
✅ Do: “Serving Boston, Cambridge, Middlesex County”
3. “Posting reviews is turned off…”
Some businesses are discovering a consumer alert on their Google Business Profiles where the ability to post reviews is turned off, as Ben Fisher spotted and tweeted yesterday:
While no formal announcement has been made, this appears to be part of Google’s efforts to fight review spam and suspicious activity.
Solution: Now more than ever, having a consistent and ethical review strategy is crucial. Here’s what you can do:
- Ask for reviews verbally after jobs
- Text or email customers to guide them to search for your business manually on Google
- Educate loyal customers on how to leave reviews without a direct link
- Refrain from any review-gating or incentivizing practices that could raise red flags
Final Thoughts
These updates reinforce Google’s push for greater transparency and authenticity in how businesses present themselves. If you’re a service contractor relying on your Google Business Profile for lead generation, staying ahead of these changes can make the difference between being found or being filtered out.