Google Business Profile suspended: what to do next

You notice the phone’s gone quiet. You search your business name on Google Maps and nothing comes up. You sign in to your Business Profile and there’s a warning: suspended.

It feels like your business has been switched off, and for anything that comes through Google, it has. Google says a profile that breaks its guidelines “becomes disabled or suspended and won’t show to other users on Google until you resolve the issue”.

The good news is that there is a proper way back, and most of it is in your hands. The bad news is that the obvious panic move (making a fresh profile) makes it worse. Here’s what to do, in order.

First, work out what’s been suspended

There are two different problems that look similar.

• Your profile is suspended. One business, taken off Google. You appeal that profile.
• Your Google account is restricted. Google says: “As a result of an account restriction, the Business Profiles you manage are suspended and you won’t be able to create or claim other profiles.” Here you appeal the account first, from your Google account’s restrictions page, and only once it’s lifted do you appeal the profile.

If you manage several profiles and they’ve all gone at once, it’s probably the account. If it’s just yours, it’s the profile.

Why Google suspends trade profiles

Google’s line is simple: “We may suspend or disable Business Profiles that don’t follow our guidelines.” The appeals tool will show you which one. For trades, these are the guidelines most worth checking first:

What happened	Google’s rule
Town or trade added to the name (“Smith Roofing Swindon 24/7”)	“Including unnecessary information in your business name isn’t permitted, and could result in the suspension of your Business Profile”
Home address shown, but customers never visit	“If you’re a service-area business, you should hide your business address from customers”
A rented address you don’t work from	A virtual office “isn’t eligible”; PO boxes or remote mailboxes “aren’t acceptable”
A second profile for the same business, or one per town	“Do not create more than one page for each location of your business”
An address in a town you want to rank in, but don’t work from	“Create your Business Profile for your actual, real-world location”

If none of those fit, read the reason in the appeals tool carefully, then read the policy it links to. Don’t guess.

Step 1: put it right

Google’s first instruction before appealing is: “Make sure that your profile follows all the guidelines.”

Be honest with yourself here. If the name on your profile has “Swindon” and “Emergency” bolted on, and your van just says the name, the name on the profile is wrong. If your home address was on show and nobody ever comes to your house, it should have been hidden, with your service areas set instead. Our guide on showing on Google Maps without a shop address covers exactly how to set that up.

Google says that when a profile is removed, “the owner and managers can’t act on the profile”, so you may not be able to edit it until it’s back. In that case, say in your appeal exactly what was wrong and what you’ll change, and make sure everything else (your van, website, invoices) shows the real trading name.

Step 2: get your evidence ready before you start

This matters more than people think. Google says that once you open the evidence form, “you must submit it within 60 minutes or it won’t be attached to your appeal”. So gather it first.

Google lists these as evidence that “can help strengthen your appeal”:

• Official business registration
• A business licence
• Tax certificates
• Utility bills for the business: electricity, phone, water or internet

And one tip from Google worth taking seriously: “check that the business name and address match the profile that you want to make an appeal for.”

What that means in practice for a trade (our reading, not Google’s list):

• Limited company: your Companies House registration showing the company name, plus a bill or document tying that name to your address.
• Sole trader: a business utility or phone bill, or a tax document, in your trading name at the address on the profile.
• Any licence your trade needs, such as a waste carrier registration, in the same name.

If your documents say “J. Smith” and your profile says “Smith Roofing”, expect a harder time. Line them up before you appeal.

Step 3: appeal through the appeals tool

Google says businesses in the UK use the appeals tool to appeal a suspended profile. Its steps:

1. Open the Google Business Profile appeals tool (linked from Google’s help page Fix suspended or disabled profiles).
2. Confirm the Google account linked to the profile, or switch account.
3. Select the Business Profile you want to appeal and continue. The tool shows the restricted profile, the reason for the action, and a link to the policy.
4. Select Submit appeal.
5. If you’re prompted to add evidence, do it. Google says it “highly recommend[s] submitting evidence”. You can also add context explaining why the profile should be reinstated.
6. Select Submit.

Google will email you its decision. Its appeals page says “Appeal reviews and decisions can take up to five working days.” You can check the status in the same tool: Submitted, Approved, Not approved, Can’t be appealed, or Eligible for appeal.

What not to do

• Don’t make a new profile. Google’s words: “Do not create a new Business Profile for the same business while your appeal is under review.” A second profile is a breach of its own, and Google’s sign-up page warns your account “may be suspended” if it finds multiple profiles for the same business in the same area.
• Don’t appeal again and again. Google: “Do not submit multiple appeals for the same issue before receiving a decision.”
• Don’t send documents that don’t match. A bill in a different name or at a different address undermines the appeal.
• Don’t fake an address to get round a ranking problem. A profile at an address you don’t really work from breaks Google’s rules on its own.

What we have seen

Luke and Dan’s, a tree surgery firm based in Royal Wootton Bassett, were 1st of 17 on Google’s list for “tree surgeon” in Royal Wootton Bassett on 19 September 2026. In August 2026, with 5.0 from 91 reviews, they ranked below four firms for “tree surgeon Swindon”, all of which had Swindon addresses. Read their case study.

That’s exactly the situation that tempts people into a fake address in the bigger town. Don’t. The route into the next town is a website page about the work you do there, which isn’t tied to distance the way the map is. We explain why in how to rank higher on Google Maps.

If the appeal is turned down

Google says: “Only if your reinstatement request is denied, we may be able to do an additional review to prove your eligibility.” You can add evidence you didn’t send the first time. Use it properly: fix anything you missed, find a document where the name and address match exactly, and explain clearly what your business is and how it serves customers.

While you wait

A suspension doesn’t stop the work you already have. Use the time:

1. Make sure your website works and your number is on every screen. People who know your name will still find it.
2. Text recent customers you haven’t heard from. Some will have more work.
3. Check for any other listing for your business under an old name, number or address. Duplicates confuse things.
4. Write down what changed on the profile before the suspension, so you know what to say if Google asks.

If your profile was suspended and you’re not sure whether it’s even showing again after reinstatement, our guide why isn’t my business showing on Google Maps has a two-minute test.

How we do it, and why it works

This is the “found” part of what we do. When we take on a trade, we set the Google listing up inside Google’s rules from day one (real name, the right category, the address hidden if customers don’t come to you, the towns you genuinely cover) and work it every week, so the profile follows Google’s rules from the start. We ask for a review after every job and build a website that backs the listing up.

Then we make sure what Google sends you isn’t wasted. Calls ring you, as they always have. A missed call from a mobile gets a text back in your name, every form and message is replied to in your name, and every quote is chased to a yes or a no. After each enquiry, a text asks whether you won it and for how much, and once a month you get one page showing what came in, what you won and what it was worth.

We don’t promise positions: Google says there’s “no way to request or pay for a better local ranking”. We show where you stand and change what can be changed. The free check shows the firms Google lists for your trade in your town and where you sit, in about a minute.