Google My Business Page Suspensions in May 2019

A personal injury lawyer in Louisville Kentucky I am tracking recently lost all of their Google My Business pages. I’m not sure if they know it or not. The loss occurred in late April, 2019. Since then, I have heard of several other businesses who have had their Google My Business pages suspended.

Today, May 8, 2019, a law firm that I work with had their page suspended. They woke up, searched themselves, and they were not ranking in Google Local search. They asked me to investigate and after discovering that they were nowhere to be found I logged in to GMB to see the suspension.

This is what a suspension looks like in GMB:

Google My Business Page Suspension Errors?

I do not have conclusive evidence, so I am not sure how widespread the problem may be. Maybe Google is attempting to crack down on fake listings and accidentally scooping up legitimate businesses.

If you weren’t aware, there’s been a massive amount of spam in Google Maps this year. I documented this here: Attorney Spam Outbreaks in Google My Business Covers All of USA in 2019. It wasn’t just attorneys, though.

A second theory is that competitors are flagging legitimate businesses as spam. This will also get a page suspended on occasion.

Unsuspending / Reinstating Your Google My Business page.

Update 8/7/2019: Please see my thorough guide: How To Reinstate Your Suspended Google My Business Page in 2019.

Once your page is suspended, getting it fixed is easier said than done.

First, be aware that Google has no phone number, and they aren’t even going to tell you why your page is suspended.

That said, pages get suspended if they are:

• Breaking the rules
• Appear to be breaking the rules
• Do not look legitimate
• Have been flagged as spam

To get your page unsuspended you will want to contact Google My Business. (Supposedly, you can use the appeal process and they’ll get back to you in 24hrs, however, after multiple attempts of appealing a suspension in the past, I never did hear from them).

The first layer of people you email with or speak to are in India. They’re most likely going to want a picture of the front of your company which shows the storefront with a sign on it. If you’re in an office building, this could pose a problem. They’re going to collect your info and if you’re legit they will escalate things over to the true GMB department.

How to Contact Google My Business:

Here’s the real gold in this article. I hope you kept reading.

• Call them. While logged in to the account which manages GMB, click here to talk to a specialist. Alternatively, you can also request a callback. Note: If you request the call back, your phone will get a call from Mumbai, India, from a number such as +9-22-6101-4512.
• You can also reach GMB support on Facebook or Twitter. I’ve never had good luck tweeting them though.

If you aren’t in a rush and would rather follow Google’s suggestions instead of calling them, please feel free to read what Google says about suspended listings, then, when you’re ready, use the GMB reinstatement request form.

Was your Google My Business Page Suspended for No Reason in May 2019?

If so, please comment below. We’d love to know if your page was suspended, why it was suspended and what you had to do to appeal the ban and get the account working again.

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Len

President at Telapost

I create content and do SEO for law firms, small businesses and companies worldwide. I have been generating traffic online since 1992. I have owned multiple successful companies. I'm an organic eater, nature lover and German Shepherd owner. Feel free to contact me here.

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