Google My Business has gotten more perplexing throughout the long term. Here are five normal issues with Google My Business and how to fix google my business listing.
Google My Business (GMB) used to be so basic.
GMB postings used to fundamentally incorporate a business name, address, telephone number, and site URL.
That was about it.
Throughout the long-term Google has made GMB profiles quite a lot more vigorous, which is exceptionally energizing.
Organizations would now be able to make a Google My Business profile that truly flaunts what their business must bring to the table.
What’s more, it permits them to stand apart over their rivals that disregard GMB as a successful neighbourhood SEO and advertising system.
Be that as it may, these highlights and upgrades have additionally made utilizing Google My Business substantially more mind boggling for clients.
So when issues with GMB profiles occur, the fixes can be more mind boggling, nuanced and can frequently prompt disarray.
Google has spread out the rules for when, if, and how organizations can speak to their organizations on Google My Business.
However, even those rules can be confounding.
Individuals frequently mistreat deciphering these rules which can cause spam and false postings.
It can likewise trigger professional resources to get suspended and cause different issues to emerge over the span of GMB the executives.
Here are five basic Google My Business issues clients experience and how to tackle them.
1. There Are Spammy and Fake Competitor Listings Dominating the Search Results – What Can I Do?
For SEO specialists, “spam” has a negative implication.
Also, GMB spam is the same.
Regardless of whether it’s a thoroughly phony professional reference or a watchword stuffed business name, these kinds of rule-breakers can make hurt numerous individuals – both for searchers and other nearby organizations.
Be that as it may, there are approaches to battle GMB spam.
Some of the time it’s as simple as proposing an alter.
For example, on the off chance that you see a business that is watchword stuffing their business name, you can tap on the Suggest an alter connect and alter the business’ name to dispose of the additional catchphrases.
Once you make the suggested edits to the name, address, hours, or other section of the GMB listing, Google will review your suggestion(s).
Sometimes the change you make will take effect almost immediately, but sometimes it can take some time.
And, unfortunately, sometimes even legitimate suggested changes may not be made by Google at all.
On the off chance that changes that you recommend aren’t made or if a business is outrightly disrupting the guidelines the time has come to round out a Redressal structure.
Unmitigated guideline breaking models are: showing a place of residence on their GMB profile or in the event that they are a lead-age organization or online-just business.
The Redressal structure is a significantly more formal “objection” structure and requires more data from you with regards to what the infringement are and what business is being affected.
At the point when you round out the Redressal structure you can even transfer records and pictures that help back up the reasons why the business is in infringement like:
- Screen captures.
- Photographs.
- Private specialist reports.
- Sound records.
Once you submit the Redressal form, you should receive an email letting you know that the form was received by Google.
Each Redressal form will have a unique case number.
It’s a good idea to keep track of the case number for your records and what business you reported attached to that case number.
Typically, it takes around two weeks for Google to act on Redressal form/spam.
2. Why Did My Google My Business Listing Get Suspended?
Ahhh…The dreaded “Suspended” notice!
Nothing is more troubling than seeing this warning in your GMB dashboard:
There are many reasons why Google My Business listings get suspended – and most are legitimate.
So regardless of whether you figure you aren’t defying the guidelines, odds are you are disregarding Google My Business’ Terms of Service (TOS) or your GMB profile wouldn’t have been suspended.
Presently, accidents do occur – like if you roll out an excessive number of improvements to your posting at a time – that can here and there trigger a suspension.
In any case, if you set aside the effort to take a gander at your posting and the principles/rules, you will presumably have the option to recognize what rule you are breaking.
Notice how this business owner says that the suspension is “without cause” and his listing was “suspended for no reason.”
In the event that you burrow somewhat more profound, you can plainly observe why the posting was suspended.
When asked, the entrepreneur expressed that he initially had his street number recorded as his personal residence.
As per Google’s rules, you can’t show private locations on Google My Business profiles.
The owner then stated that he changed the GMB listing’s address to their “satellite” office address which just happens to be a Regus virtual office.
In most cases, this is a no-no according to GMB guidelines.
Note that if you have a virtual office/shared office as an address, you must show Google proof that:
- You rent a dedicated executive office.
- Your employees are staffed at the office during stated business hours.
- You have photos of permanent signage with your business name.
- You have photos or videos of the entrance to your office showing signage, etc.
I discovered that this business owner was using a virtual office address simply by doing a search for the physical address on Google.
So as you can see from just this one example, even though the business owner didn’t think he was violating GMB guidelines, he was.
So What Do You Do If Your Listing Gets Suspended?
In the event that your GMB profile is suspended, don’t freeze.
The primary thing you have to do is deliberately perused Google My Business rules to attempt to recognize which manages your posting abused and decide whether your business even meets all requirements for a GMB profile by any means.
A few organizations simply don’t qualify, by any stretch of the imagination, for a GMB profile.
When you have recognized the expected issues – and your business does, indeed, fit the bill for a GMB posting – you should fix any issues with your posting and afterward round out a restoration demand.
Note: Do not round out more than one reestablishment demand.
Google My Business Support will require time to survey the data you submit.
Ensure when you present your reestablishment demand you clarify that you have fixed the posting issues and give verification that you are a real business that is qualified by transferring photographs of:
- Your permanent business signage – both outside and inside your building.
- A photo of your business vehicle if you have a Service Area Business (SAB).
- A picture of a copy of your business license.
- Your registration with the Secretary of State or other business governing body, etc.
When Google My Business Support reacts to you about your suspension, you will need to compare with GMB uphold through those messages pushing ahead until the issue is settled.
Basically, you have to demonstrate to Google that you are a genuine and real business that is qualified for a GMB posting.
Keep in mind, you are not owed a GMB profile.
You have to show Google that you are able to have a Google My Business profile.
For more data on what to do when your Google My Business posting gets suspended, look at Google My Business Listing Suspended? Here’s How to Recover.
3. What Do You Do When an Ex-Employee Writes a Negative Review About Your Business?
No one gets a kick out of the chance to get awful surveys.
What’s far and away more terrible is the point at which an ex-representative composes an awful survey about your organization.
That abuses Google’s User Contributed Content Policy’s Conflict of Interest rule.
If you get a negative review from an ex-employee, you can flag the review by logging into your GMB dashboard, click on the review, and the three dots on the right-hand side.
You will get the option to flag the review as inappropriate.
On the off chance that the survey isn’t eliminated, you can contact Google My Business Support.
As an entrepreneur, you have to demonstrate that the individual used to work for you.
Nonetheless, Google can’t acknowledge any close to home data from you – like HR archives, work history records, duplicate of ID identification, and so on.
You must have the option to give Google public social confirmation that the individual used to work for you.
At the point when you contact GMB uphold, give them a connect to your GMB dashboard and the name of the commentator.
Disclose that they used to work for you, and give them screen captures of public verification of this.
You can utilize a LinkedIn profile screen capture that shows they worked at your organization or a web-based media post where they notice their business or terminating.
4. How Do I Get Ownership of My Google My Business Listing Back?
It’s common for a business owner to forget their GMB login info and it’s also possible for someone other than a business owner to claim a business’ GMB listing.
So how do you get ownership of your business’s listing back if someone else has claimed it?
First, visit https://google.com/business.
Click on Manage Now.
Note: If you have other GMB listings, you will need to log in using your GMB login credentials.
Once logged in, you will see all the GMB properties you manage.
If you want to add another location, click Add Location:
On the off chance that you don’t as of now have Google My Business postings in your record, you would begin composing for the sake of the business you own or need to get administrator rights to.
When you discover the posting you might be given a couple of choices.
If the listing is already claimed, you will see a partial email that was used to claim the listing.
In the event that you overlooked what email you used to guarantee your business’ GMB profile, this will ideally refresh your memory.
You would then be able to sign in to GMB utilizing that email address to begin dealing with the Google My Business posting.
In the event that the email doesn’t look natural to you, that implies another person asserted your organization’s posting.
It could’ve been a previous worker, an advanced advertising organization you employed, or even some irregular outsider.
The primary concern is you need to get responsibility for posting with the goal that your organization’s posting is in the possession of the correct and legitimate proprietorship.
At the point when you click on Request Access, you will be provoked to respond to certain inquiries with respect to what your identity is and what your relationship is with the business, and what kind of access you might want – Management or Ownership:
If you are the owner of the business, click Owner, and if you are a marketing agency who has been tasked with helping to optimize and manage the company’s GMB listing, select Management.
When you click the Submit button an email will be sent to the individual who at present has responsibility for GMB posting.
That individual has seven days to react to the solicitation for possession or the executives.
You will get an email with respect to this solicitation. Make certain to spare that email.
On the off chance that the proprietor doesn’t react, you will at that point have the option to go in and guarantee the posting.
On the off chance that the possession demand is affirmed, you’ll get an email advising you and you will have the option to deal with the posting in your GMB dashboard.
On the off chance that your solicitation is denied, you ought to be given the choice to either claim or be permitted to confirm your alliance with the professional reference.
Open the first email you got when you mentioned admittance to the GMB posting and snap on View Request or open the dismissal email and snap OK.
Both of those messages should let you start the cycle to demonstrate your responsibility for posting.
In certain occasions, you might be approached to “confirm to deal with this area.”
In the event that you are an advanced advertising organization and you see this choice, contact the entrepreneur before you click one of these choices (confirm by telephone or email).
Alert the proprietor that they will be called or messaged by Google with a PIN number.
They should record that number and offer that to you so you can get to the record.
If you are the owner of the business, you will want to request Ownership.
In the event that you are a representative or an advanced showcasing office helping the business with their computerized promoting, you would demand Manager access.
Note: If you are attempting to gain admittance to a Service Area Business (SAB) GMB posting – a business that doesn’t have a physical location posting on the GMB profile – the cycle is somewhat unique.
You would enter your business name, data, and basically re-confirm your GMB professional reference.
You will get a postcard with a PIN via the post office in around 7-14 days.
Sign into your GMB dashboard and enter the PIN and confirm the posting.
Since there are currently two professional references with a similar name, Google should signal the posting as a “Proprietor Conflict” or a “Copy Listing.”
Inside your dashboard, there ought to be a catch that says Request Access.
At the point when you click on Request Access that will at that point trigger an email to be sent to the individual who initially guaranteed the posting and you will proceed through that proprietorship demand measure.
When you demand access, the current individual who has the posting checked has seven days to react to your solicitation by either tolerating or denying you access.
(You can check the status of the solicitation by marking into your Google My Business dashboard or tapping on the connection in the proprietorship email you got from Google.)
In the event that the current proprietor gives your solicitation, you’ll get an email and can begin dealing with the profile.
In the event that your solicitation is denied, you will get an email informing you:
You can at present recommend an alter to the profile and you can bid the disavowal.
Open the first email you got when you mentioned admittance and snap on View Request or in the dismissal email click Okay.
One of those two messages ought to permit you to begin the following stages to demonstrate your association with the professional resource.
In the event that you don’t get a reaction, you might have the option to sign into the Google My Business dashboard and guarantee the profile yourself.
Sign in and search for a Claim or Verify button on your dashboard.
5. Help! My Google My Business Post Got Rejected
Every once in a while, Google My Business Post will get rejected.
If your post gets rejected, you will see a red “Rejected” notice.
Typically posts are rejected due to content or because of the photo/image being used or if your business is in a “sensitive” topics area.
At times words inside the post will trigger a post dismissal.
The word may appear to be amiable, yet it might be on Google’s “hostile” word list.
On the off chance that your post gets dismissed, attempt rephrasing to more conventional body duplicate and do exclude any touchy words or pictures.
Additionally, it used to be adequate to incorporate your telephone number or a site URL in the body of a post.
Google is currently dismissing numerous posts with telephone numbers or URLs.
So if your post is dismissed, give making those components an effort.
Where Should You Go If You Have GMB Questions?
Probably the best spot to go on the off chance that you have inquiries regarding Google My Business is the Google My Business Help Forum.
Directed by volunteers (so back off of us!), this gathering is an extraordinary spot to get your GMB questions replied by individuals who have long periods of experience working with Google My Business.
And if you need to reach out to Google My Business Support, the best way to reach them is via their help support form.
Whenever you’re asking for help, please remember to be patient.
During these crazy times, resources are limited, and things are taking a bit longer than usual.
