What does 'suspended for suspicious activity' actually mean on GBP?
 by Staff

What does suspended for 'suspicious activity' actually mean on GBP?

  • I have a client whose Google Business Profile (GBP) listing has been suspended because of 'suspicious activity'. They also seem to have lost their 'verification' status and are attempting to get this back, but so far the postcard with the PIN has yet to arrive.

    Can you tell me what 'suspicious activity' is and give me any ideas as to how they should proceed as they can't fix something when they don't understand what is wrong.

    Also, what do we do if we don't get the postcard?

Answer:

Suspicious activity could indicate any number of issues. For instance, too many edits on a listing too quickly - with drastic changes - like going from a restaurant category to a home loan category for the same listing is one way.

Another could be because a Google account that has access to that listing (maybe owner or manager) has been suspended.

The fact is there are many different ways a GBP account can be suspended. Here's an in-depth article that discusses the issue, provides a comprehensive list of the many possible offenses and even offers to provide assistance if you sign on as a client.

As the article states,

Part of the anxiety of a Google Business Profile suspension is that Google doesn’t tell owners why their profile was suspended. Even if you contact support asking for the reasons.

Normally they tell you to go through the guidelines and try to figure it out by yourself.

The best way to get help with these types of issues is to post about them, with details, at the

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