You log into your Google Business Page to be greeted with a red banner in your business dashboard saying, “Google has suspended your Page Due to Quality Issues”.
This can also happen immediately after entering your verification pin code or a week later, so what the heck is going on ?
You then send Google Business Support a message to which you get the canned response,
“We have reviewed your request and can’t reinstate your Google+ page at this time. Your Google+ page has been suspended for spammy behavior. If you have any further questions, please consult the Google My Business Help Center”
Now I understand the frustration with this canned response, but Google has to keep their spam filters under wraps.
So lets take a look at some common Spam triggers.
Common Quality Issues | Spam Indicators |
Each case that we see in the Google My Business help forum is unique, but eight out of ten problems are due to a duplicate issue in one form or another.
Quality Issues:
- Naming violation on single business page – rare
- Naming violation across legitimate service area business locations – medium
- Single phone number across legitimate service area business locations – high
- Duplicate business page with either phone number and address – high
Finding a Duplicate Business Page |
A duplicate business page in one form or the other is in general the overriding issue in most cases. Pre 2015 Google used to auto generate business page listings if they found a website with clear business details that were corroborated by other sources online.
In hind site, this is the page that the business owner, should have claimed and verified. When the new page is verified, it automatically trips the Spam filter.
Tools to Uncovering a Duplicates:
Manual Discovery of Duplicates:
When the above tools don’t uncover a duplicate then it’s time to go manual.
Phone Number Search: (US) 206-693-4144 site:plus.google.com (UK) 01604 636361 site:plus.google.com
If the businesses number has changed, you can search with address or name and or a combination of them both.
Business Name site:plus.google.com Business Name City site:plus.google.com Business Name City, State site:plus.google.com Full Business Address site:plus.google.com Partial Business Address site:plus.google.com
Once you have discovered the duplicate page ( assuming it is unverified ) you can go ahead and delete the current suspended business page: Page Settings >> Delete
Then claim the unverified duplicate page, SKIP verify, correct any details, then verify.
If the duplicate business page is verified, then you will need to request ownership
Request / Claim Ownership of a Verified Page
Other Quality Issues | Spam Indicators |
Naming violation issues for a single business page are very rare, but they do happen. Your business page name, should reflect the real world name of the business / on website.
Do not add additional descriptors to your name
Yes: Online Ownership No: Online Ownership SEO Northampton
Your business description should describe your business accurately, this is your chance to entice customers, not spam them.
Yes: Online Ownership aims to deliver the best possible online marketing for your business, by providing quality organic, long term traffic to your website No: #onlineownership #sseo #localseo # seocorby #seonorthampton
Once you have corrected your business page you can now contact Business Support to request re-inclusion. If this does not work, reach out to us at the Business Page Help Forum.