Why Was My Google Business Profile Suspended? (Real Estate Version)

With so many buyers and sellers searching keywords like "realtors in LOCATION," an agent's Google Business Profile is a super important part of SEO for real estate.

But not a week goes by without a real estate agent asking on Facebook why their Google Business Profile was suspended.

It's not always obvious why a GBP gets suspended. Google's GBP guidelines are sometimes vague, their enforcement is remarkably inconsistent, and their messaging around why a suspension (or other action) happened has historically been awful. (But to Google's credit, it's getting better on that last point.)

There are tons of tons of specific reasons your GBP might get suspended, and I'd never pretend to list all of them -- or even know all of them! But I think most suspensions fall into one of four buckets, or types of suspensions. Here are those buckets:

Reason 1: You or your marketing person did something that violated Google's guidelines.

This is usually pretty cut and dry. Google has guidelines, and if you violate one, you might get suspended. Simple as that. Doesn't matter if it's intentional or accidental. Google doesn't care. All of Google's guidelines are here, so familiarize yourself with them if you want to avoid an accidental suspension.

This includes things like putting keywords in your business name or rewarding people who review your business. And this is important: As Whitespark's Darren Shaw recently pointed out, sometimes you can get suspended for something you did months or even years ago!

Here's one thing that I'll put in this bucket but could also fit under bucket #3: If you hire someone to help with your marketing and give them access to your GBP, but they do/did something bad on one of their other client accounts, your GBP can be suspended simply because you gave them access to it. You gotta be careful who you're hiring and who you're allowing to access your GBP.

Reason 2: You or your marketing person did something that doesn't violate Google's guidelines but still triggered a suspension.

This is where it gets murky. And often annoying. You can trigger a suspension by simply changing one of the core pieces of your profile, like your business name or address. This is especially likely if your GBP is new-ish or hasn't earned Google's trust. If you've been reading Marketing Unlocked a while, you might remember how I tiptoed through updating my wife's GBP six months ago when she switched brokerages. (Read issue #20 for the step-by-step process I used to avoid GBP Hell™, which is pictured here. 😅)

Reason 3: Someone else did something to cause your GBP to be suspended.

This is not only murky, but also annoying because it's completely out of your control. This could be something a vengeful competitor or a spammer does to harm your business and get your GBP suspended. Some industries (locksmiths come to mind first) are exceptionally competitive and companies/marketers have been known to sabotage competitors purposely. I'm glad I haven't seen that kind of crap in real estate, and hope I never do. But you should know that it does/can happen.

Reason 4: Your suspension was caused by something on Google's end.

This is also murky and annoying because it's out of your control. Google is far from perfect. They make changes to the platform, the algorithms, etc., to try to stop the incredible amount of spam, fake accounts, fake reviews, fake business listings, etc., that happen on the GBP platform. (Google says it blocked or removed more than 240 million reviews in 2024 that violated its guidelines. 🤯)

False positives are an inevitable side effect of all that. You may have done nothing wrong and suddenly you're in GBP Hell™ because of a change or action that Google did. Super frustrating.

BUT...and this is important...if you get suspended, don't jump to the conclusion that it fits into bucket #4. I know it can be tempting to blame Google or someone else, but I would bet that buckets 1 and 2 are the most common causes of suspensions in real estate. Don't assume Google's at fault unless you've read the guidelines and know you didn't do something wrong.

Your takeaways: Your Google Business Profile can be a fantastic source of buyer and seller leads, but it can also be frustrating to manage it -- and keep it in Google's good graces -- if you don't know what you're doing. Spend time going through those guidelines. Control all the things you can control. And don't do dumb shit that can get your GBP suspended, like giving away prizes in exchange for reviews, trading reviews with other agents, or putting keywords in your business name.

One more takeaway/sales pitch: Get my Google Business Profile Guide for Real Estate and learn how to optimize your GBP, especially the specific sections that help you rank higher in local search. /end of sales pitch

(Thx to Mike B. and Joel H. for helping with my thought process on GBP suspensions.)

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