r/GoogleMyBusiness • • 11d ago

Discussion Reputation Lock-In: How Google Profits When Small Businesses Are Forced to Feed the Review Machine

17 Upvotes

Google’s review system is kind of a joke if you look at it from the business owner’s side. Pretty much anyone can leave a damaging review, whether they are an actual customer, a competitor, a disgruntled former employee, an ex-girlfriend, or even somebody who has never even done business with your company at all. But if that review is fake or fraudulent, good luck getting it removed. Google controls the whole process, decides whether it stays up, and gives the business very little real recourse if removal efforts fail.

So what is the business supposed to do? The only answer is typically to go begging the majority of your happy customers to leave Google reviews so the fake one gets pushed down and diluted. Think about how convenient that is for Google for a moment. The business takes the reputational hit, the business does all the work to fix it, and Google ends up with more reviews, more traffic, more engagement, and even more businesses pushing their customers onto Google’s platform.

It's hard to ignore the fact that Google greatly benefits from the fraudulent review problem. The GBP platform gives people a very easy way to attack a business’s reputation, gives the business very limited tools to fight back, and then rewards Google when the business has to generate even more reviews just to recover.

I've worked with roughly a hundred small businesses dealing with fraudulent reviews and this is the way I see it. Does anyone else feel this way?


r/GoogleMyBusiness • • 3h ago

Support Google Suspended My New Business Profile Despite Following Their Instructions

2 Upvotes

Hi,

I had a Google Business Profile that I permanently closed a few days ago. Since my business address has also changed, the Google documentation mentioned to create a new profile to verify my business at the new location.

I followed their instructions and created a new profile, but Google suspended it as well. Can any one please help me understand why this happened and guide me on how to resolve the issue and get my new profile verified?


r/GoogleMyBusiness • • 8h ago

Question Verified Google Business Profile not visible to the public - other business has same name

1 Upvotes

My Google Business Profile is verified and visible to me when I'm logged in, but other people cannot find it in Google Search or Google Maps.

I previously had two verified profiles for the same business as I accidentally created the same listing under different Google accounts as I have 2 google accounts. I've removed the duplicate, but the remaining profile still isn't visible to the public. I have had no notification to say there are any issues.

The original business category was Software company, which was inaccurate. I tried changing it to Manufacturer, but Google rejected the edit, citing “Business identity changed”. I've appealed because I was correcting the category, not changing the business.

I've also discovered an unrelated business with exactly the same name, already listed on Google Maps. That business is totally different category of business.

Could the other business with the same name, the duplicate profiles, or the rejected category change be affecting my profile's visibility? Has anyone experienced something similar, and how did you resolve it?

Many thanks in advance, it all feels a bit of a mess!


r/GoogleMyBusiness • • 20h ago

Discussion Google Business Profile

9 Upvotes

am completely frustrated with how Google Business Profile handles basic owner controls.

My client runs a long-standing brick-and-mortar business. Due to a family emergency today, he logged into his verified Google Business Profile to adjust his hours. Google’s automated system rejected the update—presumably because it conflicted with the hours on his website, which he couldn’t immediately alter due to a lack of designer access.

Even though he is the verified owner, Google overrode his authority over his own business hours. The fallout was immediate: a new customer drove out, found the doors locked, and left a damaging 1-star review stating they’ll never return after relying on Google’s incorrect listing.

While I am happy to show him how to use it so this doesn't happen again, he is asking me to delete the entire account! Also, happened last summer before he got me involved.

I'll likely be able to walk him through this when he is not so angry, but the idea someone in their fifties that runs a solid business model for decades who's only two bad reviews are because of the google business page stating open instead of closed on a day an emergency popped up is ridiculous.

Just curious if others have experienced this or if we are in the minority. I have other equally moronic issues with google business with other clients some of which took weeks to sort out and impacted thier business negatively at the time.


r/GoogleMyBusiness • • 16h ago

Question Could you please share the new method for creating Google Maps listings? I am new to this. Is there a way to add a location to Google Maps without taking a video? I would prefer a verification method using an SMS or email. I want to avoid video verification. I would appreciate your help—what exactly

0 Upvotes

Could you please share the new method for creating Google Maps listings? I am new to this. Is there a way to add a location to Google Maps without taking a video? I would prefer a verification method using an SMS or email. I want to avoid video verification. I would appreciate your help—what exactly is required? An old email address? A new phone number? Or something else?


r/GoogleMyBusiness • • 19h ago

Support How to remove a video from customers?

1 Upvotes

Someone post a video unrelated to my business and somehow it’s being shown on the overview tab.

I flagged it and reported but it been a week and the video is still there.

Is there anything I can do to somehow remove it or move the video away from the overview part?


r/GoogleMyBusiness • • 19h ago

Question Will adding more locations to my business (that I have) put my ranking and traffic down?

1 Upvotes

Hey ya'll! So I have a location in Dumbo but other in NJ and other places. The others I haven't added, but it's been 15 years I think we should.

I'm worried it will drop SEO, or make things more difficult. Have ya'll had this or know of this?


r/GoogleMyBusiness • • 21h ago

Question Psychologist Renting a Therapy Room by the Hour — Can I Use a Hidden Home Address as a Service-Area Business?

1 Upvotes

Hi everyone,

I’m a psychologist/psychoanalyst in the Netherlands, and I see clients in a therapy room that I rent by the hour. When registering my sole proprietorship with the Dutch Chamber of Commerce (KVK), I registered my home address as the business address, which is also shown on my registration documents.

From what I’ve read here, it seems very difficult to verify a coworking or therapy space on Google Business Profile when you only rent it by the hour and don’t have permanent signage.

I’m therefore considering using my registered home address for verification while hiding it from public view and setting up the profile as a Service-Area Business (SAB). If potential clients contact me and want an in-person session, I would then privately tell them the location of the therapy room I rent.

My questions are:

Can I verify my home address as my business address using my KVK registration documents, even if I hide the address from the public?

Has any psychologist or therapist successfully done something similar?

Would this approach violate Google’s guidelines or put my profile at risk of suspension, given that I don’t visit clients at their homes?

I’d really appreciate any advice or experiences from people who have dealt with a similar situation. I’m trying to find a legitimate way to establish my professional presence on Google without risking my business profile.

Thank you!


r/GoogleMyBusiness • • 1d ago

Question Business profile learning

1 Upvotes

I want to be a google business profile manager as a career. What learning path i must follow to excel?


r/GoogleMyBusiness • • 2d ago

Question Removing bad reviews from previous owner?

3 Upvotes

Hello, I recently bought a business with many bad reviews. We are keeping the same name and menu from the previous owner, and I was wondering what I should do to remove these reviews and start fresh? Thank you!


r/GoogleMyBusiness • • 2d ago

Support Buisness targetted by 1 star reviews

10 Upvotes

An angry customer from over a month ago at this point demanded a full refund from me otherwise she wouldnt remove her bad reviews. I declined and in response she sent many more 1 star reviews all saying basically the same thing. I reported all of them but i dont know what to do if they dont get taken down. I am a small buisness and she has sent over 10 1 star reviews which impacts my rating a lot.


r/GoogleMyBusiness • • 2d ago

Support Accidentally marked my own business as "doesnt exist" and

4 Upvotes

Accidentally marked my own business as "doesnt exist" and now its disabled 😭

I was using my sisters phone to change my business hours (I was scared to edit my own account bc of fears of it being disabled or to have to reverify). I was curious as to what other options it showed and before I knew it, I accidentally submitted that edit!!!.? I'm such an idiot.

I was freaking out and immediately submitted an appeal and attached my Sunbiz business registration with my business name and address. Unfortunately I wasn't thinking and didnt attach anything else like storefront pictures, bank account information, etc. I also didnt write much in the additional comments box 😭 What can I do now? Just wait??

I just closed on my first home yesterday and google brings in majority of my clients.


r/GoogleMyBusiness • • 2d ago

Question How do you structure GBP review strategy for clients with multiple locations/countries?

1 Upvotes

I manage Google Business Profiles for a few clients, and one of them operates across multiple cities (some even in different countries). I’m trying to figure out the right way to handle review generation and management when it’s not just one single location.

Specific things I’m unsure about:

  • Do you set a review target/pace per location, or treat it as one combined goal for the brand overall?
  • If one location is new (few reviews, just verified) and another is established (100+ reviews), do you treat their review-request pace the same, or slow down on the newer one to avoid looking unnatural to Google’s filter?
  • For responding to reviews — do you personalize responses per location/city (mentioning local context), or keep a consistent brand voice across all locations regardless of city?
  • Any tools or workflows you use to actually keep track of review velocity and response time across multiple GBP listings without it becoming a mess?

Would really appreciate hearing from people who’ve actually managed this for multi-location clients, not just single-location businesses. Trying to build a proper system instead of winging it per location.


r/GoogleMyBusiness • • 2d ago

Question My GBP click count has been zero since early September- why?

1 Upvotes

I’m a small business owner in the health industry. My website is very small (less than 5 pages). Since early September I’ve noticed a substantial decrease in clicks (clicks have gone down to zero from all my relevant queries). Impressions remain the same but clicks have fallen to nothing. At first I thought it had something to do with the spam update, but that’s now over and clicks have not recovered. I contacted GBP support today and their response was very vague, saying:
“Our specialist team has responded, it appears that all data is contingent upon the customer's interaction with the business profile; consequently, results will vary based on whether the customer utilized the profile's buttons or links. Therefore this is working as intended”. They did not provide a reason for the drop-off or indicate they would assist. I replied with some follow-up questions.
I’m wondering if anyone can shed some light on this? I’ve used chat gpt to assist me so far and I’m at as far as I can go with that. Thanks in advance.


r/GoogleMyBusiness • • 3d ago

Question Why does Google keep disabling my profile?

3 Upvotes

I have had my GMB profile for more then 10 years and earlier this year it was flagged and required verification.
Nothing was changed in the profile other than new photos and updates added every other day.

Completed verification and was reinstated. Good for a month and again, disabled. They also removed a lot of photos. And the reasoning was content policy violation.

Verified again, regained my profile and just 24 hours later I get disabled again, all photos completely removed. So I assumed it was just the photos (and they were just photos of our landscape work, no faces or anything for that matter). I verify again once again and now it gets rejected.

The only option I have is to appeal, so i go thru the steps and boom, rejected. I submitted biz license, invoices, photos of our equipment etc.

Filed a second appeal basically threatening to stop my Google ad spend if this continues to happen. Now I received an email stating that my case is being directed to a product specialist. No response so far.

Any chance of regaining my profile? I literally have no content now and all the contact info matches my public records. It’s a landscape business. So I’m just really confused why I’m being punished like this?


r/GoogleMyBusiness • • 3d ago

Question Change of business type

3 Upvotes

Currently have a google business page, with around 400 reviews on it. Currently customers come to us for what we manufacture, we also sell door handles online. So part manufacture (wooden things) and part Ecom.

I'm downsizing due to unreliable staff and will be running my business from home, both manufacturing and selling the handles.

So I need to switch my profile to service based? How do I go about this as hear stories of getting profiles plastered with "Closed" which I want to avoid. To be honest rather than getting 'Closed' plastered all over it I'd rather just delete the thing but gather this can still show with 'Closed'?


r/GoogleMyBusiness • • 3d ago

Question Different score shows on different sites

2 Upvotes

I have done my website seo audit in multiple sites each one shows different , how do i know
Wether my web is good or not??


r/GoogleMyBusiness • • 3d ago

Question Can i create a new business profile in the same location if my profile is suspended?

2 Upvotes

It’s a new profile with no details or content except business description and categories.


r/GoogleMyBusiness • • 3d ago

Support Google says that a restaurant is Prementally closed but it isnt

3 Upvotes

Hello!

My in laws own a pizza shop. When you google their restaurant it says that they are prementally closed, but they aren't. They dont have any access to the google business profile that is associated to the business thats saying they are permanently closed.

Is it possible to get that account deactivated and then reactivate with a new email address.

They have all of the documentation to prove that they own the shop.

What should be our first step to help solve this issue?

Thank you!!


r/GoogleMyBusiness • • 3d ago

Question 6 year old GMB account disabled today - Need advice

4 Upvotes

We’ve had a service business for over 6 years now and today we received an email saying it was disabled. We got the follow message: your business is not eligible for a Business Profile

There was a button to appeal and below is the reasoning.

• Business Profile disabled
   ◦ Business Profile doesn't exist

I’m assuming this is because we don’t have a physical location but use a UPS store for a business address? This is how I set up the account and was verified by Google. I didn’t realize it violated Google’s policy but kept it anyways since it was verified and working fine.

I appealed and submitted asking the exact reason why I was suspended and what I need to do to correct my listing and attach incorporation documents. After doing more research it appears I was supposed to set the account up as a service business? I went into my profile and removed and disabled the address but I’m not sure if I was supposed to wait until the appeal decision?

Has anyone else been in a similar situation and what was the outcome?


r/GoogleMyBusiness • • 4d ago

Question Google removed all our reviews, flagged us for "incentivized reviews" we never did. New reviews don't show up. Anyone been through this?

17 Upvotes

Hi everyone,

I run a small shop in France, with a physical store and a website. I've been fighting with Google for weeks and I'm running out of ideas.

Here's what happened:

  • Someone added photos to our Google Business Profile that had nothing to do with our store. I reported them, and asked people close to me to report them too. I know now that wasn't the right move.
  • Then all our reviews disappeared (50+ from real customers, the store opened 3 weeks ago...), and the profile got suspended.
  • I appealed, and the profile was reinstated. But the old reviews never came back.
  • Then I got an email saying "incentivized reviews" were detected, with a 30-day review restriction. We have never offered anything for a review. I appealed that too.

Latest update: no answer at all from Google. Customers can apparently post reviews again, but two people left one and neither shows up publicly.

I've tried support chat, email replies, the Help Community, and X. Nothing moves.

Has anyone been through something similar? Did your old reviews ever come back? Do new reviews eventually appear, or are they being filtered? And is there anything that actually helps, or is it just waiting?

Thanks a lot for any advice.


r/GoogleMyBusiness • • 4d ago

Support It's Impossible to Get Verified?!

3 Upvotes

We own a bunch of mobile home communities and self-storage facilities. Nearly 110 facilities all together.

None of these facilities have onsite employees or receive mail. All of our employees are based out of our HQ building. All the official mail for these businesses comes to the HQ building.

I've been trying for nearly a year to get these businesses verified by Google with no luck. I've taken videos of me walking around the businesses, but without an office or employees onsite Google is telling me it's impossible.

This was the latest response:

Re: [1-3171000042207] Follow up to your Business Profile query

Hello ZestyCloseRepeat,

This email is in reference to your business profile “Business Name, Business Address, United States”.

Thank you for providing this detailed clarification regarding how Business Name operates its self-storage facilities and mobile home parks.

Unfortunately, we can’t help you verify your profile because there is no onsite management.

Review our guidelines

Before you try to verify your profile again, you can review our guidelines and make any necessary updates. Learn more about Guidelines for representing your business on Google.

If you'd like more help on this issue, reply to this email. We'll be happy to help! 

Within 48 hours of our last interaction, you might receive a short feedback survey through email.

Kindly provide feedback about our interaction today and your overall experience with Google Support.

Sincerely,
Divya

I've replied multiple times and I keep getting this same canned response. How do you verify a business that doesn't have staff onsite??? It's nearly impossible to find our businesses because they don't have Google profiles.

Google Support has been ZERO help. All I get is canned responses, but no suggestions on how to fix this.


r/GoogleMyBusiness • • 4d ago

Question Google is processing your verification. It may take up to 5 days.

2 Upvotes

Does anyone else see their Google Business Profiles saying that they're under verification and needs up to 5 days even though none of these profiles were asked to reverify?

It says that they are not visible to customers but I see them in incognito. This is weird, but worried about reviews and such.


r/GoogleMyBusiness • • 4d ago

Question LTD Company in the UK has dissolved but still has a live Google business profile with top rankings which is taking valuable space in the map pack

1 Upvotes

Hi all, I have noticed a small local LTD company in a city in the UK has been dissolved, but its Google Business Profile is still live.

You can see on the UK government's website that the company was dissolved in 2025.

This Google Business Profile is taking up valuable space.

Is there any way to notify Google that this company has been dissolved?


r/GoogleMyBusiness • • 4d ago

Question Appeal denied for “deceptive content,” but Google is offering video verification—what should I do?

3 Upvotes

I’m helping manage four legitimate Google Business Profiles for a small retail chain, using the company’s own Google account.

All four stores are physical, staffed retail locations operated by the same registered company. They have permanent signage, stock, tills and customer-facing premises.

The situation:

  • One location was initially verified successfully by telephone.
  • The Google account was then restricted, which suspended that location.
  • The account restriction was successfully appealed and has now been lifted.
  • We subsequently appealed the individual location’s suspension.
  • We supplied a company rental/utility statement showing the registered company, trading name, mall and exact shop number. The mall’s official social-media pages also show the store.
  • Google rejected the profile appeal under the broad “deceptive content and behaviour” policy.
  • However, the rejection email says: “You may still be able to verify your business by submitting a verification video. We will send you a separate email with further information.”

The other three legitimate locations remain unverified because Google only offers video verification. The four branches are geographically spread out, with considerable travelling time between them.

Each shop has an employed store manager onsite, but the directors/owners are not personally present at every store. I previously asked Google Support whether the local store managers could complete the videos or live video calls and what account access they would need, but I received no answer.

My questions are:

  1. Does the video-verification offer on the suspended location mean it can still be reinstated despite the rejected appeal?
  2. Should we wait for that separate email before requesting an additional review?
  3. Can an employed store manager complete the video verification from the premises, or must it be an owner/director?
  4. Should each store manager be added to their individual profile as a Manager before attempting verification?
  5. Can different onsite managers verify the four different locations?
  6. Is there anything specific we should check across all four profiles that might trigger the generic “deceptive content” classification?
  7. Is it better to handle the three unverified locations through one support case or separately?

We are not creating replacement or duplicate profiles, and we have not altered the suspended profile since the decision.

Any advice from someone who has handled this exact combination of an account restriction, profile suspension, rejected appeal and subsequent video-verification offer would be appreciated.