Are you utilising your Google Business Profile as much as you could be?

James Hussey

Scenario: You’ve got a fresh cup of coffee and a game plan for the week. You fire up Google and punch in the name of your business … nothing. Your Google Business Profile has been suspended. Poof. Disappeared like a biscuit in a builder’s tea.

For the majority of local businesses, their Google Business Profile isn’t just an ‘additional’ listing. It’s the shop window, the receptionist and the cheerleader for your business. Your Google Business Profile is the difference between someone popping in for a visit, picking up the phone to give you a call or visiting your competitors.

When it’s gone, the leads dry up.

Spoiler alert: 2025 has been a particularly tough year for Google Business Profile suspensions. Numbers are around 40% higher than the previous year. Why?

– Google’s AI system is at an all-time high.
– Service-area businesses (restaurants, pubs, etc.) are being asked to re-validate they’re a real business (again).
– Rule changes are rendering keyword-rich names, dodgy categories and spammy photos as a potential compliance landmine.
– The spam filter is going fishing and catching every dolphin along with the sharks.

Getting reinstated takes time. Common mistakes include sending appeals without any evidence, playing with the Google Business Profile while a review is pending and following out-of-date “tips” from forums when broadband still used the dial-up dance.

Reality is – it’s your job to look after your Google Business Profile and check it regularly. It’s like your car – do you ignore MOTs and oil changes until it conks out? Keep your Google Business Profile compliant, tidy and up to date, and the customers will keep rolling in.

Your Google Business Profile is your shop window in today’s world. The front door to your business. You really don’t want to get locked out.

If you need any assistance optimising your Google Business Profile, please let our team at Engage Web know. We can help you take your digital presence to a new level.

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James Hussey

Digital Marketing Executive at Engage Web

Having once gone to school in the Burnage area of Manchester known for being the childhood home of Noel and Liam Gallagher, “Some Might Say” that James is a “Supersonic” presence within Engage Web, happily turning his hand to “Whatever” tasks his role throws at him.