r/googlebusinessprofile

Hello, I have two GMB profiles right now. I’ll rename the companies and industries but say one is Longview Plumbers and the other is Dallas Plumbers. Most of my leads come in from SEO and map packs. I want to start another called Houston Plumbers. My Longview location has a physical location with signs. My Dallas Location doesn’t it’s just a service area and Houston Location will be the same. Can I create a 3rd GMB profile without fear of penalty?

If it does penalize me. How am I suppose to operate a company called Dallas Plumbers if I want to service Houston?

When I google my business my profile does not show up. Customers tell me they can’t find it to leave reviews. When I log into my Google profile it looks like everything is fine. What might be causing this problem and how do I fix it?

My Google Business Profile review count is actively dropping right now. Just 3 hours ago, my shop had 106 reviews, and now it has dropped down to 94.
What makes it frustrating is that other competitor shops in my local niche still have all their reviews intact, but my profile is taking a major hit. All of these were genuine reviews from real clients who came to my shop.
Is Google running a new spam filter update or sweep right now? Has anyone seen a sudden drop like this restored automatically, or do I need to file an official appeal?

I got a call from a suspicious number, decided to answer it. It was an Ai bot that told me 'your Google profile is at risk of suspension. Press 2 to connect with a rep to reinstate your profile.'

I've had no prior emails from Google, no written warnings, nothing from Google prior to this. I thought - ok this call is obviously a scam. And I am so tired of these people spam calling me for my info. So I think 'you know what - ok i'll press 2'. I do, tell them off - and say that they should be ashamed of themselves. Then hung up.

Cut to two minutes later and I get an official email saying my Google Business account was suspended.

I've had literally zero communication with Google before this. Did they suspend me for going off off on their rep? Is that a thing? I'm still not convinced the timing isn't just an insane coincidence - wouldn't you get something in writing before getting a call??

I am always extremely cautious of making changes to my Google Business Profile because I had it suspended for months last year after making a totally acceptable business address change. But Google recently changed me from "Real Estate Agent" to "Real Estate Agency" and I am trying to figure out what I should do.

From a search perspective, if it increases my business, I don't care. But if it reduces where I show up (especially in AI citations) because people usually look for an individual and not a company, I want to switch it back. So my first question is - does anyone have concrete data on whether it's better for traffic/clicks/findability to be listed as a real estate agency vs real estate agent?

I am of course pretty concerned about going against the almighty Google and changing it back (especially so soon) so my second question is - what exact steps should I take to change it back if I was going to? Do I contact support and tell them so they can do it? Do I do it myself and hope they don't suspend me?

Any insight, especially from other Realtors, would be appreciated.

Here's something most people don't realize when Google suddenly removes their reviews:

Unfortunately. Many Google Business Profile owners will right away click on the option to appear and this is wrong.

If you appeal right away while your customers or clients are still leaving reviews, Google will look at your profile, see all those new reviews coming in, and think "See? This business is still getting a flood of suspicious reviews." They will reject your appeal instantly. You're basically giving them the opportunity and fresh proof to ban your reviews for good.

You gotta pause and do some detective work first. Here's what I'd do if I were you:

Step 1: Just wait 2 to 3 days.

Seriously. Do nothing. Log into your Google Business dashboard and check if those missing reviews are still there but just hidden. If they're still in your dashboard, they're just in Google's waiting room. Give it a few days.

Step 2: Play detective (try to be a good one. If you can't, ask for help first.)

Look at the reviews that disappeared. Ask yourself:

• Did all of them mention my full name or my business name?
• Did they all use really similar words like "great service" or "highly recommend"?
• Did they come from people who might have been on the same Wi-Fi network?

Find the common thread. That's your clue.

Step 3: Tell your customers to STOP writing reviews right now.

Send a quick message saying "Hold off on writing that review for now. I'll let you know when." You need your profile to look calm, not like a review factory.

Step 4: Gather your proof.

Take screenshots of the reviews. Write down customer names and details. Get your photos ready. Build a simple folder of evidence.

Step 5: Appeal just ONE review.

Don't appeal all of them at once. Pick the most detailed, honest one. Explain in your appeal that you found the pattern, you paused all new requests, and you have proof. If that one comes back, the others usually follow automatically.

The appeal is the last step, not the first. Investigate first, fix the problem, then appeal. That's how you actually win this thing.

Good luck! Let us know how it goes.

Every few weeks someone in a business group asks "can I just offer a discount for a review" and every time the answer is no, not really — Google's policy is pretty clear that paying/incentivizing reviews in any form (discount, freebie, entry into a draw) is against the rules, and can get a listing suspended if reported.

But businesses that genuinely have great review numbers aren't doing anything against policy. They're just doing two boring things really well:

1. They ask at the exact moment someone's happy, not after.

Most businesses ask for a review the wrong way — a follow-up email or text hours or days later. By then the customer's already moved on with their day. The emotional high that made them want to say something nice is gone, so either they don't bother, or the review ends up generic ("good service, would recommend").

2. They remove every bit of friction between "yes I'll do it" and actually doing it.

Saying "leave us a review" makes someone hold a task in their head for later — search your business, find the review tab, write something. Most people mean it when they say yes and still never get around to it, not because they didn't care, but because remembering to do something later is just harder than doing it right now.

A QR code at the counter, a link texted right as they're walking out, whatever removes the "remember to do this" step — that's the actual lever. Nothing to do with money changing hands.

Curious what's worked for other people here. Anyone tried anything besides timing/friction that actually moved the needle without touching incentive territory?

I have a very strong GMB profile for the last 8 years. It is a niche mobile auto repair business with 620+ 5 star reviews. The address that I use for my GMB profile is no longer my address, though i've been using it for years without issue. Its in the middle of the city I service, so it was a great location/pin for google maps proximity.

Lately there have been other companies that have copied my niche service business and their GMB address/locations all surround mine.

Even though I have double or triple the reviews, years in business, and most active GMB profile, those profiles shade me out....If you're in certain areas of my city and search for the service, I won't show up in the map pack because the smaller companies are ranking higher simply based on location/proximity to the search.

I'd like to move my physical GMB address to the southern side of my city. It is where I live, and it is where most of the customers that I want are located.

I'd rather not use my home address for the business profile location, and I'd prefer not to be listed as a service area business as I've heard that kills exposure.

anyone have suggestions for me? Has anyone moved a strong established profile from a visible address to a home/hidden address?

Any way to safely use a virtual address/office....Theres an office park with a virtual address exactly where I'd like to have my map pin...that would be ideal

It sucks searching for your business at your own home and not even showing up - especially when you were the original business and have triple the reviews.

i almost got done setting up a google profile after a while of procrastinating. finally when i got to it i had to make a video of my space, thing is I do have a workshop but i don’t have an office like space as described in he google profile guidelines

can someone help me out this, a lil afraid of posting up a video of the wrong thing and being at the risk of my brand being flagged

We all know Google doesn't want home addresses showing on Google business profile

However, if they have a permanent sign, can the address show? Or is there a zero tolerance for home addresses showing overall

Hi All,

Company recently purchased another business but has since REBRANDED and RESTRUCTURED. It's an entirely new business and entity. But the old google profile remained.

Old google profile has dozens of bad reviews. We've reported them and some have since been removed. I've tried explaining to support that it's a new business, and therefore we should be able to have the reviews wiped but to no success.

Does anybody know a method to make this work? Any human google reps I can reach out to?

TLDR: New business purchased then rebranded. want to remove bad reviews, not working. Help.

Has anyone else had a terrible experience with Google Business Profile support?

I made a simple mistake with my business category and I’m just trying to correct it. I’ve already submitted official documents and explained the issue multiple times, but I keep getting generic replies that don’t actually address the problem.

When I try opening another case, they just tell me to go back to the original email thread. It honestly feels impossible to get an actual person to properly look at the issue.

Has anyone managed to get through to a real Google support agent or escalate a case successfully?

I’m trying to get customers to order directly from my website, but when they search for my business on Google, the profile often suggests DoorDash instead. I already added my website link to the profile, yet the “Order Online” button still points to DoorDash.

I know Google sometimes auto‑links to delivery partners, but I want my own site to be the primary option. Has anyone figured out how to remove or replace these third‑party links? Is there a way to request Google to feature my website instead?

Any advice or steps that worked for you would be greatly appreciated.

I want to recommend my clients to legally change their business name in order to help with GBP ranking. The name currently is similar to "ABC Concepts" and I'd like it to be less generic and more industry focused, like for example "ABC Plumbing Concepts" or ABC Concepts Plumbing Service"

I think the name having little to no relation to the business they are actually in is hurting their ranking.

However, we JUST got their address verified after a long fight, and my concern is that changing the name now will just throw us into reverification. Any advice on this?

EDIT: I am aware of the mistake of not foreseeing the need for a namechange & doing it prior. Hindsight 20/20 I guess... Thank you for your candor in advance!

I own a service area business and have a pretty strong GMB already. I heard a lot of people say that having a physical pin is really beneficial for SEO. Is it worth renting a virtual office in the heart of my city and setting the pin there or can I do it on my apartment even though it’s a few miles further than the center? Also, is having a pin on the outskirts of the city better than remaining a service area business? Any insight or suggestions are appreciated.

Has anyone actually ever received useful support from them?

Every time I have an issue, they make me fill out loads of info about the business, write a detailed description of the issues I'm having and then you get some dumb as sh!t, canned reply like "From the info you shared, we're not sure of your exact issue".

I recently stayed at an all inclusive hotel and noticed something pretty strange with their Google reviews.

Staff were actively approaching people standing in the bar queues when they had their phones out, asking “can I show you something?” and then, once they had the phone in their hands, asking if they could write the review themselves. They would then leave a review asking for top scores and often mention the employee by name.

I went along with it at the time because it's honestly pretty uncomfortable to say no when an employee is standing there asking you.

Afterwards I looked through the hotel's Google reviews and noticed a lot of very similar reviews and a pretty obvious pattern.

I've deleted the review they wrote using my account, so I can't report that one anymore.

I've tried finding a way to report the business itself to Google, but everything I find is for incorrect business information, not review manipulation.

Does anyone know how I can actually report this to Google? Any help would be appreciated.