10 Fatal Google Business Profile Fails That Will Wreck Your Business

your Google business profile is the most powerful valuable and effective marketing tool for attracting local customers without spending a time but what if I told you it could all vanish in a heartbeat and it will if you're making one of these common mistakes don't say I didn't warn you number one changing several core pieces of information at once be careful when editing certain details on your Google business profile if you make too many changes too quickly your profile might get suspended or need to be verified again this can cause your business to lose visibility online

which is something you definitely want to avoid these core pieces of information are your business name your phone number your address your categories and your website URL if you need to update any of these details do it one at a time make one change then wait a few days before making the next change this helps Google see that the changes are legitimate and not an attempt to manipulate the system if you don't follow this recommendation your profile could get suspended meaning it won't show up in searches until you fix the issue and go through verification

again this process can be timec consuming and frustrating so take it slow and steady to keep your profile safe and visible trust me you don't want to deal with a hassle of a suspended profile number two breaking Google's rules for business addresses Google has strict rules about the business address you can use for your listing if you don't have a physical location or store this is what you need to know using a PO Box address isn't allowed using a UPS box address isn't allowed using a virtual office isn't allowed using a co-working space isn't allowed

unless you rent a dedicated office space the space as permanent signage representing your business customers can visit you at that space you or your employees are there during business hours if you run your business from home you can use your home address as your business address if customers meet you there and you have permanent fixed outside signage if you run a service area business and visit customers at their homes don't display your home address on your listing instead specify the service areas you operate in Breaking these rules can get your listing suspended while you might

get away with it for a while Google will eventually catch up with you so be aware and follow the guidelines number three creating multiple listings for the same business your Google business profile is such a powerful tool it might seem like a good idea to create more than one listing to show up on Google Maps in different areas of your city while this is a smart move you can only do it if the addresses you use follow Google's rules if you have physical locations like beauty salons coffee shops or restaurants each place as a real

address this makes it easy to follow Google's rules and claim a listing for each spot but if you run a service business like being an electrician or plumber and you go to customers homes it's not as easy to claim multiple listings most of these businesses are small and use their home address for one listing which is totally fine but to gain the visibility that multiple listings offer some of them ignore Google's guidelines and use addresses of friends family or employees to create additional listings if you're doing this or thinking about it know that it breaks

Google's rules and even if it's working now Google will eventually find out when that happens all your listings including the real one will be suspended leaving your business hanging high and dry number four a Google account linked to your listing has been suspended as a business owner It's Not Unusual to Grant access to your listing to SEO agencies Freelancers or employees so they can manage your listing while you focus on running your business although the can save you time you need to be careful about who you give access to your listing here is why some

of these SEO agencies Freelancers or even your employees might make too many low quality or irrelevant edits on Google Maps if too many of these edits get denied their account could be flagged as spammers and blacklisted if they manage your listing it could get suspended too and you might not even know why to avoid this log into the Google account you use to manage your business profile click on the three dots in the search interface go to business profile settings then people and access check who has access to your listing and remove anyone who shouldn't

be there like old employees or an SEO agency you no longer work with number five being in a highrisk industry certain industries are known for using Shady tactics and often break many of Google's rules to get an unfair advantage on Google Maps because of this Google applies RoR rules to these industries and might sometimes suspend listings even when businesses have done nothing wrong and follow the rules if you're a locksmith plumber Edge back technician or provide Home Services know that your listing will be watched more closely than others by Google my advice is to always

follow the rules if your listing gets suspended even if you've done nothing wrong it will be easier to get Google to put it back if you have been following their guidelines number six receiving too many Google reviews too fast everyone knows how important Google reviews are but they can be hard to get because of this many business owners take shortcuts like asking friends and family to write reviews or even buying fake ones due to these bad practices and more people trying to cheat the system Google has created a strict review algorithm to find and remove

fake reviews the system also keeps an eye on review activity this means that receiving an unusual usually High number of reviews in a short period of time can raise red flags with Google a sudden surge in reviews might suggest your trying to gain the system and lead to your Google business profile being suspended even if the reviews are real to keep your listing safe ask your customers for reviews steadily through the year don't ask everyone at once and then stop asking remember slow and steady wins the race number seven adding keywords to your business name

if you've watched some of my videos you might have no that I suggest adding the keywords you want to be fan for in your business name this is because your business name is a big ranking factor and can help your listing get to the top of search results unfortunately this is totally against Google's rules and could potentially get your listing suspended I say potentially because Google doesn't really enforce this Rule and I have yet to see a business get suspended just for adding keywords to their name but if a competitor reports you there is a

small risk that Google might take action and suspend your listing to avoid this you can change your business name by filing for a doing business as that includes the keywords you want to rank for once you have your new name update your Google business profile this way even if a competitor reports you your listing will be safe number eight operating exclusively online to claim a Google listing for your business you need to make in-person contact with customers during your stated hours either at your location or theirs if your business only works with customers online you

can't get a listing even if you meet with them bya video conference you might have managed to claim a listing even if your business is online only but don't be surprised if it gets suspended once Google realizes you don't meet customers face to face that's why you shouldn't put too much effort into it if your listing gets suspended Google won't bring it back and all your hard work will be wasted picking a business location where Sim businesses already exists it's common for businesses in the same field to share the same address like multiple law firms

in one building or several real estate agents using their brokerages address especially in big cities like New York or London the problem is that Google likes to show different results so if many businesses use the same category and address Google will only show one or two of them in search results and filter out the rest and before you ask using a sweet number isn't enough to convince Google that the address is different and the filtering will still apply so you might miss out on tons of potential customers to fix this you can do a couple

of things first you can change your listings primary business category to something more specific for example instead of lawyer you could choose divorce lawyer as long as no other business at your address uses that primary category this can help your listing stand out in search results second is to move your business to a different address where no similar businesses operate if you're a real estate agent consider using your home address instead of your brokerages address and set your listing as a service area business number 10 picking the wrong primary category your primary category is the

most important factor for your business to show up on Google Maps that's why it's really important to pick the best category based on what your business offers if you don't you could miss out on a lot of customers although this seems like a simple decision to make for some businesses it can be tough especially if your business fits into several categories for example a dentist can have seven or eight different categories to choose from if you're not sure how to pick the best one here is a quick tip that should help you out ask yourself

what is the most profitable service or product I offer then go to Google Maps and search for that service or product look at the primary category of the top five businesses that show up if the primary category matches yours you've chos the right one if not change it now that you know what you should not do it's time to focus on what you should do to turn your Google business profile into a client magnet in this video right here I go through 50 tips that will transform your Google business profile forever you don't want to

miss this