How To Appeal a Law Firm Google Business Profile (GBP) Suspension

Law Firm’s Google Business Profile (GBP) pages are identical to other business types, but Google treats attorney listings completely different than other businesses.

Below we’ll cover why a Google Business Profile (GBP) gets suspended, and how to fix it.

Note: You only get two chances from the GBP dashboard to appeal your suspension. We have an in-house Google Business Profile “Product Expert” who specializes in law firms. We have assisted with hundreds of suspensions for Marketing Agencies and Law Firms. If you aren’t sure how to navigate your appeal of have failed to reinstate your GBP, contact us for help.

Why was my Law Firm's Google Business Profile (GBP) Suspended?

Unfortunately, Google’s communication is very bad, and they will not tell you precisely why your Google Business Page was suspended.

Usually, you’ll receive a message such as:

  • “Content that violates our policies on deceptive content and behavior isn’t allowed. Deceptive content intentionally misleads or deceives others.”
  • “This location has been suspended due to quality issues.”
  • “Your access has been suspended because this profile doesn’t follow the guidelines. Edit your business info, and learn how to regain access.”
  • “Your Business Profile on Google has been suspended because it was flagged for suspicious activity.”
  • “Your Business Profile has been suspended due to a policy violation.”

When we look at a suspended page, it’s usually pretty easy to spot WHY Google suspended the page.

The top reasons Google suspends law firm’s GBPs are:

  • You are using a virtual office, such as a Regus shared office.
  • You made multiple edits to your GBP in a short period of time.
  • A competitor flagged your listing as spam via Google’s “suggest an edit” function.
  • Google occasionally suspends legitimate Personal Injury Attorney listings.

How To Appeal / Reinstate a Suspended Google Business Profile (GBP):

We reinstate suspended Google Business Profiles on a case-by-case basis because there are many variables.

We’ve successfully reinstated pages with just a copy of a lease. Sadly, the documentation needed depends on what rep happens to review your request and what kind of mood they’re in. The more documentation, the better.

We recommend the following for law firms:

  1. A <60sec video of your office. The video must start outdoors. Show neighboring businesses and street signs if possible, then enter the building, then show any signage possible (in and/or out), then show you unlocking your office door with your key, then show the office, business cards with your address. Share the MP4 video file in Google Drive with correct permissions.
  2. Business license (if applicable to this location).
  3. Lease.
  4. Utility bills showing this address.
  5. IRS or Secretary of State paperwork showing your business name (if you were suspended for law firm name) OR your DBA (if you are using a DBA). (This depends on the reason for the suspension.)
appeal approved

Notes:

  • If you were using a shared office, or a virtual office, you’ve been busted. You’ll need to lease a real office prior to starting any reinstatement request. The good news is, you can lease a new office, update the address, then begin the reinstatement process.
  • Do not begin the reinstatement process without ALL documentation. We recently helped a Georgia Personal Injury Law Firm who owned their building and had been practicing out of it for 45yrs. The people approving or denying your reinstatement request are lazy and don’t care.
  • If you fail two reinstatement requests, future reinstatement requests will almost certainly be ignored.
  • Once starting the reinstatement request, do not follow up. You must wait for Google to get to you. This usually takes a week, but if they have been cracking down on legitimate businesses they can be backed up by 1 – 2 months. There is no way to expedite this. But in general, reinstatement takes under 1 week.

FAQ:

Historically, shared offices worked great for “satellite locations” for law firms, especially back when Google mailed out postcards to verify locations. A few law firms are still using these shared offices. Their days are numbered. Once a location is “burned” it will no longer work.

These locations are very problematic, even if you have a real office. Basically, Google sees the address is associated with a virtual office and will suspend these listings, even with proper documentation. Google flags virtual offices since they’re often used for spam listings, so Google has lower trust in businesses located in a virtual office. It’s not uncommon for businesses with a legitimate dedicated office in a virtual office to have their listings suspended. The listing can be un-suspended by sharing proof with Google.

Google may think you are not actually located at the location you’re in, deceiving users. This wording is very confusing.

The suspension reasons make no sense. Google provides incorrect advice on appeals. There’s no good support. The appeals process occurs in India. There’s zero communication once an appeal is started. Appeals are rejected with no reason. It’s just very confusing. Ask the CEO.

Personal Injury Attorneys are notorious for spamming Google. We’ve personally had thousands of fake listings suspended.

We’ve done this hundreds of times and know what they want to see.

Contact Us for Assistance.

 We have successfully appealed hundreds of listings for end users, SEO agencies, and law firms, and our Product Expert can escalate issues to Google.

Here’s what a successful reinstatement looks like.

We specialize in Local SEO issues ranging from ranking problems, review problems, competitor spam, and appealing suspensions. 

Contact us for GBP assistance.