When Google Decides You No Longer Exist

Back in November, I logged in as usual, only to discover my Google Business Profile had been suspended. My listing was gone. My years of reviews had disappeared. In the digital world, it felt like someone had pulled the plug on my identity.

I have been trading for more than a decade, I am registered at Companies House, my 100% 5-star reviews were written over time by real people I have served and supported. Yet in an instant, it looked as though none of it existed.

That is when the stress kicked in.

Trying to Fix Something You Cannot See

The Google Business Profile dashboard can be maddening. You cannot speak to anyone. You cannot explain yourself. You certainly cannot ask the one question you most want answered: Why?

Instead, you sit in a queue of unhelpful, copy and paste AI-generated replies - that do not acknowledge what you have submitted or what you are going through. There is no human acknowledgement. No guidance. Just a sense that you are shouting into a void.

After jumping through hoops and submitting documents, I was reinstated. Relief lasted less than 24 hours before I was suspended again.

No explanation. No reason. The cycle simply began again.

Guessing the Cause, Because Google Won't Tell You

The truth is, Google will never tell you what triggered it. So you are left guessing.

Perhaps someone maliciously marked me as closed or non existent. Sadly, I know from my clients this happens more often than most people realise.

Or perhaps Google’s algorithms decided I was a duplicate because of the number of new, similarly named listings that have recently appeared locally. I've previously had several clients go through this.

Service based industries are regular suspension targets too. Web designers, in particular, often fall foul of Google’s expectations around physical premises. Yet I run a dedicated home office where I meet clients. I switched my profile to a Service Area listing, as advised. Still, I was yet again suspended.

As if things were not strange enough, an old domain I once owned got bought by a scammer. They copied an old client site from 'Wayback Machine', complete with my buisness name in the footer, then pointed all the links to gambling pages. I reported it and it was quickly taken down, but things like this can confuse Google. Suddenly my name appears on a dodgy site I have nothing to do with, and their systems do not know who to trust until a human looks at it.

So I'm left guessing mutiple possible reasons - and Google refuse to help - or tell you which one!

The Part That Really Stings

The injustice is hard to ignore.

I see local Google Business listings that absolutely should not be there. Duplicate tactics, questionable setups, and fake reviews remain untouched. Meanwhile, my genuine business with history, reputation and trust markers everywhere is erased without warning.

Looking Ahead

Despite the frustration, I am optimistic. I have submitted Companies House documents, proof of domain ownership dating back a decade, certified bank statements and evidence of my trading history. Once a human reviews it, I expect this will get resolved, with human intervention, Google’s internal trust markers usually increase, and hopefully this saga will become something I can look back on rather than live through.

Something Needs to Change!

This experience has highlighted something bigger. The Google Business Profile system is deeply flawed. It is too easy for fake listings to appear, too easy for bad actors to remove legitimate businesses, and too easy for established companies to be suspended without clarity or recourse.

A premium verification system would make far more sense.

Real businesses could submit official documentation, be reviewed by a human and receive a verified badge. That would stop unwarranted suspensions and give customers confidence in the legitimacy of what they see.
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