Google Business: When honesty becomes a disaster!

What happened?

One of the most important things a company can do to reach people via Google is to maintain its Google Business account as well as possible. Yes, you can still be found on Google without a business listing, but you are leaving an important SEO building block unused. I have been represented on Google Business with Freie Grafik Frankfurt since 2014. Since I’m still working for customers in the Rhine-Main area after moving to Bad Hersfeld, I want to keep this account.

I recently went to the backend to update my home address, among other things. I should have left that alone: Entered a new address, pressed “Enter” and bang … “Your Google Business account is blocked.”

Google had identified a “violation of the guidelines” because the new (and actually only private) address was not in the area covered by the offer. Of course, I immediately lodged an objection, which Google immediately rejected.

But how can this problem be solved? Entering a “fun address” in Frankfurt is certainly not a good idea! On Google itself, the solution may be found somewhere in the help section. Anyone who has ever searched for help there knows that it is better to invest the time in a coffee and a piece of cake.

Internet forums are more helpful here – as is so often the case – because there is always someone who has had the same thing happen to them:

“Just remove the address.”

Could it really be that simple? Yes, it could be! After four days of back and forth with Google (plus submitting some official documents), the business account was reactivated.

Now I’m curious to see if the adjustment will affect my ranking, which I’ve been working for for a long time. In recent years, I have always been on the first page of results for the relevant search terms.