I hope someone can help me. I have recently gotten my Google business page back after doing an appeal to verify my address. Everything was fine until I got a phone call a few days ago that my business page needed some kind of verification and I needed to call back and verify. I looked this up and it revealed that this is a very popular scam. So I ignored the call. The next day, my Paige was down, suspended because of some kind of content violation when I hadn’t edited the page at all since it’s been reinstated. Just this morning I got another call. I have the transcript from the call and I’m wondering how I contact Google to let them know that this has happened to me.

I didn’t engage with the caller. I gave the voice message transcript.

Right now I'm trying to make a call to the Google Business API, but I'm getting a 503 error.

Is anyone else having this problem?

I looked at my GMB profile today and all of the replies to my google reviews are missing. All reviews are showing up as "new" although most are years old. The reviews themselves are not missing. Just my business replies. Any clue what's going on here? Anyone else experiencing this?

Hello, I just noticed today that all of the business replies for our reviews are no longer showing, anyone else seeing this and what could be causing it

So, recently i had a client who wrote me a long ass e-mail complaining about a few things related to the service he got from one of our partners.

Long story short, he was actually lying about the issues he had, and he also did some damage to our partners property.

He came all strong in this e-mail of his and threatened to get all his friends and family members to write bad reviews on all platforms, not only on Google.

I want to protect my company at all costs, i agreed to give him a full refund, to compensate him for any inconveniences.

I did that, and what do you know, 24 hours later, he actually wrote a long negative review, showing the damage he did, as caused by our bad service.

How to deal with this situation?

For sure, reporting it, Google will see it as a real review and not remove it.

I did report it, more than a month ago, but still "under review".

Is there anything else that can be done, except reply to that review and wait for Google's decision?

Regards.

I was helping my cousins basement waterproofing company in South Jersey

Found something weird

Company A 5.0 with 24 reviews position 2
Company B 4.2 with 111 reviews position 7
Company C 5.0 with 13 reviews position 8

All in same city

I thought review count was king

Turns out Google is rewarding something else on the website

I recorded 60 second incognito screen video showing Maps plus the difference on the sites

Video is here https://youtu.be/oxgdb3dv7ng

Difference I saw was:

FAQ block on service page that matches Maps query
Text A Photo block with keyword in file name
Review link that says Text Photos

My test company is 7 reviews and now top 3 vs 150 review guys in same city

Am I crazy or is Google now ranking page layout over review count?

Hi everyone,

I’m hoping someone can help because I’m at a bit of a loss.

I run the social media account for a cafe and we’ve been trying to build up our Google reviews the correct way.

We have a Google review QR code printed beside our till. At the end of a customer’s visit, we have asked our staff to ask customers to please leave a review, something along the lines of;

“If you’d like to, feel free to scan the QR code and leave us an honest Google review.”

We don’t:

• Offer discounts, free food or incentives.
• Tell people to leave 5 stars.
• Tell them what to write.
• Use fake accounts.

These are genuine paying customers who have just visited us.

The problem is that several customers are now getting a message saying their review can’t be published because it has been flagged as “fake engagement.” They’re given the option to submit an appeal.

What confuses me is that Google actually provides businesses with review QR codes and encourages businesses to ask customers for reviews, so I’m struggling to understand what we’re doing wrong. Most customers leave a review while in the cafe using our wifi.

Has anyone else had this happen?

• Is asking customers to scan the QR code while they’re still in the restaurant causing the issue?
• Is it because multiple people are reviewing from the same location?
• Is there anything I should be doing differently?

I’d really appreciate hearing from anyone who’s dealt with this or managed to fix it.

Thanks!

I have already contacted Google support several times and sent a number of emails; however, none of them has worked. In fact, I received an email which stated that my phone number will go live in a couple of days; however, it is already months and it is still not live. Has anyone else gone through a similar situation? If so, how did you get it resolved?

Locksmith category. Been at it 15 years. Phone was ringing pretty well then they sharply dropped off. Anyway to figure out what's happened? Anyone have similar experience at the same time? I'm a SAB address hidden.

My business profile is Diesel Man Mobile Repair and Fleet Services LLC. in Colorado. 

My profile was suspended (I am a service area business) after I had made a post (I posted a picture of a fire truck we worked on). I appealed and they told me the appeal did not get approved. Then I reached out to customer support.

I was then told by customer support that my business was verified and everything should be fine. In the email they sent me they had another business Roof Systems Renovation in Florida listed as mine which I told them that was not my business. The customer service rep Vikas told me it was just a mistake typo.

Up until that point I was still receiving calls from customers. After Vikas handled my profile all calls have completely stopped. The only way I can now find my profile is if I am logged into the business profile. Any other google account can not see my profile. All of the reviews that were also on my profile are gone! I have over 100 5 star reviews and they're all gone now!

Whenever I reach out trying to get answers I just get generic answers from Vikas just telling me "it's being escalated" or "just wait a few days". My business has completely stopped at this point. I do not have a few days to just wait. 

I also reached out to the owner of Roof Systems Renovation and he himself has been dealing with the same issue for over a month now and has also been dealing with Vikas as well. The owner of Roof Systems Renovation has been receiving emails from Vikas with my business name as well.  

Hi All,

This is the 3rd of the Fourth time my business has been attacked by my nearby Competitor. Google has taken down the past few attacks, but it just keeps happening and I have images of my competitor getting spammed with good reviews (both of their dupe accounts) at the same time mine has been spammed with 1 star reviews. I even caught one of the previous accounts from a previous Bot-Wave involved in the attack again (Google didn't ban it for some reason???)

My Competitors Duplicate Businesses are the only one's in the area that have received so many reviews so quickly at the same exact time I've been review Bombed (Yes, those both page's belong to 1 person/company). The 'Mike Flan' account, I have evidence of it being part of a previous 50+ 1 star review bot wave at least once, so I have 0 Idea why Google doesn't just ban the accounts instead of taking down the reviews.

Is there anything I can do here? I obviously want the Bot Reviews taken down, and Google can probably see that they're botted or their IP, or the fact they got so many likes so quickly (which is weird btw for the restoration business)

In the past year we are facing ridiculous amount of fake gmb listings showing up in our area (chimney service) I spoke to other business owners in different states they dace the same e issues sometimes with the same fkae company names.
We tried to use redressal forms and edits but most of them still up.
Any idea on how to deal with it? Someone have experience with this situation?

Hey everyone,

Recently got my handyman profile reinstated after a suspension, but I’m running into a serious technical issue on Google Search and Maps.

When I search my exact branded business name ("Hustle Handyman Services"):

• On the left side of the screen, Google shows my merchant dashboard card ("You manage this profile") and my organic website URL.
• On the right side, the Google Maps Knowledge Panel populates a competitor’s business card instead of mine.

On top of that, my 53 historical reviews didn't carry over during the un-suspend (currently sitting at 2 new reviews from recent clients).

Idk what to do. This is a really hard blow to my family and I already have an active escalation ticket open with Google: Case ID 9-7023000040617.

Is there anyone (or a Google Product Expert) who can advise or help escalate this specific mapping bug so my historical reviews get re-linked and my Knowledge Panel displays correctly and I show back up when people search for a handyman.

thank you so much

Hi everyone,

I own a body piercing studio in Québec, Canada.

My official business name is "Origines Perçage Corporel", it's french, the correct english translation would be "Origins Body Piercing". Google displays the correct french name, but when Google is viewed in english, it changes my business name to "Origin Tattoo & Piercing."

We do not offer tattoo services, and haven't for years, that's why the name doesn't mention tattoo. Still, because of that, I still regularly have customers who calls for tattoo service.

I already contacted Google Business support, but they really aren't of great help. Their email only said that they couldn't understand the problem and help, something like that.

Has anyone successfully corrected an automatically translated business name? Is there a way to escalate this to someone at Google?

Thanks for the help!

JD

What is the best way to do GMB product page for a junk removal company

I keep getting phone calls from 1-833-410-1092 . The call seems to be automated. Caller ID reads Google. At the start of the call they say this call is being recorded. Then it goes on to ask me questions about various products that I might or might not have in stock at my business, how much they cost, etc.. They say they are asking on behalf of a customer on their end. After I've answered a few questions they hang up. There is no way to pause the interaction, like if I'm waiting on other customers I can't say to them please hold.

I can't find out if these are legit calls or not. My Business listing has my shop's phone number, website, & other contact information on it - so why would a customer ask Google to call my business on their behalf instead of calling themselves? Then I was wondering if this might be related to a disability service that Google offers individuals who cannot hear or speak properly, but I can't find out if these calls are legit or not. Has this happened to anyone else?

Hey everyone,

I spend a lot of time engineering B2B reputation management software, so I always keep a close eye on local SEO shifts. The new Gemini integration for Google Business Profiles (GBP) is finally rolling out, and it’s a much bigger deal than just a dashboard update.

Here is the simple breakdown of what’s happening and how you need to adapt:

1. You can update your profile via chat When you link your GBP to your Gemini account, it creates a "Business Notebook." Instead of digging through clunky menus, you just tell the AI: "Update my hours for the holiday" or "Draft a quick post for my new service." Google rewards profiles that are updated frequently, and this removes all the friction from doing it.

2. AI is taking over the Q&A section The old static Q&A is basically dead. Now, when a customer asks a question on Maps or Search, Gemini answers it in real-time. It gets its answers by reading your profile description, your listed services, and your reviews. If your profile is thin, the AI won't know how to sell your business. You need to fill out everything.

3. Reviews are now AI training data Reviews aren't just about star ratings anymore. Gemini scans them to learn what you actually do well. If you want the AI to recommend you for a specific local search, the text in your reviews needs to back it up. (Bonus: Gemini can now read your incoming reviews and instantly draft context-aware replies for you).

The TL;DR action plan: Go to Gemini, link your business account, flesh out every single detail on your profile, and double down on getting descriptive reviews from your customers.

Hey all, I'm building a tool and want a gut-check from people who actually run GBPs before I take it further.

The pattern I keep seeing: a business sets up its Google Business Profile once, then it goes stale. Nobody has time to post weekly, reply to every review, keep hours and photos current, and an inactive profile quietly loses ground in Maps and local search.

What I'm building is an AI agent that handles the ongoing grind: drafts and schedules posts, replies to reviews in your voice (you approve, or let it run), keeps info and photos fresh, and reports what's actually moving views and calls.

I'm not here to pitch. I actually want to know:

- Do you do this manually right now, pay someone, or just… not?

- What would make you trust software with access to your GBP?

- What would make this a no-brainer instead of a nice-to-have?

And if you'd rather try it than talk about it: I'm taking 5 people as pilot design partners. Free for life for those 5, in exchange for honest feedback while I build. Comment or DM and I'll share details, not dropping a link here since I know how this sub feels about that.

Brutal honesty welcome.

I have a verified live GMB listing for a SAB in texas.

I tried twice linking a free Google Sites free website to my profile and twice I got suspended and video verified and then reinstated...

So I gave up trying to use Google Sites website AND YES ALL biz info was matching on website about my biz.

So my Question is can I use Free CANVA OR CARRD free website and link to my GMB without being suspended again???

Hey everyone,

I just wanted to share a quick tactical breakdown of something I’ve been doing recently that is making a massive difference for local service businesses (think plumbers, detailers, landscapers, roofers).

If you own a local business, you already know that Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business) is your absolute lifeline for customer calls. Most people focus entirely on getting 5-star reviews. Reviews are great, but there is a massive blind spot that is silently killing conversion rates: Terrible Imagery.

The Problem: The "Visual Trust" Gap I was analyzing local listings recently and noticed a massive trend. A mobile auto detailer or pressure washer will have a flawless 4.9-star rating with 80 reviews. But when you click their profile, their main cover photo is a dark, blurry, low-res smartphone picture of a dirty tire, a cluttered garage, or a wet truck on a cloudy day.

When a customer is looking to drop $500–$1,500 on a service, they buy with their eyes. If your competitor has crisp, high-end, commercial-grade photos and you have blurry phone shots, they get the click—even if you have more reviews.

How to Fix it in 10 Minutes (For Free) You don’t need to hire a $1,500 commercial photographer. You can completely revamp your visual brand using a basic, free AI stack. Here is the exact pipeline I use to clean up local business photos:

Clean the Clutter: Take your raw smartphone photo of a finished job and run it through a free background remover (like Photoroom or Adobe Express). Isolate the main subject (e.g., the clean sports car or the freshly painted house) and remove the messy background.

Inject Artificial Pixels: Drop that isolated image into a free AI upscaler (like Upscayl or Canva's free enhancer). This sharpens low-light noise and makes a basic phone photo look like it was shot on a DSLR camera.

Environment Swap: Use Canva Magic Edit to place that crisp cutout onto a clean, high-end background (like a bright, sunny suburban neighborhood street instead of a dark driveway).

The transformation is night and day. It turns an amateur phone picture into a high-end asset that commands premium pricing.

Do This Today Take a look at your own Google Business Profile from a customer’s perspective today. If your cover image doesn't scream "premium professional," take 10 minutes to run it through an enhancer.

I want to give back to the community: If you are a local business owner drowning in daily operations and don't have the time to mess with AI software, drop a link to your Google Maps listing or comment your business name/city below.

If I have time today, I will grab one of your worst photos, run it through my AI enhancement pipeline, and send you the "Before & After" completely free so you can upload the high-res version to your profile.

No catch, just trying to help some local business owners out! Let me know what you guys think of this approach.

All The Best - God Bless