How to write a Google Business Profile reinstatement appeal

There is plenty written about where the appeals form is. There is almost nothing about what to put in it, which is the part that decides the outcome.

The single most useful thing to understand: an appeal is not an argument that the suspension was unfair. It is a claim that a specific guideline is now being met, with evidence. An appeal that does not name a guideline gives the reviewer nothing to check.

Before you write anything

Fix the actual problem first, in the real world. An appeal submitted while the breach is still true is a declined appeal, and declined appeals make the next one slower.

If you do not yet know which guideline you were breaching, stop here and work through the four causes first. Everything below assumes you know.

The evidence: two or three, not ten

Quality over quantity, and one hard requirement: the business name and address on every document must match the profile you are appealing. A lease in a slightly different trading name is not supporting evidence, it is a second problem.

• A utility bill or lease at the address, in the business name.
• A photograph of exterior signage showing the business name on the building.
• Business registration or licence documentation.
• For a service area business: vehicle signage, branded uniform, and your licence or registration.

Three strong documents beat ten weak ones. A reviewer working through a queue reads the strongest thing you sent, and burying it under seven screenshots does not help you.

What the appeal should say

Short. Factual. Name the guideline, state what was wrong, state what you changed, point at the evidence. No history of the business, no expression of frustration, no request for sympathy.

Mill Road Plumbing, 3/210 Mill Road, Chermside.

The profile previously displayed a residential
address with hours of 7am to 6pm. We are a mobile
plumbing business and nobody was present at that
address during those hours, which does not meet the
requirement for a displayed address to be staffed.

We have hidden the address and set service areas
covering the suburbs we work in. Hours now reflect
when our phone is answered by a person.

Attached: business registration, plumbing licence
12345, and a photograph of vehicle signage.

Mill Road Plumbing, 3/210 Mill Road, Chermside.

The profile name was "Mill Road Plumbing Brisbane
24/7 Emergency". That is not our real-world business
name and it does not meet the naming guideline.

The name is now "Mill Road Plumbing", which matches
our signage, our invoices, our licence and our
website. All four have been updated to agree.

Attached: photograph of exterior signage, business
registration, and an invoice showing the name.

Both are under a hundred words. Both name the guideline, admit the breach plainly, describe a change that has already happened, and list evidence a person can check in under a minute. That is the entire job.

What sinks an appeal

• Arguing the suspension was unfair. Whether or not it was, there is no field for it and it displaces the information that would help.
• Not naming a guideline, so there is nothing specific to verify.
• Documents whose name or address does not match the profile.
• Describing a change you intend to make rather than one you have made.
• Editing the profile while the appeal is open, which delays the review.
• Submitting a second appeal because the first is taking a while.

If it is declined

1. 01Read the reason given. It usually points at the guideline still being breached rather than at your writing.
2. 02Assume something is still true. A decline is far more often a second breach you did not spot than a misjudged review.
3. 03Check the guidelines you did not appeal on: name, address, hours, categories. Fix whichever is still wrong.
4. 04Appeal once more, naming the new thing you have corrected rather than restating the first appeal.
5. 05If the address is the sticking point and you cannot staff it, the honest answer is a service area setup rather than a better appeal.

If the underlying cause was your business name, this covers why it happened and how to unwind it. If it was the address, service area or street address settles the correct setup before you appeal.