Google Business Profile: What Account Restriction Is and How to Fix It

In 2014, Google launched a product called Google Meu Negócio (Google My Business), designed to allow businesses and public institutions to register their information on the world’s largest search engine. Through this platform, essential business data such as address, phone number, business hours, and photos became publicly visible, creating a direct connection between companies and potential customers.

Over time, the platform evolved and is now known as Google Business Profile. While the core functionality remains the same, the system now places even greater emphasis on public reputation and user trust.

Public reputation and ranking criteria

The foundation of Google Business Profile is a company’s public reputation, built through customer reviews. Users can share their experiences and assign a rating from 1 to 5, where 1 represents a very poor experience and 5 represents an excellent one.

Google calculates the business’s overall rating using a simple arithmetic average, displayed with two decimal places. If the third decimal place is equal to or greater than five, the second decimal is rounded up.

Businesses with low ratings tend to appear at the bottom of search results. Because of this, some business owners resort to fake engagement practices, such as reviewing their own business or incentivizing third parties with gifts, discounts, or benefits in exchange for positive reviews.

These practices directly violate Google’s policies, which are based on accuracy, authenticity, and reliability of information. As a result, many profiles are suspended, restricted, or permanently banned from the platform.

Account restriction on Google Business Profile

An account restriction is a penalty applied to a user account due to violations of Google’s policies. However, it is important to note that this type of punishment is not always fair or intentional. In many cases, restrictions are triggered automatically by Google’s systems, even when there is no clear abuse.

When an account is restricted, the user loses access to Google Business Profile and is no longer able to:

• Manage business profiles

• Act as owner or administrator

• Edit or maintain company information

In addition, all business profiles associated with the restricted account are typically suspended for verification, so Google can assess the legitimacy and existence of the business.

Recovery possibilities and limitations

Restricted or suspended accounts can be recovered, provided they are eligible for appeal. However, there are situations in which appeal is not available. In these cases, the profile is permanently banned, leaving legal action as the only possible path for dispute.

Given the complexity of this process, the most strategic decision is often to hire a specialist with proven experience in Google Business Profile recovery. Marketing agencies that focus specifically on this area—such as Vasconcelos Marketing & Comunicação—handle these cases frequently and understand Google’s internal review logic and documentation requirements.

That said, it is crucial to be realistic: not every profile can be recovered. When there are clear and repeated policy violations, the restriction is legitimate. On the other hand, Google does make mistakes, and there are many cases in which profiles are successfully reinstated—even when the user made procedural errors.