First, the name: Google My Business is now Google Business Profile
Google My Business was renamed Google Business Profile. The listing itself did not change, but the place you edit it did. You now manage a profile from Google Search or Google Maps while signed in, or from the google business profile manager screens if you look after several locations. Old guides that tell you to open the “My Business app” send people looking for a tool that is no longer there, and that alone explains a fair share of requests for help with Google My Business that begin “I cannot find my profile”.
Before you fix anything, write down which Google account owns the profile. Half the problems below start with nobody knowing.
Problems 1 and 2: lost access and failed verification
- You cannot get into the profile. The usual cause is that a former employee, web designer or agency created it under their own account. Search for the business while signed in to your Google account and request access; the current owner is asked to approve it. If they have gone quiet, Google offers further steps to claim the profile. Once you are back in, add a second owner from a different account so this never happens again.
- Verification will not complete. Google may offer a postcard, a phone call, an email or a short video showing the premises, and it chooses which ones you get. If a postcard has not arrived, check the address format matches what your post office uses, then request a new one rather than editing the profile in between, since edits can restart the process. For video verification, show the signage, the inside of the premises and something that proves you run it, such as tools or stock, in one continuous take.
If you are still at the stage of working out how to set up a business profile from scratch, get the name, address and category right before you request verification. Changing them while verification is pending is the most common reason it stalls.
Problems 3 and 4: suspended profiles and duplicates
- The profile is suspended. Suspensions usually follow a guideline problem: keywords added to the business name, a virtual office or PO box used as an address, a service-area business showing a home address, or a sudden change of name, address and category together. Fix the cause first, then submit a reinstatement request with proof the business is real at that location: a utility bill, a business registration, photos of the signage. Do not open a new profile while the old one is suspended.
- There are two listings for one business. Duplicates appear after a move, a rebrand or a second person creating a profile. They split your reviews and confuse Google about which one to show. Search Maps for your address and phone number, then report the extra listing as a duplicate. If both are verified under accounts you control, ask Google support to merge them so the reviews move to the one you keep.
Problems 5 and 6: edits rejected or changed by Google
- Your edits stay “under review” or get rejected. Google checks edits to the name, address, category and hours more strictly than others. Make one change at a time, keep the wording plain and make sure your website says the same thing. A name edit that adds a city or a service is rejected for the same reason it would get a profile suspended.
- Details change without you touching them. Anyone can suggest an edit on Maps, and Google sometimes applies suggestions or data from other sources on top of yours. Look for the notice of updates from Google in the profile, reject the wrong ones, and correct the source: an old directory listing with your previous phone number will keep feeding the mistake back in.
A weekly two-minute look at the live profile catches both. Check name, hours, phone, website link and primary category against what you know is true.
Problems 7 and 8: not showing on Maps, and missing reviews
- The profile does not show up when you search. First rule out the obvious: it is verified, not suspended, and you are searching for the right thing. A profile that shows for its own name but not for “plumber” has a relevance or prominence problem, not a technical one, and that is a google business search engine optimization job. Start with the primary category, services and description, which we ranked by impact in 12 fixes for Google Business search engine optimization. Remember also that your position depends on where the searcher is standing, so “not showing” from one phone can mean “showing fine” two streets away.
- Reviews have disappeared or are not appearing. Google filters reviews it thinks break its policies, and it often does this in waves. Reviews left from the same device or network as the business, reviews collected all at once, and reviews that were incentivised are the usual casualties. You cannot restore a filtered review, but you can keep the flow steady: ask every customer at the end of the job with a direct link, and never offer a discount for a review.
While you are on reviews, keep replying. A calm, specific response to reviews shows customers the profile is looked after, and the Google review reply generator has templates for every star rating if you are short of words.
Problem 9: nobody has time to keep it up
The quietest problem is the most common one, and it rarely gets called a request for help with Google My Business at all. The profile was set up properly two years ago, and since then nobody has posted, replied to reviews or noticed that the hours are wrong over the holidays. Nothing is broken, but the profile slowly loses ground to competitors who are active.
The fix is a routine, not a one-off clean-up. Give one person the profile, and give them a short weekly list:
- Reviews: reply to every new one, and handle one and two star reviews within a day.
- Details: check hours, phone and any updates from Google.
- Posts and photos: one post and two or three real photos.
- Ranking: one scan of the same keyword and grid, compared with last week.
If you manage several locations, this is where a tool earns its place. NearPinn puts every location in one workspace, drafts or auto-posts review replies by star rating, schedules posts and reports searches, calls and direction requests per profile. The full list is under features.
When to contact Google support, and what to bring
Most of the problems above can be fixed from the profile itself, and the official help with Google My Business, now the Business Profile help centre, covers the steps in detail. Contact Google support when you need something only Google can do: merging verified duplicates, reinstating a suspended profile after your appeal was rejected, or recovering ownership when the claim process has failed.
Before you get in touch, have these ready:
- The exact business name, address and phone number as they appear on the profile.
- The Google account email that owns or should own it.
- The link to the profile on Google Maps.
- Proof of the business at that address: registration documents, a utility bill, photos of the signage and premises.
- A short, dated list of what changed and when, including any edits you made.
That last item is the one people skip and the one that speeds things up most. Keep a simple change log for every profile you look after, so you can say exactly what happened and when.
After the fix: check it on the map
Fixing the problem is half the job. The other half is confirming the profile is back where customers can find it. Searching from your own desk will not tell you, because you are standing in your strongest spot. Scan a geogrid for your main keyword instead and compare it with a scan from before the problem, if you have one.
The free Google Maps rank checker guide explains how a grid of up to 13×13 points shows your position block by block, and the how to rank higher on Google Maps guide covers what to do once the profile is healthy again. Give relevance fixes two to three weeks before you judge them, and act on the trend across several scans, not on one.
Frequently asked questions
- Is Google My Business the same as Google Business Profile?
- Yes. Google renamed Google My Business to Google Business Profile, and you now edit the profile from Google Search, Google Maps or the Business Profile Manager. Your listing, reviews and history carried over; only the name and the editing screens changed.
- Why does Google keep changing my business details?
- Google accepts edits from users and from other sources, and it applies the ones it trusts more than yours. Check the profile every week, reject wrong suggestions from the edit screen, and make sure your website, signage and other listings all show the same name, address and phone number.
- How do I get access to a profile someone else set up?
- Search for the business while signed in to your Google account and use the option to request access. The current owner gets the request and can approve it. If they do not reply, Google gives you further steps to claim the profile. Once you are in, add a second owner so access never depends on one person again.
- My profile is suspended. Should I create a new one?
- No. A new profile for the same business usually ends up suspended too, and it splits your reviews. Fix whatever broke the guidelines, collect proof of the real business, and submit a reinstatement request for the original profile.