What Happens If You Delete Your Google My Business Page?

Immediate Steps To Recover Your Deleted GMB Page

If your Google Business Profile page has been deleted, you should immediately file for reinstatement with Google. The sooner you do this, the better. When you are filing for reinstatement, you’ll want to have the Google Maps URL with the CID. A CID is a Google CID (Customer ID Number), which is a unique identifier Google assigns to a specific businesses entity [learn more]. This will help Google identify your lost Google Business Profile. If you are unable to find the CID after the page has been deleted, a software like SEMRush or Bright Local should be saved, if you were tracking your local keywords. If you don’t have the CID, you can still attempt to file for the reinstatement.

Once you’ve filed for reinstatement, you should hear back from Google within 24-48 hours. The response from Google should add more context and point you in the right direction. Some pages get deleted accidentally. Others get deleted due to a suspension. There are a lot of scenarios that come into play.

You may not receive the answer you were hoping for after filing for reinstatement. For example, your page may have been suspended and then subsequently deleted. If you are not able to reclaim your page after the reinstatement verdict, create an account via the Local Search Forum. This is a great community of local SEO experts that can help identify an issue while proposing solutions. You can contact The Media Captain as well.

Continue reading my blog to find out the different scenarios your Google Business Profile could have been deleted in the first place.

Scenarios of Deleted Google Business Profile

I’ve seen many ways that Google Business Profiles have been deleted. Below are a few examples:

• Disgruntled employees deleting GMB pages
• Deleting a Gmail account which has ownership of the GMB page
• Well-meaning employees accidentally removing the account with ownership of the page
• Pages suspended for spammy posting techniques
• And more

Deleted Gmail Account

When the Gmail account associated as the owner of a GMB page is deleted, the page is not transferred to another user. Instead, the page is effectively released, and it becomes unclaimed. 

This is why it’s so important to have the proper people within your organization as the owners of your Google Business Profile. Email accounts often get deleted after an employee leaves. .

Even if you were to restore the original Google user email account, GMB ownership access is lost. At this point in time, you would want to file for reinstatement following the steps referenced above.

Note: Deleted Google accounts can only be recovered within a short period after deletion (~30 days). After this point, the account and its data are no longer recoverable. 

Users Making Changes 

If you are suddenly unable to find your Google My Business listing, double-check your GMB dashboard to see if it is listed there and that you still have manager access. 

Multiple user accounts can manage a single Google My Business listing, which means that other users could make a change without your knowledge. Check with your team to see if user permissions have changed or anyone updated the page’s information. If you no longer have access to the dashboard, it is time to find out who does.

Suspended Google My Business Pages 

It’s possible to make a mistake that violates Google’s guidelines, which can cause your business to lose visibility on the map or even get removed entirely from the listings. Your Google My Business page can be suspended for a wide variety of violations, as listed in the Google My Business Guidelines. If your page is suspended for suspicious activity, it will no longer appear in the search results. 

Review the Google My Business page’s status as well as the profile information to ensure it’s accurate, truthful, and follows all GMB guidelines. Once any necessary changes have been made, you can file for reinstatement. 

Removed Listing 

If a user on the GMB dashboard clicks “Remove Listing,” everything stays the same in the public search results and map listings; However, that user loses control over the page. See Google’s instructions if you want to intentionally remove your ability to manage a Google My Business listing.

If access to a listing is removed from all users in your organization, you need to reclaim the GMB listing manually. 

To reclaim the listing, you will have to go through the normal postcard verification process to restore your management access, which can take time. 

Auditing Your Google Business Profile 

Users can now make edits to a Google Business Profile. You should always be auditing your business profile to ensure the information is accurate. Inaccurate and misleading information can lead to issues down the road. 

I highlighted below the area below where users can make edits to your business profile.

These “suggested” changes are reviewed by Google and can go live on your page without your approval. That is why it is essential to routinely check your GMB dashboard to catch any pending changes before they go live. 

• Open, temporarily closed, or permanently closed
• Business hours
• Phone number
• Business categories
• And more

What If My Page Can’t Be Reclaimed? 

If you are unable to reclaim your page, you may have to create a new Business Profile from scratch. While this may not be the ideal scenario, I put together an Google Business Profile Optimization Checklist so you can get your page back up and running with a strong foundation.

Need More Help Recovering A Google My Business Page?

Hopefully you’re able to reclaim your Google Business Profile by following the steps above. If not, you should follow our optimization checklist when creating a new page from scratch. 

If you need help with your local SEO, don’t be shy to contact The Media Captain. We have over a decade of experience in helping businesses improve their local visibility on Google!