Google may increase restrictions on a Google Business Profile if the same policy is violated again and again.
This means a business may not only receive one penalty. If Google finds more violations after the first warning or restriction, the next penalty can become longer. For example, a restriction that first lasted 30 days may later become 2 months if the business continues the same activity. A clean profile is the cheaper route. Once you are past the penalties, growth is the ordinary work, and there are 9 tips for more profile traffic to start with.
A recent example was shared by Ben Fisher on LinkedIn. He posted a screenshot of a Google Business Profile restriction notice related to reviews. The notice showed that Google had found additional incentivized reviews linked to the profile.
According to the email, these new reviews were in addition to reviews Google had already identified earlier. Google treated this as a new violation of its fake engagement policy.
Because of this, Google said that reviews and ratings on the Business Profile would be restricted for 2 months.
During this restriction period, customers would not be able to post new reviews or ratings. They would also not be able to see past reviews and ratings on the profile. Along with that, visitors would see a warning saying that suspicious reviews were removed.
Google also gave the business an option to appeal the decision if they believed the restriction was a mistake.
Ben Fisher explained that review restrictions are one of Google’s ways to protect the platform from spammy or fake content. Earlier, a 1-month restriction was commonly applied when a profile was found violating review policies. However, this example shows that Google may now add more time when repeated violations happen.
This is important for business owners, agencies, and local SEO teams because review policies are not something to ignore.
Asking customers for honest reviews is allowed. However, offering rewards, discounts, gifts, money, or any kind of incentive in exchange for reviews can create problems. Google sees this as fake engagement because it can influence what customers write.
The main lesson is simple.
If your Google Business Profile receives a warning or restriction, do not repeat the same mistake. Fix the issue, review your process, and make sure your team understands Google’s policies.
Repeated violations can make the penalty worse and can hurt your local visibility, customer trust, and review growth.
For multi-location businesses, this becomes even more important. One bad review collection process across many locations can create bigger problems at scale. So, businesses should keep their review strategy clean, simple, and policy-safe.
Google wants reviews to be real, honest, and based on actual customer experiences. Businesses that follow this approach are less likely to face review restrictions and more likely to build long-term trust.
