Why Are My Google Business Profile Posts Getting Rejected?

You may be asking yourself, why are my Google Business Profile Posts getting rejected? Essentially, there are some caveats to be aware of when it comes to creating Google posts on your listing and things you can do which can make your post end up with a Google rejection. Here’s how a Google post can be rejected.

1. Google Has Blocked the User From This Function

If your Google Business Profile (Google My Business) was suspended for suspicious activity, or abuse of some kind, they do have the power to limit what you can and can’t do within your Google Business Profile, including blocking you from the ability to create Google posts. If you do end up blocked by Google, not only will you not be able to post new Google posts, there’s a good chance that past posts you’ve added to your listing will also become rejected. You’ll need to speak with Google Business support if you want to try to get yourself back in Google’s good books.

2. The Google Post Doesn’t Follow Google’s Guidelines

As with all things Google does, there are Do’s and Don’ts when it comes to creating Google posts. If the post you create doesn’t fall within those guidelines there’s a good chance your Google Post will be rejected. Some of the big No-Nos include:

• Irrelevant Posts – Posts that have nothing to do with your business (Ie. something political)
• Spammy Posts – Think gimmicky automated gibberish, phishing scams, etc.
• Inappropriate Content – Anything that could be viewed as harassment, obscene, or sexually explicit. (Google will reject any post with the word ‘sex’ in it even if it is completely innocent, ie. sexual harassment lawyer amongst other banned words) They will also reject anything pertaining to illegal activities.
• Privacy Breach – Posts that share people’s personal private information will immediately get rejected.

3. The Post Includes Auto-Rejectable Elements

Not only do you have to keep in mind the written content you include in your post there are some other elements that will get your posts rejected. The biggest ones are: including the phone number and address of your business in the post. The idea being that this information is found elsewhere on a business’s listing so including it in posts is ‘spammy.’

Two Workarounds to Include a Phone Number in a Post:

If you really are hoping to include your phone number in your Google post, since we know how powerful it is to put contact information in potential customers’ hands, there are two things you can try. The first is to put the phone number in the post’s image. As of right now, including your business’ number in the image will not get your post rejected. The second requires a little bit of creative thinking and wouldn’t work for everybody. If your phone number spells a word you can include it in the content of the post.

For example, if your phone number is (555) 555-8733 and you are an arborist, 8733 spells TREE on a phone keypad, so you could include your phone number in the Google Post as 555-555-TREE (8733), and that will not be rejected.

4. A Technical Issue Could Be Affecting Your Google Posts

From time to time the different elements inside your Google Business Profile can be prone to glitches. We’ve seen problems with Google products, photos, and even Google posts over the last few years. These are typically resolved fairly quickly. But if you notice that your Google Posts are being rejected and they don’t fall into the other three rejection categories it’s probably wise to reach out on the Local Search Forum or even Twitter to find out if others are dealing with the same thing.

Another thing to note is that there are certain industries that don’t qualify for Google Posts. These are mostly within the lodging/hotel industry however you can see our complete list of businesses that don’t get Google Posts in our blog article about it.

Google posts are a great way to add a little something extra to your Google Business Profile (formerly GMB) listing. They have always been a little bit of a quagmire for businesses and agencies as to whether they are worth the time or not since they don’t have any measurable impact on your business’s ranking. Google posts are valuable because they can show up in Google 3-pack justifications, they look great in the knowledge panel, and are a useful way to promote a certain product, service, or sale providing one more way people can click to your site.

The best way to use them is to understand what type of Google posts perform the best which we covered in a massive study we conducted a little over a year ago.

Contact Top Rated SEO Experts At Sterling Sky Inc.

If you’re a local business that needs help with their Google Business Profile listing or their business’s online presence on Google and other search engines, at Sterling Sky we can help. We offer SEO audits, consulting, or monthly local SEO services. Contact our office today for more information.

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And See These Other Articles By SEO Joyanne Hawkins: 

Do Google Posts Impact Ranking?
How to Succeed With Google Posts: What We Learned From Analyzing Over 1,000 Google Posts
How to Track Google Posts in Google Analytics & Search Console