Google Deletions: Use It or Lose It

Earlier this month, Google announced that it will deactivate Google My Business accounts that have not been accessed or updated in six months.

According to Google’s Jade Wang:

In some cases, we may contact Google My Business users via email to confirm that they are still actively managing a business page. If a user is unresponsive to our attempts to contact him or her and has not logged into Google My Business for a significant length of time, then we may unverify pages in the account. We’re doing this in order to continue to provide users with the best experience when they’re looking for local businesses like yours. If you find that a page in your account has been incorrectly unverified, please contact support to get assistance restoring verification.

It’s a good idea to keep an eye on the inbox associated with your Google My Business (Locations) account. It’s also a good idea to regularly log into Google My Business (Locations) to confirm that your business information is current and accurate.

What does this mean for you?

• If you are part of Beyond Indigo’s Online Reputation Management maintenance or setup program, our ORM specialists will have you on a four month rotation schedule where we will access and make an update to your Google My Business listing so that you do not run into any issues or threats of deactivation.
• If you are part of Beyond Indigo’s DIY Online Reputation Management program or if you are handling your Google My Business listing on your own, you should plan on accessing and posting to your Google My Business page at least once every 6 months.
• If you have any accounts or additional Google My Business pages that you have had difficulty claiming, these should be released and available for you to claim soon.

While this new policy requires additional attention from us all, the resulting greater accuracy in the number and types of Google My Business listings should be a very positive change.