Certain fields on a Google Business Profile are considered sensitive because they directly impact the visibility, credibility, and accuracy of the business's information.
When there is excessive activity (additions or modifications) on so-called "sensitive" fields in your listings, Google may:
suspend or disable this listing.
request a new validation of the business's Google listing.
Definition of sensitive fields
🔴 Most sensitive fields (verified by Google and may result in suspension if non-compliant)
Business Name 📛
This must exactly match the name displayed on the front of the establishment.
Adding inappropriate keywords, such as the city name and category in the establishment name, may result in suspension.
In the case of suspension, Google will ask us for supporting documents (photo of the storefront, Business registration, invoice): the name on the document provided must match the name visible on the listing.
Business Categories (Primary Category and Secondary Category(ies)) 🏢
These must be accurate and reflect the business's primary activity.
Abuse of irrelevant categories may result in penalties.
Physical Address 📍
This must be correct and reflect a location where the business welcomes customers (if applicable).
Adding a false address may result in the listing being deleted.
Moving the establishment's pin may result in suspension.
Phone number 📞
This must be an official and accessible number. If you have a website for your business, the phone number on your Google listing must match the one on your website.
Using a fictitious or unrelated number can be problematic.
Website 🌐
This must redirect to an official company website (avoid shortened or suspicious URLs).
The URL must be secure, in "https" format.
🟠 Fields to monitor (impact SEO and visibility)
Opening Hours 🕒
These must be correct to avoid poor customer experiences.
Inconsistent hours can lead to user reports.
If you have a website for your business, the hours on your Google listing must match the hours listed on your website.
Photos and Videos 📸
These must be authentic and representative of the business.
Inappropriate or stolen content may be removed.
Business Description 📝
This must be clear, informative, and free of excessive promotional language.
Attributes 📄
These must be authentic and representative of the business.
It's better to edit this field to add an attribute than to remove it. It's better to indicate that your business has this attribute. If it doesn't have one, it's best to leave it "undefined" and thus avoid unnecessary changes.
It's crucial to update these elements to improve their ranking in search results and reflect the trend toward "voice" searches.
Google provides little transparency regarding the volume or frequency of changes, which could impact the status of Google listings.
How to modify sensitive fields?
With all this in mind, here are some tips for modifying these fields without taking too many risks:
Only modify these fields when absolutely necessary. It may be tempting to add elements to these listings on a daily basis, but you should always ask yourself if this change is worth the risk of seeing the listing revalidated or suspended.
If you want to make a change/addition/deletion, then you should do it in stages:
Test a modification on a selection of listings (10 max) and see if it works.
With each new test, verify that the modification has been taken into account and that the listing is still valid.
Prioritize modifications on listings that can be validated/unsuspended more "easily." For example, if the owner has already had to revalidate and knows how it works.
Has the business's Google listing already had to be validated and the business owner knows how it works?
Do you have the documents (photo of the front of the establishment, Kbis, invoice) allowing you to reinstate the file if it is suspended or deactivated?