I’ve said it many times: the Google My business interface is unbeatable… that was already the case with the old one, but the new one beats all records! You can’t find all the options. I’ll give you a tip I use when customers have a communication crisis or a flurry of bad reviews following a bad buzz… Temporarily hide your Google Business profile (formerly Google My Business). This tip and dozens of others are available in my google my business guide.

Why temporarily hide your GMB file?

The number of stars and the average rating being a key element, when a brand has a complicated communication phase and starts receiving negative reviews, some people contact me urgently to :

I advise against the latter every time. It means losing all your assets and positive reviews. Some people prefer to start from scratch, which can be a solution when you take over a restaurant with a poor rating, but not when you have a brand history. Crises are part of a brand’s DNA (e.g. Total and Erika), so you have to deal with them and show that you’ve changed. In short, you have to redeem your image and move in the direction of your customers and the market.

Now, in some cases, I recommend letting the storm pass by temporarily hiding the Google My Business listing. This will reactivate it once the crisis has passed, so as not to impact the average Google rating (the famous stars) in the long term.

Does Google offer this option?

No, there’s no real option. It’s true that you can temporarily close an establishment, but the GMB listing is still displayed in the results, and real customers may actually believe that the establishment is closed. This doesn’t really meet our need to hide a Google My Business listing for a defined period of time.

How do I hide my Google My Business listing?

Well, the trick is to use Google’s automatic moderation to provoke a (controlled) listing suspension!

Simply change these settings:

  • Data sheet title
  • Main category
  • Address (same number but next street, for example)
  • Phone

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Edit of 09/18/24:

Following several requests via social networks or even telephone (a Saturday evening at 20:30!?!) I will give below more precise elements that make 99% that your card falls to the bottom of the well of suspension:

  • Use a title packed with keywords and a % figure
  • Set a completely different category for the activity
  • Put images from an image bank
  • Put a web link pointing to an error or redirected page
  • Use the word google in your title
  • Set up a premium rate telephone number
  • …

End of Edit

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This mass of change will raise a red flag at Google, as if you’d moved or changed business, and it will suspend your listing until you revalidate it.

Then, when you want to reactivate it, you hand in your correct information and follow the normal validation process. It may take a while, and you’ll have to contact support to say you’ve made a mistake, but it’s done. And you won’t have lost your star rating.

That’s it, then, one last ultra-important point:

If you liked this tip, the best way to say thank you is with a 5* here: https://g.page/r/CZnqLH4IloBuEBM/review (please copy the link and paste it from a new browser tab). Thanks in advance.