Google Business Profile penalties compound. A restriction that starts at 30 days can double to two months if the same policy violation happens again, according to a notice shared last week.
Ben Fisher posted the email on LinkedIn. Google flagged additional incentivized reviews tied to a profile already cited for the same fake engagement policy, then extended the restriction rather than starting a fresh clock. Customers could not leave new ratings or see existing ones for two months, and a warning noted that suspicious reviews had been removed.
Fisher, who tracks Business Profile enforcement patterns, said a first offense typically draws a one month restriction. Per a Search Engine Roundtable report, he questioned how long a third violation might run.
The pattern rewards agencies that fix the underlying incentivized-review practice on the first notice. Multi-location brands should audit review acquisition tactics location by location before a repeat flag doubles the outage.
Search Engine Roundtable, in a July 3, 2026 report by Barry Schwartz, first detailed the compounding restriction and Ben Fisher’s LinkedIn post.
