URGENT: Second Wave of Google Account Restrictions Just Hit — May 4, 2026
Cerme
CEO & Local SEO Expert
URGENT UPDATE — May 4, 2026
This is a follow-up to our April 27, 2026 suspension wave article. A second, more severe enforcement action has begun.
Less than one week after the April 27 suspension wave that wiped out Google Business Profiles across California home services industries, a second enforcement action began on the night of Sunday, May 3, 2026 — and this one is significantly more serious.
This time, Google is not suspending individual Business Profiles. It is restricting entire Google Accounts.
What the Restriction Notice Says
The notification affected businesses are receiving reads:
"Your profile has been put under restriction due to policy violation. Business Profiles you manage will be suspended and you won't be able to create or claim other profiles."
The consequences are immediate and far-reaching:
- Every single Business Profile managed under a restricted account — regardless of whether those individual profiles were compliant — is suspended simultaneously
- The account owner loses the ability to create or claim any new profiles until the restriction is lifted
- This affects anyone managing multiple client profiles from a single account
Wave 1 vs. Wave 2: Critical Differences
| Factor | Wave 1 (April 27) | Wave 2 (May 3–4) |
|---|---|---|
| What's hit | Individual Business Profiles | The Google Account itself |
| Reason shown | "Deceptive Content" | "Policy violation" |
| Scope | 1–2 profiles per incident | ALL profiles managed by the account |
| Can create new profiles? | Yes | No |
| Routing ID | Various | DPNB (hardest tier) |
| Likely trigger | Geographic/category sweep | LSA / Google Ads activity |
| Severity | High | CRITICAL |
What Is Routing ID: DPNB?
Routing ID DPNB is not random — it's a known code inside Google's community that consistently appears in the most difficult cases:
- Denied appeals
- Broken appeal submission flows
- Restrictions that cannot be resolved without direct escalation through a Google Product Expert
This is the hardest class of restriction to reverse through standard channels. Standard appeals submitted through the normal process have a substantially lower success rate for DPNB cases.
What Is Triggering the Account-Level Restriction?
According to intelligence from certified Google Product Experts who are actively tracking this wave, the most consistent pattern emerging across affected accounts is a connection to Local Services Ads (LSA) or Google Ads activity.
"We have seen in most cases the account restriction happen due to the LSA or Ads running. No idea why, but that is a common clue."
— Verified Google Product Expert
This aligns with a broader trend: in 2026, Google has tightened the integration between its advertising platforms (Google Ads, LSA) and the Business Profile ecosystem. A violation — real or algorithmically perceived — in any one of these interconnected systems can now cascade automatically to the others.
Why Is This Happening Now?
The timing is not coincidental. Google has been executing an accelerating enforcement campaign throughout 2025 and 2026:
- 39.2 million Google accounts were suspended in 2024 — a 3x increase from 12.7 million in 2023
- Google's new Gemini-powered moderation system, activated on April 16, 2026, is now actively reviewing profile activity in real time
- The integration between GBP, Google Ads, and LSA means enforcement actions are no longer siloed — a flag in one system triggers review across all of them
The pattern strongly suggests that Google's AI systems are running coordinated sweeps that evaluate account-level behavior across all Google products simultaneously, not just the Business Profile in isolation.
Who Is Being Affected
Reports are emerging from business owners and SEO professionals managing multiple accounts, particularly those in:
- Home services (garage door, locksmith, landscaping, HVAC, plumbing)
- Contractors and remodelers
- Any account that has run or currently runs Local Services Ads
If you manage multiple clients' Business Profiles from a single Google Account, the risk is heightened — a restriction on one account can cascade to every profile you manage.
What To Do If Your Account Is Restricted
DO NOT:
Attempt to create a new account or new profiles. This will not work and will result in automatic suspension of the new account.
The resolution path for account-level restrictions is different from profile-level suspensions:
- Do not appeal immediately. Review whether your account or any associated profile has had recent Ads or LSA activity that may have triggered the flag.
- Pause all active LSA and Google Ads campaigns associated with the restricted account while the appeal is in progress.
- Go to myaccount.google.com/restrictions to view the restriction status and access the appeal option.
- Gather documentation — business license, registration, insurance, and evidence of legitimate operations.
- Submit your appeal with a clear, factual explanation. For DPNB routing IDs, standard appeals have a lower success rate — escalation through a Google Product Expert is strongly recommended.
Why Professional Help Matters for DPNB Cases
Unlike Wave 1 suspensions where some businesses successfully self-appealed, Wave 2 restrictions with Routing ID DPNB have a substantially lower success rate through standard channels. The appeal button may be broken, responses may be delayed or nonexistent, and the normal process simply doesn't work for these cases.
This is where having access to certified Google Product Experts — professionals with direct escalation channels inside Google's support infrastructure — becomes critical.
Was your account restricted in the May 3-4 wave? We specialize in Google account restrictions and GBP reinstatement for home services businesses.
Our team has direct experience with DPNB routing ID cases and works with certified Google Product Experts who have escalation access that standard appeals don't reach.
What we offer:
- Complete restriction assessment and appeal strategy
- Documentation review and organization
- Direct escalation through Google Product Expert channels
- LSA and Google Ads audit to identify potential triggers
- Post-reinstatement account hardening
Time is critical — the longer you wait, the harder DPNB cases become to resolve.
Related Resources
- Google Business Profile Mass Suspension Wave — April 27, 2026 — Full breakdown of Wave 1
- Google Business Profile Management Services — Our comprehensive GBP services
- Local SEO Services — Protect and grow your local visibility
- Contact Us — Get immediate assistance
