Google admits it 'incorrectly removed' Kirkland business from its search engine

KIRKLAND, Wash. — Efforts by a small Kirkland business have paid off after it was "suspended' for months from showing up on parts of the Google search engine. A spokesperson told KING 5 the business was incorrectly removed. 

The workers from Kirkland-based Next Level Chimneys came with signs, protesting outside of Google’s Kirkland location Friday morning, blaming the tech titan for its recent struggles. 

“Without Google, we're losing a huge portion of our customers," said Shannon Huck. 

Huck owns the business with her husband. She received an email from Google in March informing her that Next Level Chimney’s business profile had been suspended. So when people typed in a basic search for chimney services, the business didn’t show up.

"They say deceptive practices,” said Huck. “But I looked at their terms and conditions nothing we do has been deceptive according to those. They tell us why, they just say that it is deceptive."

According to the Google notice, businesses must "avoid prohibited content and behavior" and "reflect their business accurately." The Better Business Bureau told KING 5 it has no record showing Next Level Chimneys involved in "deceptive practices."  

"They're not hiding us and they're making it difficult for us to be seen," said Huck. 

According to the spokesperson, “This listing was incorrectly removed and is being reinstated. We will connect with the business to better understand what happened.”

Early Friday afternoon, if you were searching for local chimney help on Google by typing "chimney services in Kirkland,"  it would bring searchers to a long list of suggested businesses. However, earlier Friday afternoon "Next Level Chimneys" wasn't one of them.

"We get no calls,” said Huck. “Before I would answer call after call because I'm the only one in the office. I stayed busy. My guys, they don't seem to have much work."

Next Level Chimney's website can still be located on the search engine. They appealed to Google in various ways for weeks with no luck, before Friday.