How Google Business Profile verification works
Verification is how Google checks that a business is real and that you're allowed to manage its listing. Until it's done, your edits may not show and parts of the profile stay locked. Here's what to expect and how to get it right first time.
Google chooses the method
You don't pick how to verify. Google offers the methods it considers suitable for your business, based on its category, location and history. These can include recording a short video, a live video call, a phone call or text, an email or, less often now, a postcard. If you've already verified your website in Search Console, some businesses are offered instant verification.
Video verification, the most common now
Google usually asks for one continuous video, recorded on your phone through the Google Maps or Business Profile app, that shows three things:
- Where you are: the street, nearby shops or landmarks, and your building from outside
- That the business is real: permanent signage with your business name, your equipment, stock or workspace
- That you manage it: something only staff can access, such as opening the shop, the cash counter, a back office or business documents
Keep it in one take, in daylight, without editing. Walk from the street to your door so the location is obvious. Don't film people's faces unnecessarily.
Why verification fails
- No permanent signage showing the business name, which is common for new shops
- The video doesn't connect the business to its location, for example only the inside is shown
- The business name on the profile doesn't match the name on the sign
- The address can't be visited, such as a virtual office or a home where customers never come
- The category or details suggest a business type that needs extra checks
Service-area businesses
If you travel to customers and they don't come to you, Google still needs to see that the business exists. Show your vehicle with branding if you have it, your tools or equipment, and business documents. Your address is hidden from the public once you set service areas instead.
After you submit
Google reviews the submission, which can take a few business days. You can keep editing the profile in the meantime, but changes may not appear publicly until it's verified. Don't create a second profile while you wait; duplicates cause more problems than they solve.
If it's rejected
Read the reason Google gives, fix what it points to, often signage or the name, and try again when Google offers the option. If you keep failing, check the profile against Google's guidelines for business names, addresses and categories. A rejected verification is different from a suspension; my guide to a suspended Business Profile covers that.
I prepare and guide verifications as part of my Google Business Profile work, including telling you exactly what to film.