Creating your Google Business Profile or GBP (formerly known as Google My Business) listing can take several minutes to a few hours.
This usually depends on how well established your business is and how much you know about it.
If you have been running your company for at least a year, you can quickly provide the information needed during the setup process.
On the other hand, if you’re still unsure about what products or services to offer and if you want to have a brick-and-mortar or online store, it might take longer to answer the questions when you’re creating your profile.
Representatives from a top SEO firm say that even if you finish creating or confirming your GBP listing, you need to wait for another few weeks before your profile starts showing on local search queries.
This is because you need to verify your account and wait for validation from Google.
Why Do You Need to Verify Your GBP Account?
The most important reason to verify your GBP account is security.
When you verify your listing, you get peace of mind that unauthorized users can impersonate you to hack your profile and make changes without your knowledge or approval.
Additionally, your GBP account needs to be verified so that you can manage all your company’s information and make changes to your listing on Google Searches and Google Maps.
Moreover, you need this verification to see key website statistics and performance insights and respond to customer reviews on your GBP account.
Lastly, confirming your account is crucial since this process enables Google to acknowledge your business and verify the data you entered is correct.
How Can You Verify Your GBP Account?
Once you’ve set up or claimed your GBP listing, you can choose among these different methods to verify it:
Postcard Verification
This verification method is available to all businesses. This process involves Google sending you a postcard with a code you have to enter on your GBP account.
Below is an overview of the process:
- Open your GBP account and click ‘Verify.’
- Double-check your address, making sure there are no typos and it has the complete street name and zip code of your location.
- Ensure your address contains your floor, suite, or building number.
- Add your complete name.
- Click ‘Request Postcard.’
You will get the postcard within five to 14 days. Once you receive it, you would do well to enter the verification code to your GBP account immediately since it will expire after 30 days.
You can request a replacement postcard if you don’t receive your postcard within two to three weeks.
Phone Verification
Unlike postcard verification, this method is not available to all businesses.
If your company is eligible for this process, you’ll see this option on your GBP account verification page.
For this method, you have to:
- Log in to your GBP account and click ‘Verify.’
- Click the phone number you want to use for this process.
- You will receive a code through an automated phone call or text message within a few seconds or minutes.
- Enter the code on your GBP account.
The code will expire within a few minutes, so make sure you enter it into your account as soon as possible.
Email Verification
Like with phone verification, this option is not available to everyone.
However, if you have this option, you will have a code sent to your email, the one connected to your GBP account.
This method involves the following steps:
- Open your GBP account and click Verify.’
- Click the email option.
- Open your email and message from GBP and follow the instructions for verifying your account.
Again, it would be best to input the code immediately since it has a short expiration period.
Video Verification
Google also has the option of asking businesses to verify their account through a video.
The steps involved in this method are:
- Go to your official business location.
- Log in to your GBP account and click ‘Verify.’
- Read the text regarding the requirements your video needs to meet for this verification process.
- Prepare and be in the areas that need to be in the video. These include:
- Your business location. You can record your clip near your outdoor signage, street signs, and other well-known landmarks.
- Proof of your business existence. This can include the products or equipment inside your premises.
- Proof of management. This can include a clip of yourself unlocking the front door or entering the staff-only area.
- Stop the recording and upload the video to your GBP account.
Video Call Verification
This option requires you to call a Google support assistant to verify that you have a real business.
For this method, you need to:
- Go to your official business location.
- Open your GBP account on your mobile phone or any mobile device and click ‘Verify.’
- Choose the video call option.
- Click start call.
- Follow the instructions the support assistant will give you to join the live video call.
What Happens Next?
Once you’re done verifying your account, a reputable SEO company in Dubai says you need to wait up to seven business days (more if you opted for postcard validation) for Google to review your profile.
When your business is verified, Google will send you a notification. However, you have to wait for a few weeks to see your business information on Google Search and Google Maps.
Once this happens, you can edit, update, optimize, and share news on your profile. You can also interact with your customers through your GBP account.
If Google can’t verify your business, the “Get verified” icon will show up again on your GBP account. You have to go through the entire process using a different verification method.
Google might also ask you to re-verify your account if you changed some key information on your profile.
Re-verifying your account means going through the steps of a verification method different from the one you used.
Finally, there will be instances wherein Google may ask you to update your business info or provide more details about it. Make sure you respond and take the necessary action to avoid getting into any issues with the search engine.
If you’re still setting up your Google Business Profile, don’t forget to verify your account.
It is a crucial step that will help your business rank higher on Google search queries, reach your target audience, and get more customers and sales.
AUTHOR BIO:
Eloisa Mangilinan is a full-time Content Writer at SEO Sherpa, a multi-awarded search engine optimization company in the UAE. She produces content for different niches for guest post sites, blogs and client websites. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from Saint Louis University.
