How to verify your Google Business Profiles

Before a location can be actively managed on Google Maps, it must be verified through Google Business Profile.

Google attempts to show a comprehensive set of all locations on Maps from a variety of sources — claiming and verifying your locations is the best way to ensure that Google is displaying the most accurate and up to date information.

Verification is the process of proving to Google that your business information is legitimate and that you are the rightful owner who should be managing its content going forward. There are several options for verifying your business with Google.

Verification Categories

There are two categories of verification: Manual and Bulk. Manual verification options require manual input from the business to complete verification such as inputting a code from Google or joining a video call. Bulk verification can be used if you have 10 or more profiles to verify at once. We’ll review the different options within each category and which options your business may be eligible to use.

We will also detail the process for Account verification with Google, once your account is verified, any new businesses added to Google will also be automatically verified.

Manual Verification Options

Different manual verification options may be available to your business locations — and they can even vary from location to location or change over time. The options available are determined by Google based on how trustworthy the business information seems to Google.

If the business has existed on Google Maps for a long amount of time, has high quality contact information like phone number or email, Google may decide to show multiple options. Google does not indicate why certain options are available for a given business and neither Localistico nor any other Google partner has influence over the available options.

Below are the manual verification options that may be available to your business:

Method	Details
Postcard Mailing	Google will mail a postcard to your business location, and it should arrive in 1-2 weeks.
Email	Your verification code will be sent to the email address listed in the verification request form.
Text Message	Your verification code will be sent via text message to the phone number on the listing.
Phone Call	You will receive a phone call with your verification code on the business phone number listed on your listing.
Video Verification	Google will set up a virtual call with the business contact where they will request a physical walk through of the business location on video.

Please note that verification can take up to 3 days. You can read more about the above verification methods in the Google help centre here

Bulk Verification Guidelines

If you have more than 10 profiles that require verification, they can be verified in bulk.

In order to verify your locations in bulk, please note that each location should

have the same name
have a location id
have the same website.

The user who verifies the Google My Business Location group has to be added as primary owner. See this article to know how to add users to manage the location groups and modify their admin rights.

For further information on verifying your location in bulk, please refer to the Google Help Center article.

Account Verification

Localistico can help submit your account for verification with Google. Once your account is verified, all of your listings will be published and verified as soon as you update or add them through Localistico.

You must qualify for account verification with Google, below are some details on the requirements:

Approved by Google on the Google Account level
All location groups that are primary owned by the verified Google account will have ‘automatic’ verification access
Requires extensive account cleanup before submitting the request to Google
Locations in an ownership conflict or re-verification status will not be eligible

Submit Request for Account Verification

Confirm with the Localistico Support team that you want to submit your account for verification.

Localistico will provide suggestions to help increase the chances of your request getting approved. Types of suggestions you may see include:

Adding store codes to all business listings
Adding websites and/or phone numbers to all business listings
Ensuring true and false duplicates are resolved or removed
Ensuring suspended or disabled listings are resolved or removed
Confirming primary owner and location counts
Once complete, Localistico Support team will submit an official request to approve your account on your behalf

Required Content for Submitting an Account Verification Request

GMB Account Email: The email used to log in to GMB and access the locations.
GMB Account Access: Localistico will need to be added as a co-owner of all folders within your GMB account.
Finally, please ensure that every location associated with the business has a store code in your GMB account, and all Localistico managed locations have at least one of the following: a phone number or a website.

Once your account verification has been approved, you will be able to launch new locations via Localistico and have them automatically verified.

Please note that account verification with Google can sometimes take up to 2+ months to complete.

Profile reverification:

To maintain quality business information, Google may ask a verified business to verify a profile(s) again. If you change some info about your business ie. primary category or name, you may need to re-verify. Google might also ask you to update your business info or give more details about your business.

You can read more about Google reverification in our help centre article here

Please note that the direct verification method from Google was deprecated on 31 May 2023 and is no longer available to any partners.