What is Google Business Profile verification?
Verification is how Google confirms that you own or represent a business before it lets you manage the business's profile. Google says you need to verify your business to edit info such as the business name or hours and to interact with customers. When you verify, you "gain ownership" of the profile.
Verification happens after you add or claim a profile. You need a Google Account to sign up, and it can use a Gmail address or another email address.
What verification methods does Google use?
Google offers these methods, but not every business gets all of them:
- Video recording: a video you record and upload from a mobile device through your profile.
- Live video call: a call with a Google support representative, available only during your listed business hours.
- Phone or text: a code sent by call or text to the business phone number. Google notes that interactive voice response (IVR) phone systems won't get the code.
- Email: steps sent to the email address shown on the verification screen.
- Mail: a postcard with a 5-digit code sent to the business address.
Google picks the methods, and you can't change them. Google says the options "depend on your business type, public info, region, or business hours," and some businesses need more than one method. When video verification is available, Google recommends it.
How does video verification work for a moving company?
Many moving companies are service-area businesses, and Google sets separate video requirements for them. See what is a service area business to confirm which type fits.
Every verification video must be:
- An unedited, unique, and complete recording with no breaks.
- At least 30 seconds long.
- Recorded and uploaded from a mobile device through your Business Profile. Pre-recorded videos aren't allowed.
A service-area business's video must show three things:
- Where the business operates: street signs, nearby landmarks, or other identifiers at the business address. Google warns against filming empty land or places without clear markers. If you run the business from home, you can record landmarks and signs in your immediate neighborhood.
- Proof the business exists: the tools, equipment, or products you use for work, such as specialized machinery, your workspace, business cards, or branded apparel.
- Proof you manage it: you performing a service or accessing business-only assets. Google's own example is "unlocking a van that has your business branding." Business documents such as a business permit, invoice, or utility bill that match the profile name also count.
For a mover, that usually means filming the street signs at the yard or office, a branded truck and moving equipment, and unlocking the truck. The video must not show sensitive info such as bank account, tax, or ID numbers, private info about you or others, or other people's faces.
To record it, open your Business Profile on a phone, tap Get verified, then Business video, and follow the steps. Review the video before you upload it, and record again if anything is missing.
How long does verification take?
Google says verification reviews take up to 5 business days after you finish the steps, and on rare occasions longer. Google confirms by email when the business is verified.
Some timing is method-specific:
- Postcards: most codes arrive within 14 days, and codes expire after 30 days. While you wait, don't edit the business name, address, or category, because the code won't work, and don't request a new code, because that cancels the one in the mail.
- Instant verification: Google sometimes verifies a profile instantly when you've verified the business website in Google Search Console or when you use bulk verification.
Bulk verification is for a business submitting 10 or more profiles of the same business. Google's bulk verification page lists "Your business isn't a service-area business" as a requirement, so a mover set up as a service-area business verifies each profile individually.
Why does Google ask me to verify again?
Google asks for re-verification when it couldn't fully confirm the business or when business details changed. The signs to look for:
- The "Get verified" button appears again: Google couldn't completely verify the business. Try again, using another method if more than one is offered.
- A "Review issues" notification after a video: the video wasn't accepted. Select Review issues to see what was missing, for example "No nearby area shown" or "Missing proof of authorization to operate the business," then record a new video that includes everything from the first video plus the missing info.
- A request for additional info: Google says this is likely because some business details were recently updated. Select Get verified and re-verify.
Google states that "changes to your business info may require re-verification."
What causes verification to fail?
Google's help pages name these as the usual problems:
- The video doesn't meet the requirements: it's edited, shorter than 30 seconds, doesn't show the location, or doesn't show proof of management.
- The business name doesn't match: for storefront and hybrid businesses, the name shown in the video must match the name on the profile.
- The business isn't eligible: a virtual office, meaning a rented mailing address the business doesn't operate from, isn't eligible for a Business Profile. Online-only businesses with no in-person service can't be verified.
- The code was invalidated: editing the name, address, or category or requesting a new code while a postcard is in the mail makes the original code useless.
Keep the verification code private. Google says it will never ask for your verification code and tells owners not to share it, "even with those who manage your Business Profile." An agency or manager can be added to the profile after it's verified.