Google Business Profile – The Local Business Lifeblood

Google Business Profiles are the life blood of many local businesses across the world so when a listing gets suspended it can be devastating!

Google Automatically Checks For Compliance

Google does automated checks on business profiles but when owners make changes to their accounts, it also triggers an analysis by Google.

Changes Require Re-Verification

Unfortunately, many changes owners make result in a reverification that needs to happen. Now this isn’t a bad thing for businesses that have all their documentation ready to present as verification proof, but in some cases recently businesses are getting stuck in a verification loop with no apparent way out. I wrote it about it on X so you can follow along there, but I will also update here.

The Verification Loop Stages:

The primary issue in this case is the communication loop is broken by a no-reply email.

Step 1: You Can’t Verify Your Listing

The first step in getting your listing verified is to look at your available verification options:

No Ways To Verify Google Business Profile

While some merchant cases are waiting for a delayed post card, most cases currently provide no option to verify their listing so they need to contact google support using https://support.google.com/business/gethelp

When they go through the step by step form, they end up with a big blue button to help them verify their listing… which seems like a great user experience. Very intuitive.

Get Help With Google Business Profile Verification

Step 2: You can’t actually check verification status

The problem starts here. When you click that big blue button, it takes you to the verification status check.

Check Google Business Profile Verification Status

The status page should tell you the current status of your listing but instead it says:

“Your postcard delivery might be delayed. To check the status of your delivery, you can ask a Google Support Specialist.
To continue with the verification you must provide storefront photos to our Google Support Specialist. Before you connect with them, have those photos ready.”

Step 3: Automated Email Response From “noreply” email

This leads the merchant to believe if they get their photos ready, they will get in touch with support… but then they get an automated email from [email protected] that shows the following options:

Google's Automated Email Response For Verification Issue

The available options to help with verification take you back to the information page on verifications and gets you back to the verification status page and then to the /get-help form… and then back to the same blue button and automated email response.

Conclusion

I (Kevin) have escalated a number of these cases in the Google Support Community and am waiting for a response on how to help merchants navigate this issue. Until then, the verification loop exists and has no solution.

[UPDATE] — If you find yourself in this situation where you have no option to verify and you get stuck in a loop where you can’t contact support as displayed in this post, please go to the Google Support Community and start a thread using this link.

Please provide the following information:

  • Business Profile ID
  • Business Map Listing/Dashboard URL
  • Screenshots of each stage of the verification issue you are facing
  • A copy of any official document showing the business name and address(business license, state registration, utility bill, lease agreement, etc.)

Please put the information and documentation into a Google Drive Folder and provide the link in your community support thread so we can review it and escalate your case if necessary.

[UPDATE — Aug.7, 2024] — The video verification has been fixed and you can now contact support through the appropriate channels instead of needing to escalate the verification cases in the community.

With that said, remember when you do get through to support or you connect with a product expert in the forum, there is a human being on the other side of the messages and email threads that is genuinely trying to help, so be kind.

Are you experiencing this issue? Contact me on X(formerly Twitter), LinkedIn, or here!