How to Verify Your Google Business Profile

Have you set up your Google Business Profile so that you show up in Google Maps? Great! Did you verify your listing with Google? Say what? Verifying your Google Business Profile listing gives you more control over your map listing and lets you access valuable information. As a local business owner, your Google Business Profile listing can be one of your biggest traffic drivers, and because of that, you want to verify and optimize it both. Sometimes, your Google Maps listing will show up before your website does in searches, and that's OK; people can still click through and visit your website. Have you gotten a call from someone saying your Google Business Profile isn't verified and they can do it for only $399? Yeah, I get those calls weekly, too, and my listing has been verified since 2016. You can ignore the call and follow the directions in this post. It's quick, easy, and free to verify your Google Business Profile listing. 

How to verify your Google Business Profile in 4 Easy Steps

In this post, I will walk you through the verification process. Once you've verified your listing, read this post, where I walk you through the optimization process so you can get as much traffic as possible from Google Maps. It's an easy process that will only take a few minutes for you to complete. You can complete the verification process in 10 minutes or less, which will help your marketing efforts.

Step 1: Create or Find your Google Business Profile 

If your local business doesn't already have a Google Business Profile listing, you'll need to create an account. Start by visiting the Google Business Center at https://business.google.com/.

Enter Your Business name. If your business is already on Google Maps, it will pull up in their search. Google will ask you to verify the information in their records to confirm it's your business. Google will ask for your address and contact information if it's not in the system.

Step 2: (if it's already verified by someone else)

Request Access or Ownership of the Account

You'll see an account dashboard page if your business is already listed. You will need to request access or ownership, depending on the situation. 

If your listing is verified, Google will tell you who verified the listing. They'll provide a truncated email address that should indicate who to contact. If you didn't do this yourself, you would have to reach the person who previously verified the listing and have them add your Gmail address as an owner so that you can optimize your listing. This situation is common if you worked with an SEO person, had someone build your website, or someone else set up your Google Business Profile originally. 

If your listing has been verified, but you don't know who did it, or that person is no longer with you, you can request ownership through Google. It will take about a week, but they'll grant your request so that you can complete the process. Having someone add you to an account is easier than changing ownership. If you can find the person who owns the account, start there. 

Step 3: Choose Your Verification Process Option

Google will give you up to four different ways of verifying your Google Business Profile. The options may vary depending on the type of business you have. The options include phone, text, email, or video. You may have to verify with more than one method. Google will let you know what your options are in your account. It can take up to 5 days for the verification process, according to Google. You can learn more about verifying your Google Business Profile here. 

Step 4: Verify Your Listing

Choose your verification option and follow Google's instructions. If the first verification fails, Google will alert you so that you can try another method. Google may ask you to re-verify your listing in the future, too. Don't worry if they do, it's part of the process depending on the changes businesses make. They want to ensure the correct information is in maps and business profiles.  

Feel confident hanging up on the next caller who tells you that your Google Business Profile listing isn't verified and that they can help you with it right now for only $395 for whatever they're trying to charge today. And while we're at it, don't sign up for profile management or optimization through them. You don't need to do that. 

Do you want to help get your website found on Google too? Take my free SEO 101 class today and learn how Google works so you can start getting found on Google more often and get free traffic to your website. 

Updated 2024, Google My Business changed to Google Business Profile. Updated verification options to include current options. Rachel