Recently, when I attempted to add a new address, Google My Business reported my account. I would like to share this frustrating experience. It turns out that Google has the ability to suspend your account for suspicious activity, even for relatively little modifications. I gained a lot of knowledge about the significance of Google My Business and the strict procedures Google has put in place to guarantee the accuracy of its data after figuring out how to restore it.
Google My Business: Ensuring Accurate Verification
For businesses to be found online, Google My Business is essential. It is the foundation of a company’s online presence, guaranteeing that prospective clients may quickly and easily locate correct company information. Since Google is always improving its search engine to give users trustworthy information, the accuracy of the data on Google My Business is important.
A postcard with a verification code had to be sent to the specified address in order for a business to be verified on Google My Business in the past. But Google had to change its verification procedure since more and more bogus companies were using fictitious addresses.
A Google person I spoke with stated that a more secure verification process was required due to the increase in fake companies. Video was the main form of verification that Google advised using. This presented a problem for me, though, because there was no street sign visible where I was—a need for Google’s video verification procedure. I made several tries, but I was unable to use video to confirm my position. Thank goodness, I found a new solution: video call authentication.
I agreed to go through the video call verification process, even though it wasn’t ideal because it meant that my workstation and the workspaces of my coworkers would have to be recorded. To start the call, I had to first install Google Meet on my phone. The entire conversation with the Google agent was surprisingly brief—six minutes—and she was quite kind and helpful throughout. After the call ended, my account was correctly validated in under ten minutes.
The agent did, however, caution me that making any more changes to my profile might result in an audit and other issues. That’s when I discovered the real source of the problem: my decision to designate the entire state as a service area. Even though my industry permits remote work, Google’s policies prohibit declaring a whole state as a service area.
Reinstating a Google My Business Profile: Follow Google’s Guidelines
In light of my experience, I hope that by telling my story, I can help others understand how difficult it may be to reinstate a Google My Business profile. It emphasizes how crucial it is to follow Google’s rules and how companies must make sure the data they post on the platform is accurate. Businesses are becoming more and more dependent on their online presence, thus it is critical to comprehend and abide by platforms like Google My Business if they want to succeed.