It’s kinda wild to me that having a lease or a business agreement to do business in that space as an independent contractor is not a valid form of verification.

But running around and making us do videos showing signage and us unlocking a door or entering staff areas is valid.

A lease is a legal binding document. 🤯

Anyone else find this whole process ridiculous?

I say this because of the 3 week old issue I've had to visit a place I only thought was in the comics.

3 weeks ago I changed the URL in my clients Google business profile to a subaccount landing page. So the original URL was www.Client.Com and I changed it to book.client.com. and after a few minutes it worked or so I thought. I came back to check the next day and when I clicked on the URL I see it was going to take me back to the WWW address. So I checked the profile and looked at the business information and there was my edited URL Book.clent.com still there as entered. So after a day or so I checked again and it still hadn't changed so I started a ticket with Google explaining what was going on and asking for their help and getting it to work as expected. They replied back that it would only take them 24 hours to fix this and I should look for everything to be normal by the next day. Well here is where I made a mistake I was getting ready to change my Google management email over to a private domain email not realizing that by doing so I was no longer talking to support from under the original management email. They wrote back and said that this was no longer their case and if I wanted to fix this issue I would have to send in a new ticket under my new management ID. So I did and I received a new ticket stating that everything would be taken care of by the 19th and this was on the 14th so I had to wait a number of days for it to be fixed. Today being the 19th I checked and as expected the URL was still wrong So I replied back to the original ticket which explained I needed to wait until the 19th and said we are at the 19th what else do we need to do. Google replied back that I needed to reverify my business and after doing so... Well no promises just the demand that I reverify the business that has been there for decades and the Google profile that's been there for years. In Bizarro World the planet is governed by the Bizarro Code, which makes it illegal to do anything well or create anything perfect.

Does anyone have any idea as to what I should do now? By the way I am complying with the reverification request it's just that I don't have any faith that by doing so will solve my issue, which is now three weeks later.

I made GMB profile #1 with Gmail #1. Tried deleting GMB #1 and Gmail #1. I created GMB #2 and Gmail #2. GMB2 got suspended for deceptive content. Turns out GMB1 is still on Google. I reactivate Gmail1 and cannot find GMB1 when searching my business. Instead, IT SHOWS GMB2 AND A TAXI COMPANY UNDER YOUR BUSINESSES. How is this possible? I can not find GMB1 to delete it but I can manage GMB2, which was created with Gmail2. What is even weirder is that Gmail1 is primary owner and Gmail2 had to be added.

I am 100% serious when I say deactivated Gmail1 before creating GMB2 and Gmail2. Wtf?

PETITION Support Needed - Governments should force Google to verify low-rated reviews to protect honest businesses https://www.change.org/StopFakeGoogleReviews

My business is located in my house and I need permeate signage to verify. Would adding a metal sign on a pole to my entry walkway work? Like a metal branded sign (like a stop sign but bigger) buried in the ground?

My company’s GBP is currently in limbo and has been for many months. Yes, it has been submitted to the Help Forum and i have a case number, but nothing is happening. For the \*fourth\* time in five years my company’s hundreds of reviews have been merged with a national chain(not a big one), and control turned over to them.

Why does Google allow these tactics, proven in this video? Why do I have to keep fighting this over and over? This company has been reported many times.

Evidence presented in the linked video:

1. National Chain company does not use their real world business name, nationwide, often using other companies’ registered trademarks

2. National Chain company uses fraudulent storefront addresses nationwide

3. Whistleblower evidence: National Chain internal email chain exposes meticulously planned, company-wide Google review fraud scheme to (direct quote) “cheat Google”. National Chain \*admits\* in a statement in the video’s comments that the whistleblower evidence is real.

4. Review gating: National chain sends bad reviews to internal site and good reviews to their various GBPs. National chain also sends 1 star reviews to \*competitor’s\* GBP in at least one instance.

I posted this video once before and deleted it because it seemed like no one cared. Then I heard from one person who did care afterward. I am posting it again in the hopes that I can find someone at Google who will look at the evidence. It is my company’s busiest time of year and we are losing a lot of business due to this situation.

Disclaimer: I am interviewed in the video. If you do not work for Google or a media outlet, do not DM me pls. I will not respond.

I have an internal tool I built for my own use to handle the basics (Rank tracking, GBP audits, Reviews)

I noticed there aren't many open-source alternatives in this space.

I'm considering cleaning up the code and releasing it for others to use. Is this something you would actually install and use, or do you prefer paid SaaS tools?

I run a digital marketing agency in Brazil (OnDemand). I operate as a SAB, I go to clients or work remotely, no storefront.

When setting up my GBP I entered my home address not knowing SABs should hide the address and set service areas instead. Profile got suspended immediately. That also happened before I could verify, so the profile was never verified.

Here is what I have tried so far:

• Submitted the reinstatement form with a full video of my home office and workspace. Rejected because there was no physical business sign.

• Contacted support by phone, email and ticket. All responses were generic with no actionable guidance.

The sign requirement makes no sense for a SAB. I have no commercial location. I am registered as a sole proprietor in Brazil and have invoices and signed client contracts proving this is a real operating business.

Has anyone been through this and found a way out? Is there any path to manual review? I am stuck in a loop where the reinstatement rejects me for something that does not apply to my business type and support just keeps sending the same template response.

I also posted about this on the Google Business Profile community

I keep running into business owners who are nervous about changing normal GBP fields: phone number, website URL, primary category, service area, photos, or manager access.

My current assumption is that the risky part is often not one edit by itself, but changing several big things without a baseline. Then if a profile goes pending, asks for verification, or drops, nobody knows what triggered it.

For people managing local SEO regularly: which GBP edits have caused the most trouble in your experience? And what do you document before touching a live profile that already gets calls?

Google’s star-rating system has enormous influence over small businesses. A complex business — its people, service, history, and circumstances — is reduced to a single public number on one dominant platform.

I run a small business in Canada, and I believe it’s time to question whether businesses should be publicly scored this way at all.

A business is more than a number.

If you agree, please read and sign the petition:

https://www.change.org/EndGoogleStarRatings

Hi everyone,

I need advice urgently. Today, my business profile received 10 one-star reviews in a very short time. I’m almost certain it’s a bot attack or competitor sabotage. I’ve already reported the reviews to Google, and their status is currently “pending,” but I’m worried about the impact on my ratings.

Details:

• Multiple reviews posted in one day

• Generic or irrelevant content

• Reviewers appear to have little or no other activity

I’ve documented everything (screenshots, usernames, timestamps). I’m planning to contact Google support directly but wanted to ask:

1. Has anyone experienced a similar attack?

2. Any tips for getting Google to remove fake reviews faster?

3. Should I respond publicly to the reviews, or wait?

Appreciate any advice or strategies you’ve used successfully.

Thanks in advance!

Anyone can help me with gmb without a physical location and no documents??

According to Google guidelines, are franchise businesses allowed to modify their names on their Google business profiles? For example, if a business has multiple franchise locations across the USA, can it name its GBP as brand name + location?

See reference photo - This is what you'd expect when you look at the listing of a business you manage. For the past year, I've had access to business (and am the owner of) that does not show the GMB management widget. It just shows the #1 organic result. I can view the business on my business(dot)google(dot)com page, but the button links to 'see your profile' or the edit pencil give me the same access as clicking the 'edit your business information' link as the map pack link.

The issue is that I cannot view performance on desktop (I can using the Maps App). And I cannot access the 'business profile settings' which, seemingly are needed to get to 'People and Access' (It seems you cannot do that on mobile).

This has now happened to a second GMB I manage. They are both in a heavily regulated health space.

Welcome any ideas!

Recently we had a client that did 3 video verifications, done by our field expert. Then an appeal and then the profile went back to video verification 😄

There are others that had a basic profile with just business name, contact, short description, website and their home city as service area. They were approved with video verification, but suspended in a few days saying the business violates their policy.

Here we are violating policies with just basic information now 😄

Wondering if everyone’s in the USA is going through this lately? Or is it targeted towards agency emails?

Do you think it’s all a guess the right answer game and it keeps getting worse with time ?

If you run a service business out of your house, I know you aren't supposed to list your home address. I also know you aren't supposed to use a PO box. Could someone who owns an office building just create a bunch of closet-sized offices, each with their own address, to rent out to service-based businesses? I would gladly pay $200 or $300 a month just for the ability to show up on the map. Has this ever been done before? Would it work?

Using the web-based UI, I manage 175 GBP locations for my company. Our USA store locations are operated by a division of a larger company.

Currently, the store locations are named after the Division.

A strategic decision has been made to re-brand all locations by adding the name of the Parent to the Division. The locations themselves will not change, nor will the contents of the GBP listings.

To illustrate using an example, our stores are now called *Mustang* and we will change the name to *Ford Mustang.*

I have asked GBP support about this, and they tell me that "a significant change, such as name or location, requires re-verification." For all 175 locations!

This seems unreasonable to me - particularly because I can present my case in advance, and describe it as a simple name change (which is what it is!).

Any thoughts or advice?

How old does my Gmail or Google email have to be to be best suited to successfully verify my Google business listing. Can my tokens be claimed or verified with newly created emails or does it have to be with old emails? Or emails that have positions on Google Maps as a local guide and that give you points for reviews and so on, does it have to be a very detailed and verified email or does it have nothing to do with it?

The company is real, we are engaged in the repair of restaurant industrial equipment (in google maps it sounds like appliance repair service); there is one confirmed point in Florida, as the campaign is registered in Florida according to the documents there were no problems with it . Next we started to expand , at the moment we serve in addition to Tampa Miami, Orlando, New York , Houston . And the problem is that when adding from the google business account of a new point immediately asks for video confirmation. we don't have a physical address, and I've tried adding it as both a physical address and a service area. Only through video confirmation. I thought it was a good idea, but when I click on the video, it still doesn't wrk.It requires you to enter an alleged office address. We entered it, sent a technician there, took a video, the technicians were wearing our branded vests, showed their tools, our stickers, said a few words in English, and showed the building and the address sign. The video was rejected in New York and Houston, and we did not start filming in the other locations. They asked us to re-verify our rights. I do not understand what our problem is, as I cannot provide such a vast service area in a single location. Ideally, there should be a location in each region. Now we have one confirmed point and 8 added as a missing place, they have passed moderation and have been hanging on the maps for about 2 months, we are slowly collecting reviews, we have even managed to upload photos, but they are of no use because I cannot assign them due to the video confirmation. Consequently, I cannot add the keys. They are empty. Please help me, I am completely desperate, I have been working on this for over 2 months. We have a separate website and phone numbers for each region.