Whether you have been waiting weeks for a postcard, your business was unverified out of nowhere, or you’re facing other issues, dealing with the process of getting your listing verified and up and running on Google Maps can be insanely draining.
And as we have had years of experience with the process from running our listings and by way of helping our clients, we thought we’d compile a list of our leading tips for troubleshooting the process.
Try Your Best to Be Patient
When you first request a postcard, Google says it only takes up to 5 days for it to be delivered. However, various sources on Google’s support site state that it can actually take up to 14 days for postcards to arrive, not counting weekends.
We advise that you hold back from pulling the trigger to request a second postcard as well, as it will actually make the original postcard void, and could mean you have to wait even longer for your verification code. So hang tight.
Double-Check Your Address
Sometimes the reason you may not be receiving a postcard is because of issues with your address, making it so the postal service in your area isn’t able to deliver to the address you have on your listing.
For example, if you are in an office building, try looking up addresses of other businesses on Google Maps that are also located within your building. Sometimes the difference between using “#100” versus “STE 100” can be the root of the problem.
Contact Official Support and Follow Up
As your first line of defense as you wait for your postcard, don’t hesitate to use the official Google My Business contact form to give greater details to the experts at Google so they can look into your issues with verifying your listing.
After you submit the form, be sure to note the unique case ID that they send to your email. And if you still don’t hear back after a week or so following reaching out, reply to the email they sent confirming your form was submitted and ask for an update on your case. This can help move the process along.
Make Sure You Have Signage
In the event that you are selected to do a live video chat, or that Google asks you to provide more proof of business, you will need to have clear signage for your business. Whether it’s on the front of your building or at your office entrance, you’ll need a clear sign with your business name so Google can see that you are legitimate and will be abiding by their guidelines.
Having a sign is also important long-term, since without one competitors could report your listing through Google’s online spam submissions. Some even go so far as to visit a location in person to confirm no sign exists so they can report you.
Utilize the Support Forum
We have firsthand experience in knowing that whacky things can happen to listings.
What’s worse, though, is that a lot of the time you won’t get clear answers from Google support while you are troubleshooting issues with your listing.
Luckily, you can go to the Google My Business Community Forum where you can ask other users for help and advice, and often can get quicker help from Google product experts than waiting for a regular response.
Don’t Expect Other Verification Methods
While sometimes companies will be selected to verify their business through a video call, or in some cases by phone, you will most likely only have the option to verify through postcard.
If you follow up on your original contact form submission to official GMB support, they may tell you that your listing qualifies for other methods, but there is no way to tell if you will be selected or not. So assume a postcard will be the method of choice.
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