Why Do I Have to Keep Reverifying My Google Business Profile?

Do you keep getting that dreaded email from Google saying that your Google Business Profile has been suspended or disabled?

You verify it, and it’s good for a short time, and then you get that email AGAIN?

Ugh, it’s so FRUSTRATING! And COSTLY!

Google is verifying your profile in the first place, so it’s (mostly) safe to assume it meets the requirements.

But something in Google’s system is tripping that fine line between being verified and being suspended.

To fix this we need to build Google’s trust in your profile.

How do you do that?

Build Your Google Business Profile’s Trustworthiness with Google

Let’s Start with Edits – Be Gentle!

If your profile has been recently verified or reverified, don’t make any edits for the first two weeks.

During that first two weeks, it’s okay to get reviews. It’s okay if those reviews include photos. But as an owner or manager, just leave the darn thing alone for a little while. It’s more fragile in those first two weeks. Let it age to build some trust with Google.

After two weeks, keep your edits gentle. A change or two a week. Don’t go in at any point and make a bunch of edits all at once. Add a couple of pictures each week. Update hours. Do make regular edits, just not all at once.

Be aware that changes to the name, the address, categories, and sometimes the phone number, often trigger the need to reverify. If you are editing any of those, just be prepared to reverify.

Edits aren’t the only reason for that suspension trigger to be tripped, but being gentle with edits will help build Google’s trust in your management.

Owners and Managers

Did you know that the Google accounts listed as owners or managers of your profile can affect your profile’s status?

Let’s say that someone listed as an owner or manager of your profile does something that Google thinks might be spammy or abusive. It might even be something not at all spammy – like a review placed on another profile that Google is suspicious of for some reason.

That can cause your profile to be suspended.

Keep the number of accounts listed as owners/managers to a very small number. Just yours if you can, or yours and a trusted expert as a manager.

In fact, I would go as far as to recommend you make a Google account for the sole purpose of owning 1) your profile and 2) your site in your Google Search Console. Don’t use that account for writing reviews, suggesting edits, or even sending Gmail. Keep it super clean.

Citations

Citations are an important trust factor.

Citations are online references to your business and website. If you have none, your profile is not as trusted. If you have many, especially from sites that Google trusts, your profile will be substantially more trustworthy.

So how do you get citations?

Joining professional organizations related to your industry is one potential source. Check that they provide publicly available profiles for their members. Online marketing is another potential source. Social media profiles may even help somewhat.

I go into more detail on acquiring citations in the member-only section below this article.

High-Risk Categories

Be aware that there are some business categories that seem to be at a higher risk of suspensions than other categories.

These are categories that tend to be targeted by scammers and spammers, and tend to be categories that are ‘duress’ categories. Categories that consumers tend to contact when under duress and perhaps not taking the time to research and make a sound decision before paying for something.

If you in a high risk category and your profile is an important part of your marketing, it’s really important to build Google’s trust in your profile.

The Main Points

If you keep having to reverify your Google Business Profile, focus on building Google’s trust in your profile:

• Be gentle with edits
• Only have very clean Google accounts as owners/managers of your profile
• Build citations
• And all the above is even more important if you are in a high risk category

Do you want more direct help with getting and keeping your profile verified?

Consider becoming a GBP Academy member and get my direct help. Details follow:

Members get More!

GBP Academy members log in to get my advanced tips on building Google’s trust in your profile. This is the stuff that I’m not sharing with AI crawlers, if you know what I mean

Not a member? Join today for just $50/month (12 month minimum) or $500/year (a $100 annual savings) and get my newsletter and posts with advanced tips that will help you outrank your competition and rake in more customers. Plus you get free help if your profile is ever suspended or disabled!

Not ready to become a full member? No problem – I also have a free newsletter with great tips and advice to help you rank higher and bring in more customers! You can get your very first newsletter right now!

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