The purpose of business verification is to ensure that you are the owner of the business you want to appear on Google. Verified businesses get a tick mark from Google, which proves that the profile is trustworthy. Without verification, your profile will not be fully visible on Google and customers will not be able to see it.
The easiest and most common method is to request an OTP via phone number and enter it. Google sends you an OTP via call or text. After entering the OTP, your business is verified. If you have updated any information like address, phone number, etc., then you may have to do the verification again.
If your business has a physical location, then Google may ask you to do video verification. There are two ways of doing this:
Live Video Verification: In this process, a Google representative makes a live video call to you and asks you to show the location of your business, the front door of the office, the logo and the surrounding streets.
Captured Video Verification: In this process, you can record and send a video to Google which should include the front door of your office, logo, and important documents. Apart from this, you may also have to show places in your office where only employees have access, such as the cash office or the director's room.
In some cases, Google also gives you the option of email for verification. A link is sent in the email by clicking on which you can verify your business.
Wrong or old phone number: If you have not provided the correct phone number, it may be difficult to receive OTP.
Delay in video verification: Sometimes there may be a delay in connection with Google representative in live video call.
Re-verification on updating business address: If you have updated any information, then verification may have to be done again, which may take some time.
If you change any information of your business profile such as address, phone number or category of business, then you may have to go through the verification process again. For this you will have to adopt the earlier verification method again.
Google Business Profile Verification increases the credibility of your business and helps in attracting more customers. By following the process correctly, you can easily verify your business. If you face any kind of problem, seek help from Google's helpline.