Are you struggling to verify your Google Business Profile? Don’t worry—I’ve got you! In this episode of Local Search Tuesdays, I’m covering everything you need to know to shoot a successful verification video the first time—whether verifying a new business or recovering from a suspension.

I’ll walk you through planning your shoot, recording the right footage, and ensuring you include all the necessary documents to get verified without the hassle. Don’t miss it!

Video Transcript

Welcome back to another episode of Local Search Tuesdays. This week’s episode is an important one: I’m going to be sharing tips for shooting a Google Business Profile verification video!

As a platinum Product Expert on the Google Business Profile community forum, I spend a lot of time helping people with GBP problems. One of the most common issues is that business owners aren’t sure why their verification videos aren’t approved. Also, since Google decided last year to fight GBP spam more aggressively, there’s been a huge increase in the number of GBP suspensions, and these often require a re-verification video.

The first thing you should do is check Google’s GBP guidelines to be sure that you’re eligible for a profile. Head over to bit.ly/gbp-eligibility to read the “eligibility and ownership guidelines”, which basically say you have to do face-to-face business with customers to be allowed to have a profile. 

Next, you should check out the GBP guidelines at bit.ly/gbp-guidelines. This page explaines what you should include on your profile. There’s an accordion widget that breaks down important information for each element. Make sure you’re familiar with everything here. 

Then, you’ll want to check out the help page for video verification videos. Head over to bit.ly/gbp-verification-video to read the details.

But that page only takes you so far, and most people never even see that page, or either of the other two, honestly. So today, I wanted to share some tips to help you if you’re going to shoot a verification video.

Before you start, make sure you have an online presence that matches the info in your Google Business Profile. You need some third party proof that your business exists. You should have a website with the same business name and location information and you should be listed on industry directories as well as general directories. A BBB listing is beneficial, but not required.  

If it’s a first time verification video, you won’t need to include any documentation. If it’s a re-verification video, you’ll need to include your documentation, so make sure you have everything together before you start recording.

It’s important to plan what you’re going to shoot. You have to include several elements, and you want the video to be as short as possible. If the video is longer than five minutes, it will fail processing. Try to keep the video under 2 minutes - the shorter the better. Planning your shoot, including how and where you’ll walk, will help you be more efficient and effective.

Before you start recording, make sure you have location services turned on. 

It’s absolutely critical that you don’t include anyone’s face in the video. This is where planning ahead will be a significant help. That means zero faces whatsoever - employees, customers, or even random people outside the business.

Do not narrate your video. It’s unnecessary and distracting.

You need to be sure to include proof of your actual location. Basically, if someone who isn’t from your area was watching the video, would the video show enough information to prove that you’re actually that business in that location?

Since permanent signage is a requirement for eligibility, make sure you show your signage. Show the nearest street sign. Show nearby businesses.

If you’re a service business operating out of your home, you obviously won’t have permanent signage, so you’d instead show your house number to prove you’re there.

You also need to prove that the category you selected is accurate and you need to provide proof of management of the business. For brick-and-mortar businesses, you need to show the outside and inside of your business. Be sure to show that you have access to areas that the general public can’t access. Unlocking the front door or the door to the office works well here. Show that you have access to your computer system or payment system (just don’t display any login or password information).

If it’s a re-verification video, you’ll need to include some sort of legal document that proves the existence of the business. A government license or utility bill in the company name works here. Don’t use a business card, those won’t work.

If you’re a service business, show that you have access to the tools of your trade. Show that you can unlock the company vehicle if it’s wrapped or has the company logo on it. You’ll still need to show your home and address, but you’ll also need to include a government license or utility bill in the name of the company.

That last part is important. If my company is Giff Plumbing but all of my utility bills say “Greg Gifford”, then those won’t work as proof.

If you read all of the Google Documents and follow the tips in this video, you shouldn’t have any problem getting verified - or re-verified - with your video.

That’s all the time we have left for this week’s episode, so you know what that means. Put your hand on the screen right here: We totally just high-fived ‘cause you learned something awesome. Thanks for watching, and we’ll see you again next week for another episode of Local Search Tuesdays.

Continue Reading >

Continue Reading >

Let’s Put the “Oh!” in Google’s AI Overviews

Let’s state the obvious: search isn’t the same today as it was weeks ago. The emergence of AI search platforms and Google’s AI Overviews permeating informational, navigation, and even transactional searches disrupt organic traffic acquisition. There are, however, still benefits to earning a spot as a citation in Google’s AI Overviews, such as building brand awareness, ideas for improving content, understanding consumers’ follow-up needs, and generating topical relevance for your website.

This is purely positing, but I would bet that the systems that select what sources to use as citations from a corpus of documents will eventually impact organic ranking because of signals like consumer information gain and alignment with the general consensus of response – as of now, it’s evident that ranking in the top 5 organic positions does not have carry much weight, but we’ll get into that in a bit.

Continue Reading >

In this week’s episode of Local Search Tuesdays, I’m diving into BrightLocal’s latest Consumer Data Survey, and trust me—you don’t want to miss these insights!

Every year, BrightLocal surveys consumers to uncover how they search for local businesses, what influences their decisions, and how their behavior is evolving. This year's results reveal some game-changing trends that could significantly impact your local SEO strategy!

I’ll break down the key findings, explain what they mean for your business.

Continue Reading >
Today, I’m breaking down everything you need to know about Google’s update to the Quality Rater Guidelines update and explaining what it means for your Local SEO strategy. Google’s quality raters play a big role in shaping search results, and with these important new changes, understanding the guidelines can give your business a major edge. I’ll cover the key updates, how they impact local search, and what you need to do to keep your business visible and ranking strong.
Continue Reading >

In this week’s newest episode of Local Search Tuesdays video, I’ll walk you through setting up text messaging on your Google Business Profile. I’ll show you why it’s a game-changer for connecting with potential customers and how to enable it step by step. Don’t miss out on this easy way to boost engagement and drive more leads.

Continue Reading >

Micro-Moments: Where great marketing meets perfect timing

Micro-Moments: where great marketing meets perfect timing
Let’s be real—our marketing job isn’t just about screaming, “Buy this now!” into the void and hoping for the best. We’re not carnival barkers. We’re problem-solvers, digital matchmakers, and, dare I say, marketing therapists. People don’t wake up thinking, Wow, I’d love to be advertised to today! No, they wake up with needs, questions, and split-second decisions to make. And if we’re doing our jobs right, we’re showing up exactly when they need us—welcome guests rather than intrusive salespeople.

This, my friends, is where micro-moments come in. Google coined the term, but the concept? Timeless. These are those blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moments when someone turns to their phone (because let’s be real, it’s always their phone) to solve an immediate need. “I want to know,” “I want to go,” “I want to do,”
and “I want to buy”—these moments define the modern customer journey.

Continue Reading >

I hit the show floor at NADA to connect with some of the sharpest minds in the automotive industry, gathering their top strategies, must-know trends, and game-changing advice for dealers looking to stay ahead of the competition. From cutting-edge digital marketing tactics to innovative dealership strategies, these expert insights will help you drive more leads, boost visibility.

Continue Reading >

They’re back—and meaner than ever! While I was at NADA in New Orleans, I rounded up some of your favorite industry pros to face the internet’s harshest roasts. That’s right, Mean Tweets is back, and this year’s tweets are absolutely brutal—and hilarious! You don’t want to miss this.

Continue Reading >

Even with all the weather delays, I am so glad I could make it to NADA. I am grateful the folks at NADA made accommodations for those who couldn’t make their original speaking times due to the wild weather New Orleans was having. Now that I am back, I am able to share my epic presentation from the show about common SEO mistakes dealerships make.

I was fortunate to present at NADA in New Orleans this past weekend. Unfortunately, some folks couldn’t make it due to extreme weather conditions. That’s why this week, I am sharing my presentation with everyone. If you didn’t make it out to NADA, you don’t want to miss my presentation about all the SEO lessons I learned from over 1,500 dealerships. If you did make it to my presentation, you will definitely want to watch it again!

Continue Reading >