Google Verification | Yext Hitchhikers Platform

Verification Overview

Before a location can be actively managed on Google Maps, it must be verified through Google Business Profile. Google attempts to show a comprehensive set of all locations on Maps from a variety of sources — claiming and verifying your locations is the best way to ensure that Google is displaying the most accurate and up-to-date information.

Verification is the process of proving to Google that your business information is legitimate and that you are the rightful owner who should be managing its content going forward. There are several options for verifying your business with Google — this article will review these options and determine which is the right one for you.

Verification Categories

There are two categories of verification: Manual and Bulk. Manual verification options require manual input from the business to complete verification such as inputting a code from Google or joining a video call. Bulk verification happens without any business input for new businesses added to Google. We’ll review the different options within each category and which options your business may be eligible to use.

Manual Verification Options

Different manual verification options may be available to your business locations — and they can even vary from location to location or change over time. The verification options available are determined by Google based on how trustworthy the business information seems to Google.

If the business has existed on Google Maps for a long time and has high-quality contact information like phone number or email, Google may decide to show additional options. Google does not indicate why certain options are available for a given business and neither Yext nor any other Google partner has influence over the available options.

Below are the manual verification options that may be available to your business:

Yext has full UI and API support for triggering a verification code send and verification code input to complete verification for all methods except for Video Verification. Video Verification does not exist in the Google Business Profile API and must be completed by the business directly with Google.

Note: For all verification methods, manual or bulk verification, you should refrain from making changes to your listings. For manual verification of one-off locations, please refrain from making changes to the listings you are attempting to verify. For Bulk verification, please refrain from making any changes to your Google Business Profile account once you submit your bulk verification request.

Bulk Verification Guidelines

For accounts with fewer than ten locations, visit the How to Verify Your Google Business Profile Listing help article.

If your business has more than 10 locations, Yext can help set up your account for bulk verification. With bulk verification, also called Google Bulk Verification, all of your listings will be published and verified as soon as you update or add them through Yext. More details on what bulk verification entails can be found below:

Bulk Verification

• Approved by Google on the Google Account level.
• All location groups and ungrouped listings that have the Bulk Verified Google account listed as the “Primary Owner” will have bulk verification access.
• Requires account cleanup before an escalation to Google.
• Locations in an ownership conflict or re-verification status are not eligible for auto-verification, these will always need to be manually verified using one of the above options.

Submit Request for Bulk Verification

1. Confirm with your Yext Contact that your business is eligible. The eligibility rules can be found below.
2. Reach out to Yext Support (or your Yext Services contact, if you are working on an initial implementation) and ask them to initiate a Bulk Verification approval request.
3. Yext will provide suggestions to help increase the chances of your request getting approved.
   • Types of suggestions you may see include:
     • Adding store codes to all business listings
     • Adding missing listings to your store locator
     • Adding websites and phone numbers to all business listings
     • Ensuring true duplicates are removed
     • Ensuring suspended or disabled listings are resolved or removed
     • Ensuring all necessary listings are shared with Yext
     • Removing geo-modifiers
     • Confirming primary owner and location counts

Once complete, your Implementation Manager or Yext Support will submit an official request to approve your account on your behalf.

Eligibility Rules

Not all businesses are eligible for bulk verification. The following businesses are ineligible for bulk verification:

• Businesses with fewer than 10 locations
  • Listings that are marked as closed, duplicates, suspended, or disabled do not count towards this 10-location minimum.
• Agencies managing listings on behalf of a different brand or for multiple businesses
• Businesses that operate purely service area/address hidden locations

Required Content for Submitting a Bulk Verification Request

• Google Business Profile Account Email: The email used to log in to GBP and access the locations.
• Google Business Profile Account Access: Yext will need to be added as a co-owner of all folders within your GBP account. Steps can be found here.
• Store Locator: A public-facing site that lists a brand’s full list of locations. GBP uses this as a source of truth for business data and other verification.
  • If you don’t have this, let your Yext contact know when submitting this request.
• Finally, please ensure that every location associated with the business has a store code, a website, and a phone number in the GBP account

Next Steps

Once our internal teams have had a chance to review your request, it will be submitted to Google for approval. Your Yext contact will be available to answer any questions while we work on getting your account approved, and will follow up in case Google requires any additional information.

Note that approval for Bulk Verification is at the discretion of Google, and can take 2+ months to complete.

Bulk Verification Checklist

• Download link of full document in multiple languages from the Request Bulk Verification for Google Business Profile Listings help article.