How do I verify my Google Business Profile?
You verify through the prompts inside your Business Profile, and a common method today is a short live video, recorded on your phone, that proves the business exists and that you run it.
Google's video rules are specific. The recording must be made live through your Business Profile on a mobile device, in one unedited take of at least 30 seconds. It needs to show where you operate (street signs or nearby landmarks), proof the business exists (signage, equipment, a branded vehicle) and proof you manage it (opening up the shop, or a permit or invoice that matches your profile name). Google says review can take up to five business days.
The usual reasons a video fails: no visible signage, no surrounding area shown, other people's faces in the shot, or sensitive numbers on documents. Plan the shot list before you press record.
If you serve customers at their location and work from home, Google says not to show that address; hide it and set service areas instead. When we manage a profile, we plan the video with you so it passes the first time.
Sources: Verify your business with a video recording (Google Business Profile Help), Manage your service areas for service-area and hybrid businesses (Google Business Profile Help)
Who should own my Google Business Profile, me or my agency?
You should. Keep your business as the primary owner and give your agency manager access.
Business Profiles have different user roles. Owners control everything, including adding and removing other users, and the primary owner role can only change hands through an ownership transfer. Managers can handle the day-to-day work, like editing details, replying to reviews and posting updates, without the power to remove you.
A mess we see often: a former agency, web designer or employee created the profile under their own Google account and then moved on. Getting it back is possible, but it is slow and stressful. Check today. Open your profile, find the people and access settings, and confirm the primary owner is an account your business controls, ideally a shared business login rather than one person's personal Gmail.
The same rule applies to your website and domain and your ad accounts. You own the assets. We earn access by doing good work.
Sources: Manage owners and managers of your Business Profile (Google Business Profile Help)
How do I remove a fake review from my Google Business Profile?
You can report it, but Google only removes reviews that break its content policies, such as spam, fake engagement, off-topic posts, conflicts of interest or harassment, not reviews that are simply negative or feel unfair.
To report one, open your profile, go to your reviews, select Report next to the review and pick the reason. You can follow the status in Google's Reviews Management Tool. Google says evaluation typically takes several days, and it has a separate reporting path if someone threatens bad reviews unless you pay.
Be specific about why it breaks policy. A review from someone who was never a customer, posted the same week as a batch of similar one-star reviews, is a much stronger report than a real customer who disliked your price.
Whatever happens with the report, reply publicly, calmly and briefly. Future customers read your reply as much as the review. Then focus on steady new reviews from real customers, which dilutes a bad one faster than any removal request. Our local SEO work includes a policy-safe review process.
Sources: Report inappropriate reviews on your Business Profile (Google Business Profile Help)
What do the numbers in my Business Profile performance report mean?
The performance report shows how people found your profile and what they did next: views, the searches that showed you, and actions like calls, website clicks, direction requests, messages and bookings.
A few details change how you should read it. Google counts views as unique visitors, and one person counts only once per day, so views look lower than you might expect. The searches list updates at the start of each month and can take up to five days to appear. Google also notes the report includes views and actions from Google Ads, not only organic results, so a jump can come from ad spend.
The numbers I watch most are calls, website clicks and direction requests, because they sit closest to revenue. Searches tell you what Google thinks you are relevant for. If your top searches are your brand name and almost nothing for your services, that points to a category or content problem, not a reviews problem.
We also tag the website link with UTM parameters so those visits show up as their own source in GA4.
Sources: Understand your Business Profile performance and insights (Google Business Profile Help)
What can I do about a fake competitor listing on Google Maps?
Report it to Google: use Suggest an edit on the listing in Maps, and for clear fraud such as made-up business names or phone numbers, file Google's Business Redressal Complaint Form.
Fake listings show up a lot in home services, legal and locksmith searches, where lead-generation outfits create profiles at addresses with no real business behind them. Google's rules say a business must make in-person contact with customers during its stated hours, and lead generation companies are not eligible for a profile at all.
Build a case before you report. Look up the address on Street View, call the number, and note whether the name is stuffed with keywords and whether any real website or license sits behind it. In Maps, select Suggest an edit, then Place is closed or not here, then Offensive, harmful or misleading. Google's help center says the redressal form can take many listings at once if you find a cluster.
It is worth the effort. When a spam listing drops out of the top three, a real business moves up without changing anything.
Sources: Report a business on Google Maps (Google Maps Help), Overview of Google Business Profile policies (Google Business Profile Help)
Can Google change my Business Profile without my approval?
Yes. Google can update your profile using information from users and other sources, so review it regularly instead of assuming it stays the way you left it.
Anyone can suggest an edit on Maps, and Google also draws on sources like user reports and licensed data. Those updates can show up as changed hours, a new phone number, a different category or a moved map pin. Google's Business Profile help explains how to review edits and correct anything that is wrong.
Google also reviews your own edits before they go live, and it may reject big changes to a business name or category, because those often signal a different business. If you rebrand or move, follow Google's process rather than quietly renaming the profile, or you risk a suspension.
Our habit is a monthly check of every profile we manage: hours, categories, phone, website link, pin location and any pending edits. It takes a few minutes and catches problems before customers do.
Sources: Edit your Business Profile (Google Business Profile Help), Overview of Google Business Profile policies (Google Business Profile Help)
How much does Google Business Profile management cost?
The profile itself is free from Google; management is a monthly retainer or a fixed project fee that we quote after looking at your profile, because a clean single-location profile and a suspended multi-location brand are very different jobs.
Ongoing management covers weekly posts, fresh photos, review replies within 24 hours, monitoring for unwanted edits and spam competitors, and a monthly report on calls, website clicks and direction requests. One-time work, like reinstating a suspended profile or merging duplicate listings, is scoped separately.
Some owners only need a cleanup and a simple routine they can run themselves. If that is you, we will tell you. If you also want map pack rankings to climb, that is wider local SEO work, which adds citations, local pages and a review program on top.
Engagements are month to month with 30-day cancellation. Ask any provider what they will change in the first month and how you will see the result.
