Tutorial: Validate your establishments' registration on Google

Google Business Profile is the tool that allows brands to manage their presence in Google search results and on Google Maps. Before you can manage your local locations and view them online, you need to verify their listings to confirm that you are the owner (or administrator).

Don't have an Google Business Profile account yet? Feel free to check out the Google Business Profile support for the registration process.

Why do you need to verify the Google listings of your local establishments?

Verification ensures the accuracy of the data relating to your points of sale on Google (stores, restaurants or agencies) and prevents others from taking ownership of local listings in your place. This verification process is necessary to be able to manage the information of your points of sale.

“Verified establishments are twice as likely to be considered trustworthy by users.”
Source: support.google.com/business

The validation process for your local Google listings

When you log in to Google Business Profile and select the outlet to validate, several options are available to you:

1. Mail validation
   Check that the address entered is correct. Then it takes about 2 weeks to receive a 5-digit validation code.
2. Phone verification
   You receive a verification code through an automated message. Make sure you can answer directly to the phone number you provided.
3. Email validation
   You can do this directly in the validation email you received or copy the code found there and paste it into your Google Business Profile dashboard.

Not all of these options are available for all business categories.

Once your point of sale sheet is validated, you will likely receive a notification inviting you to check and update the establishment's data if needed. So if you want to change the name of your local business, you will have the opportunity to do so when validation is performed.

Other people have already verified the establishments I want to manage. How can I claim them to become the primary owner?

It happens that some establishment listings are already verified. To find out, you need to log in to the Google Business Profile account you want to use to manage these outlets, then add the location to administer:

To check the status of the outlet you want to manage, start by clicking on the “ + “ icon and then on the location icon

Then, in the first field on the next page, enter the name of the point of sale and select it as soon as it appears in the drop-down list. The other fields will be filled in automatically and you can continue.

A dialog box is displayed to inform you that another person has already verified the business listing, with a preview of their email address. If you have multiple Google Business Profile accounts, it's possible that this other person is you or one of your colleagues. In this case, follow the procedure to link the location to the correct account by clicking on the link provided for this purpose. Otherwise, continue by clicking the button to request ownership.

You will receive a message and a confirmation email for your request specifying that while waiting for the response you can suggest changes to the listing (to change the opening hours for example). It is also specified that if you have not received a response within 7 days it will be necessary to check the status of your request directly in Google My Business.

Following the claim request for a listing, three response options are available to you:

1. The request is accepted and you receive an acceptance email. Congratulations, you can start managing your business information!

2. The request is rejected by the current owner and you receive a rejection email. You can appeal and reiterate your request to the Google My Business support this time.

3. The current owner of the listing has not responded and no activity is visible on their account. After 7 days, you must reiterate your request directly to the Google Business Profile support. Generally, in this case, Google will transfer ownership to your account.

Want to know more? 

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Check out other articles on the subject...

• Tutorial: How to create a Google My Business page for your business?
• Boost the visibility of your points of sale with local ads