Businesses understand the importance of being found on Google at the very moment people are searching for what they offer. For those with brick and mortar locations, high placement within Google’s local results section is the Holy Grail and it starts with verifying your Google My Business pages (previously referred to as Google Places and Google+ Local Pages). For brands with 10 or more locations, this can be a time consuming and difficult task. In fact, recent changes to Google My Business left many confused, specifically as it relates to bulk versus manual verification. No worries, we are here to help. Below we have outlined the pros and cons of each type of verification and what to do if you haven’t even started.
Pros and Cons of Bulk Verification
– Pros
- Uploading your location information in bulk form allows you to take care of all locations at once.
- It is a quick and simple upload.
- No contact with locations is necessary, only a domain specific email address to receive an automated email from Google.
– Cons
- Bulk upload limits your business description to 200 characters.
- Cover photos cannot be added via the bulk upload and must be added through the Google My Business dashboard.
- Standard photos can be added via the bulk upload however using the Google My Business dashboard typically results in faster implementation.
- Depending on location count, bulk verification usually happens within 2-5 weeks.
- Any submitted changes to location information takes longer to update.
Pros and Cons of Manual Verification
– Pros
- You have a greater control of your listings.
- The business description character limit increases to 1,000 characters (Bulk allows for only 200 characters).
- Any submitted changes to location information are generally updated within a couple hours.
– Cons
- You are required to verify each location one-by-one, which can be a very time consuming process.
- Manual verification requires a pin code that can be delivered either immediately over the phone or via a mailed postcard sent to the location which takes 2-3 weeks.
- Coordination of pin codes delivered via phone calls and postcards across many locations can be difficult.
What to Do If You Have Not Verified Your Listings or You are a Brand New Business
– If you have more than 10 locations, bulk verification is recommended because it is quicker and easier than manual verification.
- You must have 10 locations minimum.
- An automated email will ask if you want to verify your listings.
- Respond back and they all become pending verifications.
– If you have less than 10 locations, manual verification is recommended.
- Manual verification requires a pin code that can be delivered either immediately over the phone or via a mailed postcard sent to the location which takes 2-3 weeks
If you want more information on our local listings management solution, please visit our Local Listings page. If have additional questions on listing verification or just want to leave it up to the professionals, we are here to help! Just send us a message using our contact us page.