Google Business Profile verification video: how to pass

An unverified Business Profile is, for practical purposes, invisible. It can exist in Google's records and you can fill in every field, but Google says only verified businesses can show their business info on Maps and Search.

This is a common reason a new Philippine business concludes that Google "does not work" for them. Nothing else on your profile matters until this step is complete, so do it before you spend an afternoon on photos and descriptions. If you have not created the profile yet, start with how to add your business to Google Maps. Once you are through, work down the Google Business Profile optimization guide field by field.

You do not choose. Google decides which options to offer based on your business type, public info, region and business hours, and it may offer only one.

• Video verification. Google recommends it when it is offered. You record a single continuous video on your phone, guided by prompts.
• Live video call. The same evidence, but with a Google agent watching in real time and asking you to point the camera at things. It only runs during your business hours.
• Postcard. Not offered to every business. Google says most codes arrive within 14 days and expire after 30, and a hard-to-find address can make delivery slower.
• Phone, text or email. Offered to some businesses, depending on what Google already knows about them.
• Instant. Sometimes, if you have already verified your website in Google Search Console.

The video has to prove three things in one unbroken take: that the business exists at that address, that it is the kind of business you said it is, and that you are the person running it. Most failures come from missing the third. Google's rules for verification videos add the format: at least 30 seconds, recorded live and uploaded from your phone through the Business Profile, unedited and with no breaks.

Prepare before you press record. Have the signage visible, the lights on, the door open, and something that proves management within reach: keys to the till, access to the stockroom or the POS, or the business permit.

• Start outside, on the street, showing the building number and any nearby landmark.
• Pan up to your signage so the business name is readable, matching the name on the profile exactly.
• Walk in without stopping the recording. Google wants one recording with no breaks, so a cut gets the video rejected.
• Show the interior clearly: seating, the counter, equipment specific to your trade.
• Finish with proof of management: open the till, open the back room, or show the permit with the business name on it.
• Narrate as you go. Saying what you are showing helps the reviewer follow it.
• Keep out what Google does not allow in the video: other people's faces, and bank account, tax or ID numbers. If the permit shows your TIN, cover the number with your thumb.

Addresses here are written many ways, and Google is unforgiving about mismatches. Use the address exactly as it appears on your permit and signage, including the unit number and the building name. "Unit 3, Ground Floor, Santos Building, 12 Rizal St., Brgy. San Antonio" gives the reviewer something to match; "12 Rizal St" may not.

If you operate inside a mall, a food hall or a shared building, show the route: the mall entrance, the floor, then your stall. A video that begins inside an unidentifiable unit gives the reviewer nothing to confirm.

Home-based and service-area businesses are harder. If you do not serve customers at your address, set yourself up as a service-area business and hide the address. You still have to prove you operate from there: Google suggests filming the street signs and landmarks near your home, your tools or equipment, and a permit, invoice or utility bill in the business name.

Do not add keywords to your business name to help it rank. "Kuya Jun's Barbershop Makati Best Haircut" breaks Google's rules for business names, which say extra words can get a profile suspended. Use the name on your signage. A clean name and the right category are also what ranking higher on Google Maps depends on.

When a video fails, Google lists the reasons under Review issues on your profile, such as "Business name not visible on storefront" or "Missing proof of authorization to operate the business". Do not immediately re-record the same video, and do not create a second profile. A duplicate can turn a verification problem into a suspension. If the profile then vanishes from Maps, see why a business is not showing up on Google Maps.

Work out which of the three things was not proven. In our experience it is almost always proof of management, followed by signage that does not match the profile name.

You can normally try again. If two or three attempts fail, contact Google Business Profile support and ask specifically what was missing, with your permit and photos of the storefront ready to send. To read what each message in your dashboard means, and how long to wait before retrying, see Google Business Profile verification status explained.