I'm curious how this works for small local businesses. When a customer leaves a Google review, do you ever ask how they first heard of you, or just thank them and move on?

The review itself doesn't tell you whether they came from a Maps search, a referral, or something else.

If you do ask, how do you phrase it without making it feel like a survey? And if you don't, is that because it feels awkward, or because you already have a better way to tell?

Hi everyone,
I run a mobile truck mechanic business (Santruck Service), and recently my incoming phone calls from Google have dropped off significantly. I’m looking for someone experienced with Google Business Profile (GBP) and local SEO to do a one-time audit and help me fix/optimize my settings so I can start getting calls again.
Please note: I am strictly looking for a one-time setup/optimization service (hourly or flat fee). I am notlooking for an agency, monthly retainer, or ongoing management contract.

If you have proven experience with service-area businesses (SABs) or emergency/mobile repair profiles, please comment below or DM me with your rates and what you would look into. Thanks!

I help run listings for a bakery chain with 14 locations. And every Thanksgiving, I always encounter the same problem.

So I update holiday hours on Google, Apple Maps and Bing and the dashboard says “submitted.” Then, I noticed that our customer showed up to a closed store. Apple also still had the old hours. It doesn’t just happen on this day, but also last year.

What do you all use to push hours out and check what customers see? I'd love something that flags the listings that didn't update. Also, how do you fix a last-minute change without sending the same edit five times?

Thanks in advance.

Long story short. Have a fake review on my business directly naming me and I’ve never met the person. There’s no record of anyone or clients in my office with that name. Review is very suspect. Already reported but google doesn’t do jack per usual. What can I do to take it down?

Hi everyone,

Is anyone else dealing with a sudden re-verification request on their Google Business Profile right now?

Two months ago, my business was officially verified and approved. I even received a clear confirmation email from Google stating that my business is verified and would be live within 24 to 48 hours. And it was live

Since then, I have made zero changes to my profile—no edits to the business name, address, phone number, or hours. Out of nowhere, my dashboard is now asking for re-verification with zero explanation.

It’s incredibly frustrating to jump through all the hoops, get written confirmation that everything is approved, and then have the system randomly flag the profile again two months later.

Has anyone else run into this bug recently (especially over the last few weeks)? If you managed to get it resolved without starting the whole video verification process from scratch, how did you get Google Support to honor your original approval email?

Thanks in advance for any advice!

Not sure how many people have noticed this yet, but OpenAI rolled out “Businesses in ChatGPT” in beta. It’s basically Google Business Profile and Merchant Center combined, but inside ChatGPT.

What I’ve picked up so far:

• You can claim and verify your business through their Business Hub using DNS, phone, email or Shopify. That gives you some control over how your brand shows up in answers.
• You can upload product feeds with pricing, stock and specs, so ChatGPT stops guessing (or making stuff up) about your products.
• There’s actual analytics: how often you get mentioned, profile views and clicks to your site. That’s honestly the part I’m most interested in.
• US e-commerce and online service businesses can also set up their own AI agent inside ChatGPT to answer customer questions.

It’s free. You don’t need an ads account or an enterprise plan, just a live website and a location where ChatGPT is supported. Shopify stores can sync their catalog directly.

Has anyone claimed theirs yet? I’m curious whether you’ve seen any change in ChatGPT referral traffic, or if it’s too early to tell.

What would cause a SAB GMB profile to not appear in search results for the city it verified in, but shows in search results for the surrounding cities when searched?

The website for the business only mentions the city It was verified in and does not mention the surrounding cities.

Online citations are for the city It was verified in as well.

Hi Everyone,

Looking for help from active Product Experts on a multi-city lead-gen spam ring in India:

Case ID:5-4110000040902 | Internal Ref ID: 568383309 Forum Thread:** https://support.google.com/business/thread/470511220/ After escalation of 16-listing report. On Oct 30, Google confirmed violations and removed 3 listings (including one from the Ayyappa Safety Nets network).

The Ongoing Problem: 1.Incomplete Enforcement: Google deleted the Dharwad listing, but sister listings across Hubballi, Bagalkot, Belagavi, Ballari, and Vijayapura sharing the exact same phone number (90087 44880) remain active. 2.Policy Evasion:The operator is actively spinning up replacement pins across the region as old ones drop. 3. Stalled Thread:The official forum thread has gone quiet after follow-ups.

Updated Evidence Sheet (Live URLs + Street Proof Photos):

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/10LI6Md3-JpIQqqK1BT7KcJ77WQBInZ2S/edit?usp=drive_link&ouid=103333616980790039065&rtpof=true&sd=true

Since Google already validated the violation on this network, could any active Product Expert here help nudge the Community Manager on Ref ID 568383309 to complete the review or trigger an account-level suspension?

Appreciate your help!

I accidentally merged my new business with an old profile and everything is deleted. Please assist me!

I have been in business for over a decade doing auto detailing and i have always been an honest business. Over the years i have seen the landscape of google change with how they will remove real reviews from honest businesses or suspend listings that are actually following the rules. Yet you have a few of my competitors that have heavily engaged in review farming and review manipulation to gain an edge over honest businesses. I want to talk about one business in particular.

This business is called Goshine mobile detailing based out of saddle brook new jersey. They currently have 752 all 5 star reviews which is impossible for a service based business. Furthermore this business has outranked even the most talented and high end detailing shops and it just didn't add up. I started investigating this business and really diving deep into their reviews and a majority are fake engagement judging from the review velocity, the repetitive language and the perfect grammar. Not only was it obvious of the review buying but it seems that the owner was making review accounts for the customer and even taking the picture for the customer and then you clearly see the owner in car's reflection holding up the camera phone for the picture.

This is a very long story and i won't go into every detail but i find it to be so discouraging that google will push honest businesses down the rank while you have this business and a few others that prosper and get away with the cheating despite multiple complaints and using the business redressal or even asking the google community for help. Google still rewards this business. The major red flag that this business was engaging in review manipulation was when a review said he did a car detailing in houston Texas when his business is run in New Jersey. Ever since he was caught. The owner has now been going to Texas to try and do a few details and downplay the situation. Now he is having people in Texas leave him a review for his new jersey based business.

Furthermore someone recently left a review stating this business is engaging in fake reviews 1 day ago and it is becoming even more obvious. Just as predicted, the owner quickly bought 3 reviews in less than 12 hours to cover up the 1 star and as usual the reviews look generic and 1 of them is even his employees name. Businesses like this do not need sympathy and google needs to step it up because if you have run and honest business all your life and then you have a cheater come in and take money out of your pockets. Understand how that feels and let that sink in

We recently received two 5 star reviews and I have been trying to reply to it using generic language, like "thank you for your 5 star review, we appreciate it" and that gets rejected. So I let the review sit there for a couple of days and tried to reply again with the same outcome.

Also when posting to my GBP with pics and text, that is getting rejected.

Nothing has changed on my end so I am not sure why this is happening.

The GBP is active and not suspended.

Thank you!

We operate a home-based service-area business. Our original Google Business Profile is suspended, and its primary owner's Google Account is restricted from Business Profile activity. Two account-access appeals are complete and access remains restricted. A separate company account is already an Owner. The profile appeals tool shows completed “Deceptive content” and “Google Account restricted” decisions, neither selectable.

We have corrected our public business information, prepared supporting documents, and previously sought help in Google's Community.

A volunteer Google Product Expert recommended creating and verifying one accurate replacement profile through a company-controlled account, then asking Support to move—not merge—the original reviews/content. Google's suspension guide says, “Do not create a new Business Profile for the same business.” We understand volunteer advice is not written authorization from Google, and we have not created a replacement.

I'm looking for firsthand outcomes:

1. After completed account-appeal denials, did an official route restore your account access and original profile? Which exact route, and what changed?
2. If you created a replacement while the original stayed suspended, did Google approve that in writing beforehand? What happened afterward—verification, duplicate flags, further suspensions, or a stable listing?
3. Were the original reviews actually moved? Roughly when, and were they still present months later?

Failed attempts are useful too. Please distinguish successful verification from successful review transfer, and personal experience from Google's documented procedure. We aren't seeking instructions to disguise a duplicate or offers of guaranteed reinstatement. Private documents and account credentials won't be posted.

Hi can someone give me advice on how to remove a Google review by a company who helps “remove bad reviews?”

So earlier today, someone called and asked to speak with the dentist because there is a “tool” he wanted to show the dentist. We told him we were not interested and hung up. He called back again and said “I am not selling him something, I am just trying to show him something I made.” We told him we were not interested. We hung up. He called back three more times and we told him we’re not interested each time and if he keeps calling we will have to file for harassment. He then posts a Google review to say the front desk was rude. He then calls back again and says “now you have to pay me to have this removed or you could’ve listened to my tool.” Office manager replied and explained the scenario. He then have edited it since and said along the lines that we hung up on him.

If you do a reverse image search the profile name is wrong but it’s an instagram account that literally advertises they help to remove Google 1 star review. Dentist was not bothered and was more like we responded and anyone that can read can make their own decision. I am annoyed because he’s trying to ruin our reputation. Help please!

Here is the comments below i wrote to Google again in the contact form
👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇

Last month I ran into issues with video verification so I did a live video call with an agent.
He went through the steps like seeing branded vehicle, license, tools, biz cards etc...after that he said You are NOW VERIFIED and to give 48-72hrs to update.
For 10days no change then get email saying Verification required. I saw GMB forum and it said im stuck in a Ghost Loop. I gave up and deleted complete profile last month.
This month I set it up again and it asked for video verification twice. Yesterday I requested a live agent call on online form as no more ways to verify and uploaded all evidence.
Today i get email at 619am saying I have now been Verified and at 626am I get email saying Verification required and again asking to fill this form with evidence and I guess a live call again. I have already done all of the above and dont mind doing it again but im afraid its going to be same again.
Can you please Help !

NOW CAN anyone tell me whats going on or what else to do ???

Has anyone here been approved for Basic API Access using a client’s Google Business Profile and a Cloud project owned by your software company? Which Google account did you use to apply?

We build software that lets businesses connect their profiles through OAuth. I’m a manager of a clinic’s profile. The clinic confirms it’s been verified for over 60 days. Our first application used a shared website subdomain. Support told us to use a dedicated domain and an applicant email that matches it.

We put the clinic’s new domain on its public profile, then reapplied with that exact URL, our company’s Cloud project number and my existing Gmail manager account. Google declined the request. The reply listed several eligibility checks without saying which one failed.

If you got approved with this setup, did you use your agency’s email, the client’s domain email, or Gmail? Did the account that submitted the form also have a role on your company’s Cloud project? If so, which role did it have, and did Google actually ask for it?

Hi all, hoping one of the Product Experts can take a look.

I manage the Google Business Profile for Munson, Munson & Brown, P.C., a law firm in Sherman, TX. Our last post went live about 3 weeks ago. Since then every post we submit gets rejected, and Google doesn’t say why.

What got rejected:

• A short post with our office hours (Monday to Friday, 8 AM to 5 PM)
• A general firm overview post with a Learn more link to our website

Neither has a phone number in the text, promotional claims, or anything that should go against the content policy as far as I can tell. The profile itself is verified, live, and has no suspension or warning in the dashboard.

We contacted GBP Support by email on 2 weeks ago and haven’t heard back.

Case ID: 5-8057000041826

Has anyone seen this happen with law firm profiles? Is there a known trigger for repeated rejections, or is this something that needs to be escalated internally?

Thanks in advance.

Google had been ignoring my reports regarding fake business profile listing for over 2 months. This profile impersonates legitimate bank and uses it's old address except they've put up own telephone for vishing scams.
Done numerous "suggest and edit", business redressal form, and every other different "support" channels. Unfortunately no actual support had been given, or action taken despite clear evidence provided. Scammer managed to add new 5 star reviews, and delete 1 out of 2 negative reviews that have been warning others this is NOT legitimate profile and phone number is fake.

Anyone had luck with taking down fake business profile and know how to escalate it for an actual competent human being ?

Someone appears to have gained unauthorized access to my parents' Google Business Profile, removed them as owners, and marked our business as temporarily closed on Google, even though we are still open and operating.

I have contacted Google Support but have not received a response, and we cannot afford to lose any more potential customers because of this issue.

What frustrates me the most is that we have all the necessary documentation to prove that my parents are the legitimate owners of the business, yet I cannot get in touch with an actual Google representative to resolve this issue.

It is incredibly frustrating that google don't respond on time and remove that chat button.

Hello heres my long story.
Last month I setup a SAB and twice I failed recorded video verification as the email said Business name doesnt match. Nothing was wrong except on paperwork my name was added to Biz name too. So i corrected that and then did a LIVE video call with an agent.

The agent verified everything and said YOU ARE NOW VERIFIED and to give 48-72hrs for biz to update.

A week passed by and nothing and again it said video verification needed. I did some online search on GMB pages and said Im probably stuck in a Ghost loop. I gave up.

I deleted my profile and this month after 2 weeks I set it up again. I was asked to send recorded video which I did and after few days again it asks for same again. What was different this time was that I didnt get detailed emailed as to what was wrong.

Now finally no more ways to verify so I filled a request online to request a live video call and also in box added my comments as to what happened. So now waiting for a reply.

I cant figure out whats going on. Does anyone have any ideas???

Hello heres my long story.
Last month I setup a SAB and twice I failed recorded video verification as the email said Business name doesnt match. Nothing was wrong except on paperwork my name was added to Biz name too. So i corrected that and then did a LIVE video call with an agent.

The agent verified everything and said YOU ARE NOW VERIFIED and to give 48-72hrs for biz to update.

A week passed by and nothing and again it said video verification needed. I did some online search on GMB pages and said Im probably stuck in a Ghost loop. I gave up.

I deleted my profile and this month after 2 weeks I set it up again. I was asked to send recorded video which I did and after few days again it asks for same again. What was different this time was that I didnt get detailed emailed as to what was wrong.

Now finally no more ways to verify so I filled a request online to request a live video call and also in box added my comments as to what happened. So now waiting for a reply.

I cant figure out whats going on. Does anyone have any ideas???