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Don’t Use Your Social Media Profile As Your “Website” in Google Maps

Last Updated: November 18, 2024

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If you’re using your Facebook page as the “website” on your Google Business Profile (GBP), it’s time to make a change, right now! Google’s rules have been tightened up regarding this practice, and failing to follow their guidelines can lead to serious consequences, including suspensions.

What’s the Issue?

  1. Suspensions Are on the Rise
    Google now penalizes businesses that use a social media link—like a Facebook page—in the “website” field of their GBP. This field is specifically for a business’s main website, and misusing it can result in your GBP being flagged or suspended.
  2. Social Links Have a Proper Home
    Google has a dedicated section within the GBP interface for social media links. This is where they want you to include your Facebook, Instagram, or other social profiles—not in the “website” field.
  3. Your Website Is a Ranking Factor
    Having a proper website linked to your GBP isn’t just about compliance—it’s also a ranking signal. A well-structured, relevant website boosts your visibility in local search results. Choosing to leave the “website” field blank means you’re willingly ranking lower than you could.

What’s the Solution?

  1. Link to a Real Website
    If you don’t already have a website, it’s crucial to get one. A simple one-page website is enough to satisfy Google’s requirements and can act as a digital business card for your company.
  2. No More Free Websites From Google
    Google used to offer a free, one-page website option for GBP users. However, this feature was discontinued in early 2024. If you’re relying on this or haven’t replaced it yet, now’s the time to find an alternative.
  3. Consider an Ultra-Affordable Replacement
    Services like Prospect Genius’s GBP Website Replacement can fill the gap left by Google’s free websites. These highly-affordable, single-page sites are designed to meet GBP requirements, look professional, and instead of being a dead-end, they even allow for easy upgrades in the future if your needs grow. This ensures you won’t have to scrap your site and start over, saving you time and money.

The Bottom Line

Using your Facebook page as your “website” in your GBP might seem like a quick fix, but it’s a shortcut that can cost you. Google has clear expectations for where social media links should go, and failing to comply can hurt your GBP visibility—or worse, get your listing suspended.

A proper website is not just a best practice; it’s a necessity. Even a simple, affordable site can make a big difference in your rankings and your customers’ trust.

Don’t risk your GBP status. Update your listing today, and if you need help getting an affordable, compliant website, there are plenty of options out there to make the process quick and easy.

Google Business Profiles: Address-Based, Service-Area, and Hybrid

Last Updated: November 8, 2024

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A Google Business Profile (GBP) is an essential tool for local businesses looking to boost visibility in Google Search and Maps. However, we find there’s a lot of confusion about Google’s rules governing the use of each type of GBP. “There are different types?!” Yeah, that’s usually where the conversation starts…

Google offers different profile types—address-based, service-area, and hybrid—designed to match various business setups. Knowing the differences and rules around each type can help your business to not only appear in relevant searches and attract the right customers, but most-importantly, to avoid the dreaded penalties associated with picking the wrong one for your situation.

Let’s explore these three types of profiles and discuss which one is best suited for your business type.

 

1. Address-Based Google Business Profile

Address-based profiles are designed for businesses with a physical location where customers can visit. By listing a visible address, these profiles can rank highly in searches within that area, making them powerful for businesses aiming to capture nearby customers. This local ranking advantage has led some businesses to use virtual addresses in desirable locations, like city centers, to rank higher—though Google strictly prohibits this practice. Furthermore, they have implemented new verification requirements that make these sorts of tricks effectively impossible to pull off.

Pros:

  • Strong Local Ranking: Address-based profiles rank well for searches close to the listed address. This can be particularly advantageous in high-demand areas, as the business is seen as “established” and easy to locate.
  • Increased Customer Trust: A visible address signals legitimacy and reliability, which can be especially reassuring for customers seeking a physical location.

Considerations:

  • Follow Google’s Rules: Using a virtual address or other tricks to appear in high-traffic areas is now very difficult and can result in severe penalties, including suspension of your profile. It’s crucial to stay within Google’s guidelines to avoid potential setbacks.

 

2. Service-Area Google Business Profile

A service-area business (SAB) profile is ideal for home-based businesses or those that only travel to customers. For industries like plumbing, HVAC, and electrical work, a service-area profile allows you to show your general service radius without displaying an exact address. While not as powerful in local ranking algorithms as an address-based profile, the SAB option gives you the visibility you need while protecting your privacy. After all, you don’t want an upset customer knocking on the door where your kids live…

Pros:

  • Privacy for Home-Based Businesses: You can list a service area instead of an exact location, so potential customers won’t see your home address. This maintains professionalism and privacy, reducing the risk of unexpected visits.
  • Reaches Nearby Customers: Though less powerful than address-based profiles, a well-defined service area helps your business appear in searches within your radius, allowing you to connect with customers in your service zone.

Considerations:

  • Accept Limitations in Search Rankings: Service-area profiles may not rank as highly as address-based profiles for nearby searches. However, using an address for your SAB profile is against Google’s rules and could result in suspension.

 

3. Hybrid Google Business Profile

The hybrid profile is designed for businesses with both a physical location where customers can visit and an on-site service component. Hybrid GBPs show an address while also allowing you to list a service area radius, making them ideal for businesses with a “brick-and-mortar plus” model, like pizza shops with dine-in and delivery or professionals like photographers who work both in-studio and at clients’ locations. Other examples include massage therapists, any type of take-out restaurant with in-store seating (Chinese food for example), or automotive glass repair services.

Pros:

  • Flexible Customer Reach: Hybrid profiles allow businesses to rank for both “near me” searches as well as broader service-area searches, giving you the best of both worlds.
  • Appeals to Diverse Customer Needs: This setup can attract walk-in customers and those looking for services delivered to their door, helping you grow your client base.

Considerations:

  • Only Use If Applicable: Google expects hybrid profiles to accurately reflect businesses that operate in both modes. Trying to use a hybrid model without a genuine physical location or service area can lead to penalties.

 

Final Tips and Best Practices

  1. Stay Within Google’s Guidelines: Attempting to game the system by misrepresenting your address or profile type can result in harsh penalties, including the suspension or removal of your listing. Google’s rules are in place to ensure accurate and helpful results for users, so it’s crucial to adhere to them.
  2. Keep Your Profile Updated: Accurate information on hours, service areas, and contact details is essential for all profile types. Google rewards profiles that keep their information current, so regularly review and update your GBP.
  3. Choose Based on Business Needs: Each profile type has unique benefits designed to suit specific business models. By aligning your GBP with how your business truly operates, you can maximize your reach without risking penalties.
  4. PRO TIP: Your hours of operation now help to control when you’ll be shown for searches. If you list that you’re only open until 5pm, you can expect not to be shown in searches for your services after 5pm. It’s worth considering solutions that would enable you to receive live customer calls longer than you previously have, so that you can expand your advertised hours of operation and rank in more searches.

By selecting the right Google Business Profile type—whether address-based, service-area, or hybrid—you’ll build credibility, improve local visibility, and attract the ideal customers to your business.

Why Virtual Addresses No Longer Work: The Evolution of Google Map Listing Verification

Last Updated: October 31, 2024

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If you’ve ever tried to use a virtual address from a service like Regus, Anytime Mailbox, or a co-working space to get a pin on Google Maps, you’ve probably noticed it doesn’t work anymore. You can still use these addresses for “service-area” businesses, but they won’t get you that coveted map pin. So, why the change? It all goes back to the way Google’s verification process has evolved over the years. If you’ve felt the frustration of each new layer of verification, you’re not alone — and understanding this history helps explain why today’s methods are more thorough and harder to bypass.

The Early Days

In the beginning, Google required no verification at all. Users could put together a map listing, and after a cursory review (if that), it went live. Google also introduced a tool called Map Maker that let users make real-time changes to listings. With so little oversight, businesses used virtual addresses, while spammers and competitors created fake profiles, edited legitimate listings, and flooded the system with inaccurate data. Over time, this mess of invalid listings threatened Google’s reliability, leading them to evolve to phone verifications and eventually close down Map Maker altogether.

Phone and Text Verification

Google’s first real attempt at verification came in the form of phone calls and text messages. The idea was to link listings to a specific phone number tied to the location’s country. This method initially worked well enough and continued to allow virtual addresses to pass. Unfortunately, people quickly found workarounds, using Google Voice or burner phones to verify addresses, even if they weren’t real business locations. Google tried limiting the number of times a phone number could be used in a six-month period, but this didn’t stop determined users and spammers from bypassing the system.

Postcards by Mail

Google’s next step was to send verification postcards by mail. These postcards contained a unique code to be entered for listing verification. While this slowed down some bad actors, it still allowed virtual addresses and co-working spaces to pass as legitimate locations. Google’s hope was that businesses with physical addresses would find this process easy, while the hurdles would stop spammers. However, some users started using tricks like setting up mail forwarding at the post office — requesting a change of address to route postcards from vacant lots or co-working spaces to their actual location. While it was more challenging, these tactics allowed virtual addresses to keep working for most users. It was also expensive since it required Google to use labor from high-cost areas like the USA, print physical postcards, pay for postage, and physically ship them out.

Video Uploads

After postcards failed to curb all the spam, Google introduced a video upload requirement. Now, users had to record and submit a video of their storefront, giving Google’s team visual proof that the business existed at the stated location. This change marked the beginning of the end for virtual addresses on the map, as users couldn’t easily fake a storefront at a virtual address or mailbox location. Virtual addresses, which had previously been a viable, albeit tricky, option, started to hit serious obstacles. If Google’s team had any doubts after reviewing the video, they could ask for additional documents, like utility bills or official business registrations, adding further scrutiny that made it harder to use virtual addresses.

Live Video Calls: The Final Blow to Virtual Addresses

Google’s most recent (and so far most foolproof) method of verification is live video calls. This approach takes video verification up a notch by requiring a real-time video call where a Google rep can direct you to show specific parts of your business location, verifying you’re where you claim to be. This new process reduces the friction introduced by the requirement for documents and speeds up the verification process overall. They may ask you to walk around, show signage, or verify other location-specific details on the spot. Since it’s nearly impossible to fake this in a virtual address or co-working space, virtual offices have become unusable for pin verification, even if you can use them for service-area businesses.

Why All the Changes?

Every change Google has made has been a response to an issue impacting the reliability of map listings, and let’s be honest, an effort to cut costs. If spammy and fake listings overrun the platform, users might look to alternative services. As spammers and businesses got more inventive with workarounds, Google had to keep evolving its process, tightening up from unverified listings to today’s real-time video calls.

It’s worth noting that there are still exceptions to the official “rules” for these. In certain edge cases, you may be required to do a verification by phone or mail, for example. The intent of this article is to document the evolution, not to be an exhaustive list of all possibilities.

So, What’s Next?

What new verification method might be on the horizon? Only time will tell, but it’s clear that Google will keep adapting as long as people find ways around the rules. It might feel like an endless loop, but it’s all for a good cause — to keep map listings accurate, useful, and trustworthy for businesses and customers alike.

Now you know why each step came about and why virtual addresses have fallen out of favor for map pins. Hopefully, you feel better prepared for whatever Google rolls out next!

Why Would Google Block Users From Leaving Reviews A Google Business Profile?

Last Updated: October 25, 2024

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Recently, a client reached out to us with a puzzling Google Business Profile (GBP) issue. His team had been regularly sharing the Google review link with customers to acquire reviews, which is, of course, a critical part of every business’  online strategy these days. The listing was live and fully visible to anyone searching for the business, so from the outside, everything looked fine.

However, there was a hidden problem: when customers clicked on the link to leave reviews, they simply couldn’t. Google was actively preventing them from leaving reviews, but our client had no clue this was happening—there were no warnings or notifications from Google. He only learned of the issue when a customer notified him that the review link wasn’t working.

Diagnosing the Problem: The Case of the Blocked Reviews

Without any alerts or notifications from Google, it wasn’t immediately obvious what was wrong. Our team dove into the details, exploring every potential cause. After some careful troubleshooting and digging, we uncovered the root of the issue: the business had been misclassified by Google. Although the listing itself was live and customers could see it, the misclassification blocked the ability to leave reviews, a fairly rare and challenging problem to identify.

Below is what the GBP notice looked like for users. It just reads “Posting is currently turned off.”

GBP Posting Restriction notice on Google Business Profile page

 

Why Would Google Block Reviews?!

At first, it seemed strange that Google would block reviews, but as we researched, it made more sense. Referring to these cases as “posting restrictions,” Google restricts reviews for certain types of entities and in certain situations. Some businesses, like police stations, can no longer receive reviews, while locations such as polling places have reviews turned off temporarily around election times. When fraud or abuse is detected against a particular location, reviews may also be disabled on a case-by-case basis. This process isn’t always transparent, so it can be hard to pinpoint the exact cause. You can read more about their policy governing this issue on their website.

Getting it Fixed: Navigating Google’s Appeals Process

Once we nailed down the cause, it was time to act. We knew we had to appeal directly to Google to reclassify the business under the correct category, which would reinstate the ability to leave reviews. Because we’re familiar with the appeals process and the best practices for GBP management, we moved quickly to file the appeal, ensuring Google had the information it needed to resolve the issue. Within just a few days, the review function was restored and our client could once again collect those invaluable customer reviews.

Takeaways and Tips for Your Own GBP

This experience is a good reminder to regularly check your Google Business Profile, especially if you rely on reviews for customer engagement. The client in this case had no idea there was a problem—without that customer’s heads-up, the issue might have gone unnoticed for months.

To stay on top of these issues, periodically check your GBP to make sure everything works as expected. Or, if you want to be completely sure your profile is in safe hands, consider working with a pro. Our team is here to monitor, maintain, and optimize your GBP to prevent these hidden problems from disrupting your business.

If you’re dealing with this issue, please reach out so we can help you resolve it. You can even sign up online by going to our Google Business Profile Rescue page.

Is That A Real Google Phone Number?

Last Updated: October 22, 2024

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You’ve probably received one of those sketchy calls claiming to be from Google…who hasn’t at this point? We’ve all been there—someone calls saying they’re with Google and you need to verify your account, update payment info, or even pay to keep your Google Business Profile (which is free, by the way).

To help you steer clear of these scammers, we’ve put together a list of valid Google phone numbers (for the United States.) These are the real Google numbers you can trust, so the next time you get a “Google” call, you can be more certain that it’s legit.

Valid Google Phone Numbers

Google Maps

For issues related to your Google Business Profile (GBP) (formerly Google My Business) 

650-206-5555
650-763-0461
844-899-8101
650-203-0000
650-417-9099
650-215-5133
650-215-5109

Google Voice Assistant

For inbound calls from the Google Voice Assistant. This is posted on Google’s website here: https://support.google.com/business/answer/7690269

650-206-5555
650-763-0461
650-899-8667
844-899-8101
855-252-7709

 

Google Voice Support

650-933-2255

 

Google Ads (AdWords) Support

650-206-5555

 

Download Our Verified Google Contact Card

Want to make sure you always have the right Google phone numbers on hand? We’ve created a downloadable contact card with the verified phone numbers listed above. It’s an easy way to add them to your phone so you can avoid being fooled by scammers.

Download Google Verified Contacts (vCard)

 

Simplified List of Valid Google Phone Numbers

If you’d rather add these to your phone yourself, here’s a simplified list you can copy/paste from.

650-203-0000
650-206-5555
650-215-5109
650-215-5133
650-253-0000
650-417-9099
650-450-6792
650-763-0461
650-899-8667
650-933-2255
844-899-8101
855-252-7709

 

If you’re trying to place a call to Google, these numbers might be helpful.

  • Google Ads Support: 1-866-246-6453
  • Google Business Profile Support (formerly Google My Business): 1-844-491-9665
    • Note: They will play a recorded message telling you to file your case online.
  • Google Workspace (G Suite) Support: 1-877-355-5787
  • General Google Support (US): 1-650-253-0000

These typically won’t be the numbers you’ll see in your caller ID though.

 

Google has also published some tips on how to tell if a call is from them.

You can check that out here: https://support.google.com/business/answer/6212928?sjid=4149871325749920604-NA

Conclusion

Protecting yourself from scam calls is more important than ever. By using the valid Google phone numbers we’ve provided and remaining cautious of any unsolicited calls, you can safeguard your business from falling victim to fraud. Always verify any suspicious calls and keep our downloadable Google contact card handy for quick reference. Remember, Google will never ask for sensitive information like payment details over the phone, so stay alert and use the resources we’ve compiled here to ensure you’re dealing with the real Google.

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