Advertiser Verification for LSA?

[Maxw555]

One of my clients LSA has been showing off and on throughout the day. Sometimes it shows on the Safari browser, then not on Chrome, and vice versa. Same with mobile. Never seems to be consistent. When we first turned the Ad on two weeks ago, they were consistently in the top spot. I called Local services about the ad showing off and on, and they mentioned needing to do Advertiser Verification. Company has never run a PPC campaign.

Has anyone else heard of this? After seeing all of the hurdles many have had on here with verification, I am hesitant to begin the process for them. There is no "deadline" and they mention they can still run ads if the process is not completed.

Any thoughts here? Would completing this help the LSA show up more consistently?

 

[Chris Barnard]

Hi Max,

is this a new account, or in the law vertical?

Google is rolling out additional ID verifications for law accounts in the US.

In order to keep LSAs running, the business owner or senior partner at a law firm or practice will need to pass an identity check. Additionally, any featured professionals will need to pass an identity check in order to continue appearing in LSA ads.

This should not have any impact on ad rankings, but could affect them serving or not (if IDV isn't done, they could pause until it is)

 

[Maxw555]

Hi Max,

is this a new account, or in the law vertical?

Google is rolling out additional ID verifications for law accounts in the US.

In order to keep LSAs running, the business owner or senior partner at a law firm or practice will need to pass an identity check. Additionally, any featured professionals will need to pass an identity check in order to continue appearing in LSA ads.

This should not have any impact on ad rankings, but could affect them serving or not (if IDV isn't done, they could pause until it is)

Hi Chris,

Thanks for the reply. The LSA account is from 2019 and it is not in law. You can see for example in the photo, this company is not verified, but yet still shows up number one for most of the time. This is the case for a lot of advertisers on LSA. Some verified, some not. Doesn't seem to impact rankings at all, or at least I do not spot a trend. Makes me think the LSA reps have no idea what is going on.

in the second image, If you click the three little dots next to "Seattle" you can go in and see who is verified and who isn't. Look like you can do this for almost all LSA categories.

 

[Chris Barnard]

I see that, and the verification checks are present (license, background, insurance) with the oh so comforting green check mark.

I just received word back from G support about a PPC account that was formerly verified (have the screenshots), but is now required to complete an additional "Identity Verification." Looks like an additional ID Verification is now being rolled out to PPC too, maybe it's been around forever, I've never seen it outside the Advanced Verifications required for Garage Doors and Locksmiths (PPC + LSA).

How to complete identity verification - Advertising Policies Help - "Google reserves the right to verify your identity or business operations again."

There's also a section, "If you are not given a deadline to complete the verification"