How much documentation do you need for a successful appeal / re-verification

[Ben Walsh]

Hey Guys,

So recently had a client who is having listings suspended and they are lacking on documentation, so they are scrambling to provide evidence for an appeal.

This has got me wondering: If a business has created additional locations, say with an office in a coworking space or using a home address as an additional location even if they are manned during work hours, are they at risk if they don't also have paperwork such as utility bills, or other documentation like official business registrations, business licenses for those addresses?

Im trying to work out what the current bar of evidence is and how to protect listings that could currently be at risk so we can get them what they might need to appease Google when we do run into appeals and verifications.

Hope that makes sense

Thanks

 

[ElizabethRule]

If they do not have any legal proof with the business name and address on it, they are at risk of not getting that location's listing reinstated if it were to get suspended. Minimum, I would have 2 documents with the address on it, and try to get the address listed on an official state/country government business entity website.

Especially in a coworking space, I don't see that getting reinstated without evidence, and a ton of evidence at that.

 

[Professor M]

I concur completely with @ElizabethRule, and in some categories (home services verticals) Google is getting stricter with documentation for reinstatement appeals.

 

[Stefan Somborac]

I agree with @ElizabethRule and will add two things:

1.) When it comes to suspension/reinstatement, Google isn't concerned with the legalities of business registration/licensing in a region. Where I'm located, you can start, say, a handyman business with no registration. Do some work, get paid and that's a legal revenue source. In some places, a locksmith needs a license, while in other regions, they don't. Etc.

When it comes to getting reinstated, Google doesn't care about those legal issues. They just want proof that the business exists.

So, you may find that you need to create documentation that you wouldn't otherwise carry just to keep Google happy. That is often the case for a Business Profile created at a private office in a Regus (or similar), where you have nothing but a lease and a photo of your office signage.

2.) Google provides a list of acceptable evidence.

Note that having the evidence does not guarantee reinstatement. That document states it "...can help strengthen your appeal...".