Website URL not approved on GBP and won't show in a branded search

[sd1111]

We are working with a client who recently changed her domain. She is having trouble replacing her old website with her new one on her Google Business Profile ("not approved" error)

She has had multiple exchanges with GBP support where they have told her the following:

• Her website is not an “official website” and to pick something else.
• They claimed this was because she didn't have contact information on her site.
  • She has her name and email address on the site
  • Her email is in her footer
  • Her old contact page is redirecting to her new contact page
• They told her that she needed to reach out to her webmaster and "create an official website."

For privacy, I have put the business information (name, URL, GBP URL, Case ID) in this Google doc: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JpWpJVlDwLfTrpMONTSaX5JrmX3JT1Y0uG_-LzRsYNI/edit?usp=sharing

Action we have taken:

• Google Search Console is set up, new site is indexed, home page URL "URL is on Google"
• Change of Address submitted and in progress

Has anyone seen this issue before? Any idea what we can do to get this fixed?

 

[fisicx]

An interim fix is to 301 redirect from the old site to the appropriate pages on the new site. Once Google has indexed the new site and all those old pages dropped from the index you might have more luck with the edit.

 

[keyserholiday]

We are working with a client who recently changed her domain. She is having trouble replacing her old website with her new one on her Google Business Profile ("not approved" error)

She has had multiple exchanges with GBP support where they have told her the following:

• Her website is not an “official website” and to pick something else.
• They claimed this was because she didn't have contact information on her site.
  • She has her name and email address on the site
  • Her email is in her footer
  • Her old contact page is redirecting to her new contact page
• They told her that she needed to reach out to her webmaster and "create an official website."

For privacy, I have put the business information (name, URL, GBP URL, Case ID) in this Google doc: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JpWpJVlDwLfTrpMONTSaX5JrmX3JT1Y0uG_-LzRsYNI/edit?usp=sharing

Action we have taken:

• Google Search Console is set up, new site is indexed, home page URL "URL is on Google"
• Change of Address submitted and in progress

Has anyone seen this issue before? Any idea what we can do to get this fixed?

I don't know why, but Google is not publishing new URLs on GBPs. Post in the help forum. Before you do that, you need to adjust the service area to be no more than two hours from the client's address. You dodged a bullet, as support should have suspended the profile when you contacted them.

 

[sd1111]

An interim fix is to 301 redirect from the old site to the appropriate pages on the new site. Once Google has indexed the new site and all those old pages dropped from the index you might have more luck with the edit.

Thank you! We do have 301 redirects set up from the old site, but all the old pages definitely haven't dropped from the index yet. Thanks!

 

[sd1111]

I don't know why, but Google is not publishing new URLs on GBPs. Post in the help forum. Before you do that, you need to adjust the service area to be no more than two hours from the client's address. You dodged a bullet, as support should have suspended the profile when you contacted them.

Thanks for sharing that Reddit thread. Glad to know it's not just us.

Unfortunately, I did post in the help forum, but the answer was basically that the website isn't properly indexed (which I agree seems to be a problem but don't understand why it's happening when everything looks fine in GSC).

Really appreciate the reminder on the service area. We'll get that updated while we work through this.

 

[keyserholiday]

Can you paste the link to the help forum thread? I would love to take a look at it. The new website is being indexed.

 

[sd1111]

Can you paste the link to the help forum thread? I would love to take a look at it. The new website is being indexed.

Absolutely. Here is the forum post @keyserholiday . Thank you! https://support.google.com/business...-t-change-website-url-not-an-official-website

 

[keyserholiday]

Absolutely. Here is the forum post @keyserholiday . Thank you! https://support.google.com/business...-t-change-website-url-not-an-official-website

It wasn't escalated, and Helmut merely weighed in. As you can see, I asked him to escalate it.

 

[fisicx]

Thank you! We do have 301 redirects set up from the old site, but all the old pages definitely haven't dropped from the index yet. Thanks!

It can take time. Depends on when Google re-indexes the old site. Have you tested the redirects to make sure they are all working?