Will change of address trigger reverification?

[Rich Owings]

Hi all,

I have a client, a specialty resort in Mexico, who I've mostly focused on website SEO for. But logging into GMB, I saw a message saying there were issues with the address. I don't know if this is a recent change but the city is wrong and the state is missing. I want to clean this up, but I'm concerned it will trigger reverification. It is hard to get mail in their location. Plus they are using a US phone number as their primary (the owner lives in the US part time and takes all calls himself). I can foresee how reverification by mail or phone could be difficult.

They rank really well in map packs so I don't want to screw it up for them! Any advice?

 

[Colan Nielsen]

@Rich Owings I'd check with GMB support before making any changes. They can see what's going on in the back-end.

 

[JoshuaMackens]

You could also do a map edit and see if it goes through. I'd double check with the pros here though to see if that somehow would trigger a reverification on your end. I doubt it though.

 

[Phil Rozek]

@Rich Owings, is your client's business a service-area business? If so, you could just wipe out the address and specify a service area (the new kind, as of a few months ago). That shouldn't trigger reverification.

 

[JoshuaMackens]

@Rich Owings, is your client's business a service-area business? If so, you could just wipe out the address and specify a service area (the new kind, as of a few months ago). That shouldn't trigger reverification.

For my clients that are SAB's that have moved, I still update the address. You never know if Google is still using the address as a signal for SAB's. The requirement is still there to have an address if you're adding or claiming a listing. It may just be for verification purposes but I would still make sure Google has the right address, even if you do end up clearing it after the fact.

 

[Phil Rozek]

@JoshuaMackens, yeah, but this is an unusual, less-than-ideal situation.

 

[JoshuaMackens]

@JoshuaMackens, yeah, but this is an unusual, less-than-ideal situation.

True

 

[Colan Nielsen]

That's a great idea Phil. I still think it's worth contacting GMB support since they're the only ones that can see what's going on in the back end.

 

[Phil Rozek]

@Colan Nielsen, yeah, I agree. But my concern was that GMB support would mark @Rich Owings's client's listing as "permanently closed" or initiate re-verification for him, either of which might prove a sticky wicket in this case. Might be an unfounded concern, though.

 

[Colan Nielsen]

The only reason I could see that being a concern is if this incorrect address that is currently displaying in the dashboard is a previous address where they used to operate.

But either way I would want to get whatever is screwed up fixed on the back end. And Google support is the only one who can do that.

With that said, in a situation like this where a piece of data is screwed up and we don't know exactly what the problem is there's always a chance of something weird happening when you start to tinker.

Perhaps we should wait until @Rich Owings gives us a little more detail since we still don't even know if this is a service area business

 

[Rich Owings]

Hi all,

Thanks for the suggestions. It is not a service area business. It is an oceanfront resort/yoga retreat in Mexico. They have never moved. Somehow the GMB address got screwed up though.

@Colan Nielsen can you elaborate on what you mean by "see what's going on in the back-end?"

Too bad we can no longer see edit history in Maps!

 

[JoshuaMackens]

The only reason I could see that being a concern is if this incorrect address that is currently displaying in the dashboard is a previous address where they used to operate.

But either way I would want to get whatever is screwed up fixed on the back end. And Google support is the only one who can do that.

With that said, in a situation like this where a piece of data is screwed up and we don't know exactly what the problem is there's always a chance of something weird happening when you start to tinker.

Perhaps we should wait until @Rich Owings gives us a little more detail since we still don't even know if this is a service area business

I don't know if Phil is talking about this or not, but GMB phone support used to (not sure if they do anymore, I quit calling) just take action on listings whether you asked them to or not based on what they thought was appropriate.

Did you mean reach out via Twitter? I've found the American group is much less trigger happy. But also surprised to hear they would give you detailed info on what might be going on? They seem to be rather vague on a lot of "back end" stuff.

 

[Colan Nielsen]

Hi all,

Thanks for the suggestions. It is not a service area business. It is an oceanfront resort/yoga retreat in Mexico. They have never moved. Somehow the GMB address got screwed up though.

@Colan Nielsen can you elaborate on what you mean by "see what's going on in the back-end?"

Too bad we can no longer see edit history in Maps!

I miss map maker too! Support can see edit history and other behind the scenes stuff kind of like we used to be able to with Map Maker.

 

[Phil Rozek]

I don't know if Phil is talking about this or not, but GMB phone support used to (not sure if they do anymore, I quit calling) just take action on listings whether you asked them to or not based on what they thought was appropriate.

Yeah, I was referring to the "shoot first, ask questions later" propensity of some GMB support reps.

 

[JoshuaMackens]

Yeah, I was referring to the "shoot first, ask questions later" propensity of some GMB support reps.

You're not alone in that experience.

 

[JoshuaMackens]

Did you mean reach out via Twitter? I've found the American group is much less trigger happy. But also surprised to hear they would give you detailed info on what might be going on? They seem to be rather vague on a lot of "back end" stuff.

@Colan Nielsen just wanted to bring this back around in case you missed it.

 

[Colan Nielsen]

Yes Twitter or I would post over at the GMB forum and have a PE escalate it. They typically don't give detailed feedback on what's happening on the back-end though.

 

[Rich Owings]

Twitter is my normal avenue. I'll try and remember to circle back here and let you know how it goes. Thanks, everyone!

 

[Rich Owings]

There have been a few back and forth's, but here is what GMB support said:

After taking a look into the listing, it looks like the address was recently updated by a user on the account. It could have been associated with updates that were confirmed. Before we can update any information within your account, the information must be inputted correctly. Updating the address will most likely result in re-verying the page, however, you would have to update the information on your end before we can take any action on the page. If you run into any issues or have any additional questions, feel free to reply.

My reply...

Well, the mail service is iffy. Could you assist in re-verification?

And then they said this yesterday...

Thanks for reaching out. Currently, the only options available are the ones that are prompted via your dashboard as they are systematically generated so you'll want to continue with one of those. However, we'll be more than happy to assist you with the process if your postcard has not arrived after 14 days. Just provide us with the dashboard URL to the business listing in question?

I still don't know if they could or would help with re-verification. And I am VERY reluctant to take a chance on losing control of a client's listing. Any advice?

 

[Rich Owings]

@Colan Nielsen @JoyHawkins Any idea how they will assist if the postcard doesn't arrive?