Google may be updating its verification process for local service ads. The tech giant began informing advertisers in specific industries, such as legal services, about the update on March 4.
However, there are additional reports suggesting that a broader update to the verification process is in the works to address spam issues within the Local Service Announcements (LSA) program.
what is changing Starting in late 2024, some professionals who appear in your local service ads, such as lawyers, must undergo an identity check in addition to a license check to confirm their affiliation with your business , according to an email sent by Google to advertisers. To maintain the continuity of your local service ads, the business owner or senior partner of your firm or consultancy must also pass an identity check. Additionally, all Featured Professionals will be required to undergo identity verification to continue appearing in your ads.
why now Google is updating its system to better protect against fake attempts to impersonate licensed professionals, ensuring consumers are safe from impersonators.
Chronology This change is being rolled out gradually, starting with smaller states, and will gradually move to larger states throughout the year. Featured providers or professionals who need to take steps to verify their identity should have already received an email with instructions on how to complete the verification process.
Google update emails. Anthony Higman, CEO of the online advertising agency acquireshared a preview of the email he received from Google X:
Len Raleigh, president of Telapost SEO & Content Marketing, also reported receiving the same email X.
next steps. Affected advertisers will receive an email from Google seven days prior to the start of the identity verification process for their business. Once identity verification is initiated, the business owner or senior partner and featured professionals will receive an email from Google’s verification partner Evident with additional instructions. If the business owner or senior business partner does not pass the identity check within six days, your ad will no longer appear in search results. Similarly, featured professionals who do not complete identity checks within six days will no longer appear in ads.
More changes to come? Google started sending verification update emails shortly after user X @coreyofthemtn wrote that “big changes” were coming to LSAs. Published:
“I just spoke to our rep and there is a new verification process about to be launched and if you don’t verify within 60 days you get kicked out. No details yet. Wait to hear exact instructions.” “We discovered this because several customer profiles suddenly had no reviews. What had happened was that our GBP team had changed the address and the address on the LSA profile was no longer an exact match.” “This caused the GBP and LSA link to go completely offline. That in itself is a huge discovery IMO. But the major release of a new additional verification process looks like it could be the answer to the spam that so many of us we were waiting.”
Why we care The updated verification process can protect your business from impersonator scams. If left unchecked, these scams can limit the reach of your campaign, resulting in fewer leads and lower ROI.
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What Google says. Google did not immediately respond to Search Engine Land’s request for comment.
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