What Happens When You Change Your GMB Info

Sometimes it’s unavoidable that you need to change your Google My Business information: you’ve moved to a new floor, street or city or you might have rebranded and want a fresh start. Whatever the reason, you’ll more or less need to edit your GMB info, particularly your NAP – Business Name, Address and Phone Number – and spread the word that you made some brand upgrades. There are ways to maintain ranking factors when moving, but chances are you have to make a few changes to your GMB profile.

While it’s always a good and important idea to keep your primary business details consistent across all local listings, you need to know that you might encounter a few extra steps.

Changes may trigger re-verification

Changes to your GMB info may trigger re-verification. Note that we used the word “may” here; it’s because it doesn’t always happen. In fact, you might just notice that any changes will take around 2-3 days to take effect. But we’ve seen some businesses encounter some roadblocks. And if this does happen, you’ll need to go through the verification process again.

Much like the initial verification process, re-verification can be done by post, phone or email.

Re-verification via post

To request a verification postcard:

1. Sign in to Google My Business.
2. Choose the business you’d like to verify, then click Verify now.
3. On the postcard request screen, make sure that your address is displayed accurately. If it isn’t, edit the address before you request your letter. You can also add an optional contact name to help them get your postcard for you.
4. Click Send postcard.
5. Check the mail for your postcard.

Just keep in mind that it might take around fourteen (14) business days (or sometimes longer, given the current situation) for the re-verification post to arrive at your doorstep. During this time, do not attempt to edit anything of your business details, especially your name, address and category. And please do be patient – avoid requesting a new code within that 14-day grace period. This may delay the re-verification process.

Enter your verification code on GMB after receiving your postcard:

1. Sign in to Google My Business.
2. If you have multiple locations, open the location you’d like to manage.
3. In the Code field, enter the 5-digit verification code indicated on your postcard.
4. Click Submit.

Re-verification via phone

To request verification through phone:

1. Sign in to Google My Business.
2. Choose the business you’d like to verify, then click Verify now.
3. Make sure you can directly answer your business phone number to get your verification code.
4. To have the code sent to your phone via automated message, click Verify by phone.
5. Enter the code from the message.

Please note that phone re-verification is only available to some businesses so it’s best to double-check if you’re eligible for this option. As well, make sure that the phone number you used is active as an automated voice system will call you and give you the code.

Re-verification via email

To request a verification thru email:

1. Sign in to Google My Business.
2. Choose the business you’d like to verify, and click Verify now.
3. Click Email from the list of verification options.
4. Check your email.
5. Click the Verify button in the verification email.

Again, like re-verification via phone, this option is available only to some businesses.

Will changing my business name hurt my rankings?

Straight answer: Yes.

Inconsistent GMB info can lead to negative impacts on local search rankings. That’s why if you’ve moved to a new place or if you’ve changed your business name, you have to take a look at not only Google My Business but also other local citations and make the necessary changes to avoid losing your relevance. In local search, consistency and completeness are highly important in maintaining high rankings in search results. So be sure that all your information on the Web is the same and regularly updated.

Conclusion

When you need to change your GMB info such as your business name, address, phone number and category, there might be a chance that you have to re-verify your Google My Business account. It’s pretty much the same as the first verification, but if you want to avoid this, be consistent with your information. Moving offices or rebranding may be a cause of changing your GMB info, but chances are you might not always get re-verified.

A good way to check if your GMB info is complete is by doing a location audit on the DigitalMaas Platform. From improving your primary business info to encouraging you to publish Google Posts, our location audit tool makes sure that your Google My Business listing is complete, accurate and regularly updated to bring in customers to your store. Sign up now for FREE!