Google Business Profile Video Verification: What to Record

Video verification has replaced the postcard for most UK businesses. It is quicker when it works and painful when it does not, because a rejected video can leave a profile stuck for weeks. This is what Google is checking for, how to record a video that passes first time, and what to do if it fails.

When Google asks for it

• New profiles in most categories
• Re-verification after a significant edit: name, address, primary category, or ownership change
• Profiles in categories with high spam rates: plumbers, locksmiths, garage doors, cleaning, movers, some legal and medical
• Profiles that have been reported or flagged

Some profiles are offered phone or email verification instead. If you are offered a choice, those are faster; if video is the only option, it is not a sign of a problem, just the default.

What the video must show

Google's reviewers are answering three questions: does this business exist at this address, is it the business named on the profile, and is the person recording authorised to manage it. The video is one continuous recording — no cuts — and should show:

1. Location. The street and surroundings: a street sign, the neighbouring shops, then the building. For a storefront, walk from the pavement to the door. For a service-area business, the base address (even if it is your home) and the nearest street sign.
2. Business identity. Permanent signage with the business name. Not a printed sheet in the window. If you are a service-area business without signage, a branded vehicle with the registration visible, branded workwear, or branded equipment.
3. Proof of operation. Inside: the working space, stock, tools, equipment, a till, a treatment room. Whatever shows the business does what the profile says.
4. Proof of management. Something showing you have access: unlocking the door with a key, opening a till or safe, a document with the business name (invoice, insurance certificate, Companies House letter) held in shot, or a staff-only area.

Two to five minutes is typical. Speak if you like — it does not matter — but do not narrate anything you cannot show.

Recording tips that avoid rejection

• Record on the device you are verifying from, via the Business Profile app or the verification flow in a browser. Do not upload a pre-recorded file unless the flow allows it.
• Daylight, steady hands, landscape orientation. Blurry signage is the most common rejection.
• Do not show other people's faces or number plates unnecessarily.
• Make sure the address on the profile matches what the video shows. A profile listing Unit 4 while the video shows a door marked 4B gets rejected.
• If the business name on the profile differs from the signage — even slightly — fix the profile first.

Service-area businesses

You still need to show the base address, even though it is hidden on the profile. Google wants to see that the business operates from a real place. A garage or spare room with tools and stock is fine. A van with the business name, a Gas Safe or NICEIC certificate, or trade insurance documents strengthen it. If you work from a home you would rather not film, record the exterior briefly, then focus on the vehicle and equipment.

Why videos fail

• No permanent signage visible (storefronts)
• Address in the video does not match the profile
• Business name mismatch, including keyword-stuffed profile names
• Cuts or edits in the recording
• Filmed at a virtual office, mailbox or co-working reception
• Nothing showing management access

If it fails, Google usually says only that it could not verify. Re-record covering all four elements more clearly and resubmit. A second failure often escalates to a request for documents; have Companies House, a utility bill and photos ready.

Before you press record

• Profile name is the exact real-world name
• Address matches signage and documents
• Primary category is right (verification re-checks eligibility)
• Signage is clean and legible; a photo of it looks clear on a phone
• You have a key, a document with the business name, and daylight

Verification is part of the setup we do for new profiles and for suspension recoveries. If you have failed twice, that is usually the point to message us before the third attempt.

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