According to research, 5% of GMB listing views result in a website click, call, or direct request. So, if your Google Business profile has been claimed by someone else, you need to take action immediately. Every second that passes, you are missing out on a potential lead.
It’s probably owned by an old owner or employee, but it could also be a competitor playing dirty. It is a common tactic where they do it to redirect traffic to their website or post negative reviews under your business.
Whatever the case, as long as someone else has it claimed, here is what you can do to get ownership.
How to Request Ownership of Your Google Business Profile
Once you receive the message that the business profile has been claimed, it contains a hint of the verifying email address. If the hint gives you an idea of who it might belong to, give them a call and ask them to transfer ownership.
Additionally, if you can’t tell who the hinted email belongs to, ask the employees and former owner(s) whether they did it. If they did, ask them to transfer it back to you via their Google Business profile.
If you don’t find out who it is, it is likely someone outside the business. You can request ownership by clicking on “Own this business?” then “Request Ownership”. The ownership request is sent to the email in the message.
What to Do After Requesting Ownership
After sending the request, the listed owner has seven days to respond to the request. You can check the status of the request by signing in to your Google My Business or clicking the link in your verification email.
There are three possible outcomes:
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Approval of Your Request
If your request is approved, you will be notified via email. You can then remove them as owners and manage it.
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Your Request is Denied
You may also receive a notification email letting you know that your request has been denied. If it has been denied, you can appeal the request.
How to Appeal a Denied Ownership Request
If the current owner doesn’t respond to your email or denies your request, and you’re certain the business is yours, you can appeal the decision. To appeal, in the confirmation email you received after requesting access, click “View request”, then “Appeal”.
By appealing, you are verifying the Google Business profile listing using a postcard. Google sends you a postcard containing a pin. You are to enter this pin into your business profile page, then you become the new owner.
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You Don’t Hear Back From Them
If you don’t hear back from them after the 7-day grace period, you might have the option of claiming or verifying it yourself. Just sign in to your GMB account and look for a Claim or Verify button on the dashboard.
If you don’t hear from them, and your dashboard has no Claim or Verify button, you may need to restart the process or go for the last option below.
What if Everything Else Fails?
After all else has failed, the last resort is to ask for help from Google’s help center. Give them all the details of the situation, then they will handle it and have the ownership transferred.
You can also receive support from Google’s @googlemybiz, which is dedicated to answering questions about Google Business profiles.
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