Video verification for a service-area business: what to film so it passes the first time

Google asks a plumber, a cleaner, or a mover to prove they exist by filming a video, and the obvious question is: film what? There is no shop, no sign over a door, no customers walking in. The answer is that Google is not looking for a storefront. It is looking for three things, and a service-area business can show all three in about a minute if it knows the list. This is the list, the order, and the mistakes that send a video back.

Why it is usually video for you

Google chooses the verification method, not the business. A brand-new profile with a clean storefront address often gets a postcard or a phone code. A service-area business, which by definition hides its address, is harder for Google to check against the map, and a profile with any history of suspension, renaming, or a move almost always gets video only. There is no way to request a different method. If video is what Google offers, video is the job.

The three things every passing video shows

• Location: the place you work from. The outside of your office, unit, or home, with the door and the number on it, and a street sign if there is one nearby.
• Business: proof that this business operates here. For a service-area business that is the lettered vehicle, the tools and stock, and paperwork with the business name.
• Authority: proof that you are the person who runs it. Unlocking the vehicle or the unit with your key, or holding up an invoice, insurance certificate, or permit that carries the business name.

The shot list, about 65 seconds

1. Start outside the place you work from, around 15 seconds. Stand in front of the office, unit, or house. Film the door and the number on it. Pan to the street sign if one is visible.
2. Walk to the work vehicle, around 15 seconds. Film the side with the business name or logo. Walk all the way around it so the name is readable from more than one angle.
3. Open the vehicle or storage and show the tools, around 20 seconds. Pick one or two up. Show the parts, the stock, the gear you use on jobs. This is what separates a real contractor from a listing with a name and a phone number.
4. Prove you run it, around 15 seconds. Unlock the vehicle with your key, or hold a sheet of paper with the business name on it close to the lens: an invoice, an insurance certificate, a license, a permit.

What gets a video rejected

• The name on the van, the paperwork, or the sign does not match the name on the profile. Fix the profile first, or fix the lettering, but do not film a mismatch.
• No surroundings. A video that starts inside a garage and never shows a door, a number, or a street proves nothing about location.
• No authority. Filming the van from the sidewalk could be done by anyone. Unlock it.
• Printed signs taped to things. Google has seen every version of this.
• Filming at night, in a moving car, or with the phone sideways so the frame is cropped.
• Someone else’s premises. If you work from a coworking space or a mailbox store, the video will not fix an address that Google does not accept. That is a profile problem.

Before you film: the profile check

Most rejected videos were rejected for something in the profile, not in the footage. Google compares what it sees in the video to the name, category, and address style on the listing. A service-area business that has a visible street address, a name with extra keywords, or a category that does not match the tools in the van will fail no matter how good the recording is. Clear the address and set service areas, strip anything from the name that is not on the vehicle and the paperwork, and make the primary category match the trade. Then film.

The address Google needs even though it will not show it

A service-area business hides its address publicly, but Google still needs a base address to run the verification against, and for many service-area profiles it will not even offer a method until that address is on file. This trips people up: the profile is set up correctly with no visible address, and verification simply never starts. Provide the base address in the verification flow. It stays hidden from customers.

After you submit

Google normally reviews a video within about five business days and emails the result. A pass sets the profile to verified and it goes live. A rejection comes with no reason, which is why the shot list and the profile check above matter: they are the common reasons, in order. Re-record, do not re-upload the same file, and fix whichever item was missing. Google allows several attempts, but every attempt sits in review for days, so getting it right the first time is worth the twenty minutes of preparation.

Storefront and hybrid businesses

If you have a storefront the list changes: street and building number, then the permanent sign with your name, then inside to the counter and the work area, then one thing only the owner can do, such as opening the register or the back office. A hybrid business, a shop that also sends crews out, films the storefront list and adds the vehicle. The three things Google wants are the same. Only the props differ.