Google Places Listing Pending Indefinitely!

Last Updated on February 14, 2022

More than two months ago I set up a Google Places listing for my new business Digital Elevator in which I visited the Google Places website, requested a pin be sent to me, and waited the seven or so business days until it finally arrived. Although I have done everything right by Google’s standards my listing was and is, still “Pending” and “Being Reviewed.” According to the roll-over question mark tab next to the ‘being reviewed’ comment this means that “This listing needs to be reviewed further before appearing on Google. Please allow several weeks.”

I have waited over two months for this to be approved. I have finally gotten some answers from Google.

Not My First Google Places Rodeo

Being an experienced SEO, I have done over 50 successful Google Places listings but have never experienced the delays that I have experienced with my own personal account and business address. Understanding that Google is merging Google Places and Google + I thought that this might have something to do with the delay. I found the answer as to what was going on but still do not have a definitive answer as to if this result was in fact due to the merger/upgrade between Google Places and Google +. I speculate that it is.

Contact with Google to Find the Delay

Not too long ago Google opened up some upgraded phone support for Local listings that added to the existing support for verification issues. I contacted them and spoke to someone immediately regarding the matter explained above.

Google Says Pending Status a “Non-Issue"

Michael, the friendly Google rep I spoke to regarding my issue took a look at my account and confirmed the issue. After some quick fact checking, Michael saw that I had a Google + page that was live and had been confirmed by me. He said that because my correct business information was appearing in Google Maps that the Google Places pending status was a non-issue and would likely be resolved in time. Here is the email from Michael at Google:

Hello,

Thank you for contacting Google regarding listings displayed as Pending within your account. You're seeing this status message due to a technical error when your listings are in fact live on Google Maps. Here's an example of a listing sourced by your account: https://plus.google.com/105099504826789277759/about?gl=US&hl=en-US

Please continue to make updates to your listings with some regularity (even if you just Edit and Submit the listing without changing any information) to ensure that your listing information is sent to Google Maps and to potentially trigger a status update within your dashboard.

We're working to improve the accuracy of the Places dashboard messaging, and your feedback helps us track this issue. For now, we can confirm that your provided information is appearing on your listings. You can continue to search using your full title and address information to find your listings online.

Feel free to contact us with any further questions.

Thank you for using Google+ Local,

Michael

The Google+ Local Team

As you can see my Google + is essentially trumping my Google Places account according to Google. It looks like they are looking to merge the two together and recommended that I make updates to my listing in the hopes that Google will one day update the status update in my Google Places dashboard.

Your Action

If you are experiencing similar issues with Google Places and a listing that is under pending status longer than 2-3 weeks after pin verification there are two ways I would recommend moving forward:

If you have a Google + Listing- If, like me, you have already created and verified your Google + business account page you likely have a “non-issue” as Michael from Google told me. The important thing is that your business does come up in Google Maps. To check this go to Google Maps and type in your NAP (business Name, Address and Phone number) to see if the correct listing for your business pops up.

If it does, you have nothing to worry about and you can ignore the pending status (according to Google). If it does not, do the following.

If you don’t have a Google + Listing- If you search Google Maps and don’t see your business listing then you have a bigger problem. If you have submitted your business for verification, received the pin, and are still in the “pending” status as I was, you should contact Google to see what the problem is.

Before doing so, I recommend trying to get a better understanding of the Google Places and Google + merger and what steps you should take regarding the listings. At this point in time, Google is not recommending that businesses start Google + accounts when they have Google Places accounts. Read more about that in a forum with Google here.

If you have any more questions about this, feel free to contact me.


Daniel Lofaso

Daniel E. Lofaso is the Founder and CEO of Digital Elevator. He loves classic Land Rover Defenders, surfing, and is a BBQ master. Connect with Lofaso on LinkedIn

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