How can I "verify" the info I am submitting for clients? Google wants to either call the registered phone number, or send a postcard to the business address--neither of which is me. Is there a way around this? My clients want me to handle it, they dont want to take an automated call or keep an eye out for a postcard.
I think this is why Google has put this feature into place: To prevent people or companies from auto-submitting everything. Forcing a verification call just makes sense to prevent "bad" information from getting entered into their system. I feel that the phonecall is a very good thing that can almost benefit your service in the longrun. If you tell one of your clients, "Look, I'm getting you all squared away with Google, but they will call you and verify that your information is correct, it should take only 60 seconds or less..." That's some powerful stuff. #1 It verifies that you have done your job. #2 Getting called from Google is kind of cool! If your clients don't accept a 60 second phonecall to verify their information is going to be correct on the biggest search engine on the planet then chances are they won't care enough to look to see if you ever did the work to begin with. I say use that phone call as a selling point.
The postcard isn't a shiny piece of mail, it looks ghetto. Very easy to mistake as junkmail, plus it takes weeks to get listed that way. The phone call is the way to go
Here is a way out. When you are submitting you business in Google's local business section, under you primary contact number there is an option to add additional contact number. If you click that option there would a field wherein you can enter your mobile number. Enter your mobile and complete the signup process. When you reach the last page where it asks you the verification method, there should now be an option to send verification code via text to the mobile phone number you have listed. Check that option, get the code on your mobile, enter the code and get verified. How about a pint of beer for that!!!