I recently received these details about the yet unannounced Google My Business Whitelisting program that I wrote about last month. The program allows large agencies to not have to go through the normal postcard verification process and to have the listings instantly verified.

The writer asked to remain anonymous. I have been unable to verify some of the details with a second source. That being said, the writer was knowledgable and creditable.

TL;DR

• It executes in the new GMB dashboard not via the API as I previously stated.
• There are certain categories (most you know but there are few surprises) that are excluded and still need to be manually verified.
• It supports both individual and bulk uploads.
• From other sources I have learned that the program has a minimum of 10,000 listings to participate.

His communications with minor edits for clarity:

We received the [Google whitelisted] account this past fall.

The account looks like anyone else’s and has the same functionality. The only difference is, that we don’t have the normal verification process. Sometimes the [new] GMB listings goes live immediately, sometimes they are pending review and sometimes we have to verify locations the normal way, because some categories are not available for instant verification.

Pending review:
I realized that locations with no information in the entry itself and a weak web presence (no or bad website) more often goto the pending review status than others. Also bigger companies with several departments (hospitals, universities) which have the same address, very often go into pending review (the first 50% go live and then the rest move to pending in review, but I don’t know if it works in the end or if they want pictures or anything else like normal, because at this point I just don’t to know).

Very often locations which I bulk upload go into pending review, when there is an existing unverified Maps listing, but Google didn’t offer as a choice of locations from a list of already existing unverified listings with similar names after the upload like normal. I didn’t try it with single locations I put into the account.

When I look for the location which is in pending review status, and take the correct name and put it as an single location to my account, it goes live instantly.

The instant verification used the new layout for adding new locations into the account.

Oh and because of the instant verification I forgot something else that doesn’t work.

When you have a verified account and nobody answers your request for access, Google gives you the option to verify the GMB listing newly with PIN, phone, … after one week. These GMB listings are also not available for the instant verification, the system shows them still as verified profiles.

Categories which are not allowed for instant verification (which we got from google +1 we found out by ourselves):
1. Locksmith & plumbers
2. Car Services (taxis, limos,etc)
3. Towing services & Auto glass repair
4. Garage door repair
5. Moving companies
6. Adult businesses
7. Computer & appliance repair
8. Cable & internet providers
9. Alcohol and drug abuse recovery services
10. Home or office cleaning service
11. Bail Bond providers
12. Pest control services
13. Insurance providers to individuals or small busineses
14. Lawyers and legal services
15. Personal and small business loans
16. Contracting service for home or business work and repair
17. Electrical repair, installation and inspection services
18. Flower shops and flower delivery services
19. Real estate agents