We are organic search experts, and as such we work closely with GoogleMy Business (aka. google listings), Google Search Console, Google Analytics, and Google Ads. For this reason I was particularly surprised when I received a call yesterday from the ‘Online Visibility Group’ ambiguously alerting me that my ‘google listing was had been flagged for review’. I was immediately suspicious given the teams we work with at Google always introduce themselves with consistent groups titles (e.g. ‘this is Sarah from the Google tag tracking team’).

Online Visibility Group Voicemail

Here’s the exact (google voice) voicemail we received:

Hello, this is online visibility group calling with an Urgent Message. Your Google listing has been flagged for review. If you are the business owner, press one now to verify your business with Google if your Google account has not verified properly customer searching for your services on Google will not find your listing, press one now to verify your Google listing, press nine to opt out. Call us at 586-620-4488.

Any group that begins a relationship by creating a misunderstanding and exploiting it for their gain, should be avoided at all costs. This is not the agency you want to partner with.

Things to be Mindful Of

  • Word Choice: The first indication many will pick up is the ambiguous reference to ‘your Google listing’. If this was a Google group calling to alert you of a problem, they would refer to the precise account in question, such as your Google My Business listing.
  • Phone Call: Google is far more likely to email you when there’s a problem with any of yours Google accounts including your Google My Business listing.

What to Do if you Receive this Message

If you receive a message similar to this, here’s what you should do:
  1. Slow down, and do some research before replying
  2. Trust your instincts
  3. Check your email to see if Google has sent any messages regarding your profile / account that warrant your attention
  4. Once you’ve verified there are no emails from Google, go ahead and mark the VM message from the ‘Online Visibility Group’ as Spam, and delete it
  5. Go back to what you were doing

If you still have questions, feel free to reach out to our team, and we’ll offer you assistance and reassurance.

Find a Partner You Can Trust

Remember, it’s always worth spending a little extra time and consideration to find a business partner you can trust, rather than one that is attempting to trick you into working with them.
At Webable, we are a full-service SEO agency offering keyword analysis to help you understand what your customers search for, technical SEO audits so you understand so your website is working for you to generate organic traffic, SEM / Googles Ads campaigns, and much more.
We pride ourselves on offering quality service – see our Google reviews and reviews for our founder for additional details.