My Google Business Profile Vanished. What Do I Do?
This article isn’t specifically about Google Business Profile (GBP) suspensions. When a GBP vanishes, there is a good chance that it was suspended. If you want to confirm if that is the case, refer to our playbook for Google Business Profile suspensions.
What this article is focused on, are those situations where the GBP vanishes altogether from your GBP dashboard, and/or from search and Google Maps. In this case, you don’t receive a “Suspended” notification. Instead, you log in to your GBP dashboard and the listing is no longer there.
The reason we need the CID number is to help GBP support find the vanished listing so that they can revive it. You may have also created a new listing, not realizing that the original listing contained age-related authority, and Google reviews that you would not want to lose unnecessarily.
How to Find the CID Number of a Google Business Profile (after it vanished)
We’ve already covered the importance of how to find and save the CID number of a GBP if the listing is still live on Google Maps and search. What I want to cover in this article is how to find the CID number if the listing isn’t live and the listing has vanished. Here I have outlined the most common methods I use when I need to retrieve a missing listing’s CID number.
Rank Trackers and Other Software
The fastest way to find the CID number is to check any software tools that you have added the listing to. Bright Local and Places Scout are great examples that we have used in the past.
Bright Local Example
There are a few different ways to find the maps CID in Bright Local. One easy way is to navigate to the Google My Business report, find the business you want the CID for and hover over the name, right-click, and copy the link address. This will give you the full CID that you would need when contacting GBP support. Since these reports are saved, the CID is available even after your listing has vanished from Google.
Places Scout Example
Places Scout is another tool that saves the map’s CID number once you set up a ranking report. If you have set up a ranking report, finding the saved CID number is simple. Pull up a saved geo-grid ranking report and click on one of the map pins. Select “View Keyword SERP Data”
After selecting that, you will be presented with all the listings as well as their map CID number.
Old Social Media Posts
Another creative way to find the map’s CID number is to locate an old social media post on Facebook, Tweet on Twitter, etc. This has worked on a couple of occasions for us as we have helped businesses locate the missing listing.
The GBP Dashboard URL as an Alternative Solution
Another way to find a missing GBP is to grab the dashboard URL from an email notification Google sent in the past.
Google Maps Embed
Another way to find a missing GBP is to send Google the embed code if you ever embedded the listing onto a page on the website. Even if the map embed no longer looks right since the listing vanished, you can grab the code from the website where it would still be present.
So What?
The map CID of a GBP is a critical piece of data if you want to do local SEO at a high level. Make sure that you have a process to record the CID somewhere in case you ever need it. If that process gets missed, as it often does, you have some options for getting creative and finding it on your own.
What is your process for keeping track of the CID number? Have you come across another creative way to find it if your listing vanishes?
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