A rainbow in a storm, Columbus, OH
Do the Dumb Things I Gotta Do
I am still providing professional photography, mostly to repeat customers, but I found out last week, that in April, Google disabled my business listing. That means that most people who searched for Columbus Photographer or Event Photographer, Wedding Photographer, Commercial Photographer, even Headshot Photographer did two things — they did not see my business and they went to a competitor.
On April 3, 2024, I received an email from Google that said they had disabled my business listing because they made the judgement that the, “Business Did Not Exist”. Right, right. Nice try scammers. Fast forward 6 weeks and I’m having a conversation with my wife about how the market must just be slow and that people may not have the budget for photos right now. I’m making about half as much as I was in each of the last 3 years since the pandemic.
another week goes by, and I stumble upon where my listing should be online, and there’s nothing. Just nothing about my business. My 80- reviews are gone and I’m no longer ranked among the top 3 –5 photographers in the Columbus, OH area. I look for a link to appeal the Google’s decision to deactivate my online business presence. I dispute their decision, but in my haste, I send it out as early as I can before my next session for which I needed to leave in a matter of minutes. I reach a notification that states, make sure you have all the files you need to appeal this judgement against my business. I’m thinking, I don’t even know what to provide to prove I am indeed a business.
After I sent the email and returned from my editorial photography project, I found a short list of things I should have sent to Google to prove I am indeed a one-man-business, but it was far too late. Not only had I missed the hour-long window, there is no way to submit it now, as in place of the “appeal” button was a greyed-out word that simply said “submitted”.
Gonna Get It Right This Time
It has been a week since I reached out to Google. I’m sitting here next to my sleeping girl Charlie. and thinking of my next steps. Since I haven’t heard from Google, I’ve already claimed a new business listing with the same address, however, I have added a suite #. I’ve created a business listing on YP.com/Yahoo.com which may have little impact, but it also took little effort. Hopefully their presence will bolster mine and reinforce whatever Google needs to verify my legitimate business existence.
I’m reaching out to everyone I’ve ever worked for who would be open to leaving me a review at https://g.page/r/CbZpMikn4EATEB0/review. I know that building reviews over time is the key, but I also know, people with this link will not all jump on at once. I currently have 20 reviews which is down from the 80 I had before April 3rd.
I’ve been in contact with 2 local SEO companies. one has already let me down by not following up with me with information they said they would. The onther wants to charge $3200 a month to get my listing back on top. They suggest tracking, back links, blog updates (which I have already started here) with the proper key words, meta details, and more. They can offer 114 hours a week to dedicate to this.
Most importantly, I am being patient. Google took my business profile down without any notice, but this mess will take time. Time I don’t readily have, but must find in order to be successful. If they reinstate my profile, then I may or may not get my reviews back, and I expect the same will be true for my ranking. If I don’t get my profile back up, then the new profile I created will have to do. I feel good about populating it and adding some options and answering some questions that did not exist when I started my business. Today, I found out to verify that new account, they need a video with street signs, me accessing restricted or employee only areas, and then of course the physical studio. I drove there today to take this video … but when I returned home to upload it to Google, it turns out I needed a QR to start recording the video . It’s just something else I’ll have to do again, like populating the photographs on my profile.
Google has created a mess for me and I can only stipulate on why. The best thing I can do is take comfort in small victories as they come and be patient as I watch my business rise to the top again.
If you’re in Columbus, OH and looking to book headshots, portraits, wedding or event photography, commercial, editorial, or real estate photography, I certainly would appreciate it if it were through Harry Acosta Photography. You can schedule your session here.
UPDATE:
My business profile is live again. I’m not ranking as high as before, but it will come. My reviews are not back up yet, but I can see them on the the backend of my dashboard. About an hour ago, I woke up to a new inquiry on my website. That hasn’t happened since April 2nd. There was a gap of steady inquiries also from Feb 6 - March 11, so you can see why there was no red flag for me. Jan - Mar are usually the slowest time for my business. Still much more to do for the sessions I have to get through right now, and whatever SEO steps I can make going forward. Let’s never fight again, Google.
I do want to be the first ranked on an online search, but also, I don’t. I want my clients to have to do a little research. I want them to specifically select me from a list. It will make both of us feel better about their decision, but I can’t do that, if they can’t find me at all.