An email from Google lands in your inbox asking whether a change to your business listing looks right. You did not make the change. Maybe it is the hours, the phone number or the name, and all three are what customers see before they call or drive over. The Google Business Profile suggested edits email can be a genuine notice, and you can answer it in a few minutes without touching the link inside it.
Start by opening your profile yourself, in Google Search or Google Maps, while signed in to the Google Account that manages it. The notice that matters will be waiting at the top of the profile editor. From there you can accept the change, reject it, or type in the right information and save it.
Google gives you a limited window to respond, so it pays to look today.
Key Takeaways
Open your profile in Google Search or Maps while signed in, check the notice at the top of the editor, and accept, reject or edit the field there.
Google gives owners four days to accept or reject a suggested edit that needs review, and it may publish the update afterward when other public information supports it.
One edit takes minutes to fix yourself; several locations, repeated bad edits, unclear ownership or a security incident are the cases where help earns its fee.
Is the Google "Does this look right to you?" email real?
It can be. Google says it gathers business information from "user reports and licensed content," and when something looks incorrect or out of date it may update the profile. Certain suggested edits trigger an email or an in-product notification before anything is published. Google's own page, Understand Google updates on your Business Profile, describes the review notice that appears at the top of the profile editor.
A real notice and a fake one can look alike in your inbox, so treat the email as a prompt to check, not as a place to click. Everything you need to do happens inside your profile, and nothing in the process requires a password, a code or a payment typed into an email.
What should you do first when the email arrives?
Work in this order and the whole thing usually takes about ten minutes. Open Google Search or Google Maps on your own, sign in to the Google Account linked to the profile, and open the Business Profile. Look for the Google updates notice at the top of the editor. Google's page on how to edit your Business Profile covers the fields you can change, and menu labels can differ by device and profile type.
- Open the profile yourself: Use Search or Maps, not the link in the email.
- Read the notice: Blue text marks information that Google changed.
- Compare with real life: Check the business name against your signage, the hours against what you tell customers, and call the listed phone number to see that it reaches you.
- Decide: Accept a correct change; reject or edit a wrong one, then save the accurate information directly.
- Check access: Open People and access and look for anyone you do not recognize.
If you are unsure where a setting lives, our walkthrough on where to edit your Google Business Profile shows each place to look.
Who suggested the change to your Business Profile?
The email does not say, and the profile may not either. Google's help explains that profile information can come from user reports, licensed content and other sources, so a customer, a visitor to your location or a data provider could each be behind a suggestion. That also means the change may be right, so compare it with your real hours, phone number and name before you reject it.
So, resist the urge to hunt for a culprit. A competitor or a former employee is possible, but nothing in the email points to either. What you can control is whether the published information is accurate and who holds access. Google also says not every update can be managed through the profile, which is one more reason to check the live listing rather than rely on the email alone.
What happens if you ignore the suggested edit?
Ignoring the email leaves the decision to Google. If you do not respond within four days, Google says it may publish the update automatically when other publicly available information supports it, such as your business website. Google also says it may apply some user-suggested edits without prior review when it considers the change necessary to meet policy guidelines.
| What you do | What can happen | Your next step |
|---|---|---|
| Accept a correct change | The profile shows the updated information | Confirm it matches what customers hear from you |
| Reject or edit a wrong change | Your accurate information is saved | Check the live listing a little later |
| Do nothing for four days | Google may publish the update if other public information supports it | Open the live profile and correct any wrong field |
| The change was applied without review | The live profile already shows it | Edit the field directly and save |
If you corrected something and it still looks wrong on Search or Maps, our post on why Google Business Profile edits are not showing covers the wait and the common causes. Google's page on what happens to your Business Profile edits explains how edits are reviewed.
How can you tell a real Google email from a scam?
Check the sender's full address and the web address behind any link, not only the display name. Google's phishing guidance for developer accounts, Protect your developer account, makes that point, and it applies to any email claiming to come from Google. Better still, skip the email's links entirely and sign in yourself.
Google's Business Profile security guidance, Help protect your Google Business Profile, gives you three firm rules. Google does not charge to maintain, verify or reinstate a profile. Google never asks for an OTP or PIN. And you should reject any request from someone you do not know who wants to be added as an owner or manager. Google's page on fraudulent calls and texts is worth a look if the same story reaches you by phone.
If you already typed your password into a page from the email, change it now, secure the Google Account and review who has access.
Who else has access to your profile?
A suggested edit can come from a customer's report, so it is not a sign of a break-in on its own. Still, the notice is a good moment to open People and access and read the list. Google's page on managing owners and managers explains the difference between roles: owners hold the highest control over users and ownership, while managers can edit profile information.
Remove anyone who no longer works with you, such as a former employee or an old agency, and keep the list to people who need access. If a request to join arrives from a name you do not know, reject it. When you find access you cannot explain, or edits keep appearing that nobody on your team made, read our post on what to do when a Google Business Profile is hacked and secure the Google Account with 2-Step Verification.
When is it worth paying for help with suggested edits?
For one suggested edit, you can handle it alone. Reading the notice, checking the name, hours and phone number, and saving a correction are all things an owner can do in minutes, and Google does not require any paid service to keep a profile active.
Help starts to make sense in a handful of situations: you run several locations, wrong edits keep returning, nobody is sure who owns the profile, a former manager still has access, your website and listings show conflicting information, or there has been a security incident. In those cases the value is control of the account, a check of the fields customers rely on, a record of what changed, and accurate details across your public channels. Nobody can promise to stop Google from changing a listing, so look for a provider who keeps ownership in your hands and explains the exact work.
Can you handle this suggested edit email?
Pick an answer to begin.
1. What is the safest way to respond to a Google email about a suggested edit?
2. How long does Google give an owner to accept or reject a suggested edit that needs review?
3. Which request suggests the message came from a scammer?
Frequently Asked Questions About Google Business Profile Suggested Edits Email
Is the suggested edit email automatically a scam?
No. Google may email owners about certain suggested edits. Verify the change inside the Business Profile rather than trusting the email link.
Who suggested the change to my listing?
Google says users can suggest edits, and it also uses other sources, including licensed content. The email itself does not tell you which one it was.
What if the change is correct?
Review and accept it through the profile when that option is available.
What if the change is wrong?
Reject or replace it, then save the accurate information directly in the profile.
What happens if I do nothing?
Google may publish the update after four days if other public information supports it, and it can apply some changes without prior review. Open the live profile and correct anything that is wrong.
Does Google charge to update or verify a Business Profile?
Google says it does not charge to maintain, verify or reinstate a profile, and it never asks for an OTP or PIN.
Wrapping Up
The email is a prompt to check your profile, and the check is short. Open Google Search or Maps yourself, read the notice at the top of the editor, and compare the name, hours and phone number with what customers actually get. Accept what is right, reject or edit what is wrong, and review People and access for anyone you do not recognize. Treat any request for a code, a PIN or a payment as a scam.
Four days is the window to act on a suggestion that needs review, and the profile is the place to settle it. Keeping those three fields accurate means customers reach the right number and arrive when you are open, and it keeps the account firmly in your hands.
If you manage several locations, keep seeing the same wrong edit, or cannot tell who has access, Web Leveling can sort it out with you through our Google Business Profile management work, and we will tell you plainly when a single edit does not need us. We work with small and medium businesses across the country and overseas. Send us the details of your profile and we will look at the account with you.
Terms
Words used in this post
Tap a term to see what it means.
Business Profile. A business's free listing on Google Search and Maps, where owners manage name, hours, phone number and other details.
Suggested edit. A proposed change to a profile's information, which may come from a user or another source.
Licensed content. Business information Google receives from outside providers, which can feed profile updates.
People and access. The area of a profile where you see owners and managers and can remove those you do not recognize.
OTP. A one-time passcode sent to you to confirm your identity; Google says it never asks for one in this way.
2-Step Verification. An extra sign-in check on a Google Account that helps keep others out.
