It goes without saying that you will run into some form of verification issue. This usually happens when establishing a new business. You want to be able to play on the SEO, Marketing, and other things that go with it. Well, let’s stumble into this kind of mess.
Verification and your business…
So you just started a business and have the paperwork all in place. You have your EIN (Employer Identification Number) and your articles of incorporation. Now the real fun begins. A lot of the issues with starting out and getting your Facebook and Instagram set up. The problem you are going to have to deal with right off is the waiting part of the verification process. This means that you will have to wait for Meta to verify your information. This process can also make you wait for other things while this gets handled.
A good tip to remember is to make sure that your information about your company is correct and that you enter it from the documents exactly. You will also have to upload them as well. So make sure you have a copy saved on a portable hard drive as well. Using Dropbox or Drive helps with keeping backups outside your main computer hard drive.
Meta Verification process…
So the biggest part is the waiting game with Meta. Sometimes verification will take a few hours or in some cases longer. This is my second time setting up a store within Meta, the first time took only a day. The store has nothing on it and is tied to this blog! The second instance is still under verification process and could take up to 4 weeks! Holy Crap Meta!
Don’t fret. To make it worse, they will tell you that you can add products to your store, but in reality, you really can’t. Even if you have a Pixel set up and working from your platform to Meta! So make sure you have the correct information in the signup form. Read those emails from them and verify them as they come in. This is one way to help with verification.
A few other issues may slow the process down with Meta verification. Shipping profiles and policies, Bad product data, and landing page data. If your data isn’t up to date or missing some key information this could slow down the process.
Shipping profiles and policies…
will be a constant issue. Many platforms like Printful and Printly will have good shipping policies depending on where you are doing your POD (print on demand). For example, you are in the US and your printer or supplier to Printly has at least 3 locations within the US and their shipping rates start off from 5.95. So your shipping profile would start with this number and have a range. So make sure that your profiles are current, up-to-date, and relevant to your area. Even some states have extra shipping rates you need to be aware of.
Landing pages and product data…
This is not the biggest but will make some of the Business Suite run a little weird. The biggest issue with this may be the Admin of the account, their permissions, and which ad account is associated with the business. Even having the wrong pixel associated can cause verification issues. Another reason to make sure if you are setting up your business is to use an email for that business and keep it separate from other business accounts within Meta.
You will need to use a personal account for the overall use of Meta Business Suite, but once you establish your Meta account it will be easy to start doing ads, and getting the word out while you wait for verification.
Google verification…
This process isn’t so difficult. It’s when you are setting up the ads part of Google that can cause issues. Usually, you have to add a card for this part. Otherwise setting up a merchant account with Google usually involves verification of your website. There are 5 ways to do this. Email, Google Tag, Analytics, DNS record, and third-party apps ( i.e. Shopify, Wix, WooCommerce, etc)
If you already have a Google tag set up and GA4 for your new business. Awesome! This makes verification a lot easier. It will auto-populate after a day usually.
You still have to add all the same type of information as you did with Meta, but usually involves uploading docs instead of filling out a lot of paperwork. This makes setting up a breeze. The only snag you may run into is that you will need to have a policy and returns page set up. Especially if you are selling in Europe. GDPR is king there and you must abide by it. Otherwise, you will run into issues and possibly face shutdown in the EU.
Summary…
So the biggest thing to remember is to have all the information correctly filled out, products all set up and ready to go. Ensure your pixels are working and getting information. Wait a day. Check your current status, all your stats add a few more things to your store. Wait another day or two. You get the point. A lot of the time you will be playing the waiting game…
Keep your spirits up and you will be ok. You have ads to really stress yourself out about. Don’t stress about the amount. Set a budget and stick with it. Doing 20$ to 40$ budget limits gives you reach as a new store and you can still do A/B tests right off the bat to see what works or not. 7 days is a good start.
So with the store up and running after all the verification hoops and all. Hit that ground running and go make some sales!