-
Can I run Google Ads without having a registered company?
Hello,
For the past year I ran Google Ads to promote my website without any problem. Now Google Ads wants me to verify my identity and one of the steps is to provide a document for my organization. I do not have a registered business and now my account is paused until I get verified. Is there a way to verify myself without having a company or is it mandatory in order to run ads?
Thank you in advance and sorry if the question is dumb but I could not find any solution.
-
1 Reply
-
it’s mandatory now. It wasn’t until the deadline recently
-
You can maybe talk with Google support. Generally if they are asking for it, they want it verified. Did you pick a business vs individual account when setting up your ad account originally? Maybe that is triggering this verification.
-
What sort of documentation do they want?
IANAL but if I recall correctly you don’t need to be operating as an LLC or corporation to do business. Those provide extra protections and benefits, but I’m pretty sure it’s still possible to operate as a non-LLC sole proprietor. In which case, you should just be able to file for an EIN using your social with the IRS and be able to submit that as documentation.
If they want articles of formation, registered agent, name appointment, etc then you’ll need to get more paperwork but see if just an EIN will suffice. It’s free to get one, takes about 5 minutes online through the IRS portal.
I would definitely talk to a tax accountant though, don’t want to screw yourself and end up with a huge tax bill just because you followed a guy on reddit’s advice. If you don’t have the money for one, spend $20 on ChatGPT+ and ask GPT-4 your tax/legal questions. Obviously not as good as a licensed individual, but much better than a layman’s interpretation since ChatGPT has the entire of Wikipedia and the U.S. tax code in its memory.
-
I know it has been shut down recently for individuals in different countries in Europe. The easiest workaround is to ask for help some friend that runs ads for his/her company or use some agency
-
No, you can’t because Google ask for a business license in order to get verified. But, as someone else said, you can use a business license from a friend.
-
Why isn’t your business registered? Isn’t that illegal
-
They need to verify the name listed in your payment profile. If you listed a business name, you need to verify that. If you listed your personal name, you need to verify that. If you don’t have a business you shouldn’t have listed a business name.
You can change the payment profile name and details and then go through the verification process again.
-
You can verify your account as an individual.
Log in to reply.