In a note to users, Facebook says, “We’ve found that they [the badges] can be more confusing than helpful, so we’re removing them on October 29.”
Here's what Facebook has been sending out to Page owners:
We’re always working on better ways to help people understand more about the Pages they interact with. We introduced gray verification badges in 2015 to show which Pages for businesses and organizations are authentic.
However, we’ve found that they can be more confusing than helpful, so we’re removing them on October 29. As a result, there will no longer be a gray badge on [your business page]. This won’t impact the way the Page appears in search results.
To learn more about how to help people find a Page and verify that it’s real, please go to our best practices.
Thanks,
The Facebook Pages Team
The gray verification badges were launched in 2015 to mirror the blue verified badges on the pages of public figures and brands. Without these badges, Facebook recommends all page admins to make sure their page is consistently up to date and to post regularly.
Facebook says, “This won’t impact the way the Page appears in search results,” but it is important to have your page in good standing if you’re running ads on Facebook.
A few tips moving forward to make sure your page meets both Facebook’s and customers’ quality standards:
Check your page settings to make sure you’re categorized correctly. You can select up to three categories in your page settings.
- Verify the address on your Facebook page, including the map pin, so people can easily find your business.
- Make sure your store has both cover and profile photos in place (which is important for page reliability and ad performance).
- Link your website to your Facebook page.
- Keep your hours updated (which is especially important during the holidays!).
With this change coming, now is a great time to review the setup of your Facebook page to ensure all these measures are all in place.
You need to be signed in to your Facebook account first.
Look for the Settings menu at the top right hand corner of your screen. Click on it and look for Page verification, click on Edit:
You will then see message below, click on Verify this Page to proceed.
Once you click on that, a pop-up window will appear. You can proceed to fill in your Business Phone Number and Extension, if any, and choose the Country and Call Language. If you are ready, click on Call Me Now and have someone ready to answer the phone to answer a few questions.
You can also opt to upload your business documents to verify the page too. Click on Verify this Page with documents instead and you will see this window:
Upload your documents and if all is in order, you will be verified within a day or two.