Change of Suite Number Only

[Marie Ysais]

Hi Everyone,

I know the rules for a business address change. What if the only change is the suite number? Would that still require the change of address rules?

 

[Linda Buquet]

No I don't believe so at all. In fact there has been some disagreement with MM RERs saying if a really nearby move in same city, can just edit instead of closing. But Google still says open/close even if in town.

But as long as street address is still the same only suite changed, I would just edit. Just be vigilant and realize Google may keep changing it back on you or may create a dupe for the old suite. But thing is even if she changes it, customers are still getting to right building and can find you due to directory or whatever.

 

[Marie Ysais]

That was my line of thinking but wanted to be sure before I forged ahead! Thanks for the advice! I will keep a close eye on it and see what happens.

 

[Andrew Sawyer]

No I don't believe so at all. In fact there has been some disagreement with MM RERs saying if a really nearby move in same city, can just edit instead of closing. But Google still says open/close even if in town.

But as long as street address is still the same only suite changed, I would just edit. Just be vigilant and realize Google may keep changing it back on you or may create a dupe for the old suite. But thing is even if she changes it, customers are still getting to right building and can find you due to directory or whatever.

I don't think there is any disagreement any more, as the MapMaker Help Center article on Delete a Place silently changed January 4, 2013. It now states:

Reasons for Deletion:
This place is closed:

• Indicates that the feature is out of business or temporarily closed from the existing location.
• Indicates that the feature has relocated from one place to another, regardless of distance.
• Indicates complete name changes (e.g. Sean?s Burgers to Jitters Coffee).
• Indicates rebranding (i.e. any change to the brand name, logo, or image of a product or company).
• Indicates demolished buildings with names.

I could have sworn I posted about it here but can't seem to find a post.

Using the plain language it would stand to argue that you would only close and open a new one if the place actually moved. However, if the old suite or address is going to be used by someone else I don't know what the proper procedure would be. But if the feature moves, even within a building I'd say that it has to close and open a new one.

 

[Linda Buquet]

I don't think there is any disagreement any more, as the MapMaker Help Center article on Delete a Place silently changed January 4, 2013. It now states:


I could have sworn I posted about it here but can't seem to find a post.

Using the plain language it would stand to argue that you would only close and open a new one if the place actually moved. However, if the old suite or address is going to be used by someone else I don't know what the proper procedure would be. But if the feature moves, even within a building I'd say that it has to close and open a new one.

Oh good to know. I didn't realize they got the MM docs changed.

Really, if address is still 123 Main Street you'd advise them to open/close? I would not, I think that's extreme and a lot of work and potential problems for just a suite change. But that's just my opinion.

 

[tcusimano]

So what actually happened when you changed the suite number Marie?

Here is my situation. I would appreciate any advice.

I am thinking of moving my business to another suite at the same business location. I currently rank in position A for city+keyword and keyword+city in Google local. Everything in my listing will remain the same except for the suite number. Is the suite number that important in NAP consistency. Will my ranking be affected? Should I try to change my suite number everywhere on the internet. With this option the suite numbers will conflict with one another and be inconsistent until everything gets updated OR just delete the suite number everywhere on the internet. With this option I think there will be less ranking drop because there will not be two conflicting numbers. Just some listings with the old suite number and other listings with no number. Thank you

 

[Linda Buquet]

I would not think just changing suite should impact ranking that much, however note that ANY NAP change has a potential to make you lose reviews or start over in the ranking cycle which would mean it may not rank at all for 6 - 8 weeks. Again I don't think just a suite change would do it, but there is always a chance.

I'd change the top directories and stuff, not just for citations because I would think citations would still count if phone and street address are the same - but I'd change them to help minimize the chances of a dupe which DEF could affect ranking. So you'll need to be vigilant about checking for dupes all the time too.

FYI ALL - This is an older thread so the advice above in no longer correct. Now if you move you are supposed to just edit listing, don't need to close old and open new.

 

[Marie Ysais]

Hi, I actually replied via email to the above post but wanted to say , yes this post is old so what happened then may not happen now.

I did change only the suite number by doing an edit. I did not change major citations I left the only suite number. I did however add the new suite number to new citations as I built them. This was a personal website and not for a client and I wanted to test this one out.

I did not have any changes or drops in local. In fact nothing really changed at all.
but perhaps I was just lucky?