Citations Business Name For Multiple Locations

[Tim Kahlert]

Hi!

I already spent hours trying to figure that out.

My client´s business has 5 locations.
I started optimizing the first 2 GMB listings and found out that an added location to the business name worked almost instantly and I climbed up to the local 3-pack from 5 to 3 and 4 to 2 within 30 minutes.
The business names are now "company name" + "location name"

The problem here is that all of the made citations don't have the location included in the name. Now Brightlocal tells me there are NAP issues suspected what I absolutely understand as it doesn't match with my citation NAP´s.

The 2 problems or questions here are:

#1 Does it have an impact on my Google listing if my citation´s (NAP) business name doesn't match 100% with my GMB listing?

#2 Does anyone seem it as a problem to add the locations to the business names in my citations although it´s not 100% correct as the actual business name is without any location modifiers?!

Thank you!
Tim

 

[JoyHawkins]

1. No, it shouldn't matter since it's a partial match and the address and phone number would be the same.

2. This is against Google's guidelines so I wouldn't expect it to stick long term. It's a short-term way of getting your listing to rank higher but I wouldn't suggest doing it as agencies have more to lose if their accounts get suspended (if you keep all your clients in the same account). Here is an article that explains how Google normally treats this: How Does Google My Business Penalize Keyword Stuffing: 50 Examples [Case Study] - Sterling Sky Inc

 

[Tim Kahlert]

Hi Joy,

sorry for the late reply. Thank you for your answer! It´s exactly how I managed it. Didn't want to risk anything. It´s just strange that the suggest an edit function doesn't work anymore as my clients are still using their locations in their business name.

Tim

 

[Steven12]

You could have them go out and buy a DBA (Doing Business As) through the legal process. This would make it all legit and legal. Then do a complete citation clean-up for their long term goals. Is it worth it? That's their call, but it will make you look better in their eyes for bring up the legal solution regardless.

 

[JoshuaMackens]

If you do decide to stick with it, I'd go through all of your citations and update the names. While Google could match it partially it's likely they have more trust if it's a full match. And updating them shouldn't be too difficult.