City or Street Name Modifier?

[wcssderek]

We're taking over a location in Stockton, CA and need to re-brand it to our brand name + modifier. Typically the modifier has been the city that it's in and sometimes when it's in a bigger city or when it's quite a bit outside the center of the city, we'll go with a street name or neighborhood. In this situation, the location is north end of Stockton about 6 miles from the center. With the vicinity update potentially affected how Google looks at names like these, I'm wondering which way to go?

 

[Colan Nielsen]

First thing to keep in mind is that technically, Google isn't cool with any modifier according to the guidelines. So unless the modifier is part of the real-world business name you will likely run into issues with Google removing it. I think having the city name as part of the business name will go a lot further compared to a street or neighborhood. Generally speaking, anyway.

 

[keyserholiday]

Please note that you will risk a suspension when you rebrand. Editing the name, address, category, website, and telephone number can trigger a suspension.

 

[wcssderek]

First thing to keep in mind is that technically, Google isn't cool with any modifier according to the guidelines. So unless the modifier is part of the real-world business name you will likely run into issues with Google removing it. I think having the city name as part of the business name will go a lot further compared to a street or neighborhood. Generally speaking, anyway.

Thanks, Colan. The name with the modifier will be the actual business name used everywhere. But, I think you're right about using the city. After all, we're going to be trying to rank for terms such as "Storage Units Stockton" etc. With the Vicinity update, I'm seeing competitors that don't have any web presence and no reviews ranking above our stores in some locations just because they're closer to the center of the search. So, a street or neighborhood in the title may not have any effect on the maps rank.

 

[keyserholiday]

FYI, trying to create a business name like, "Storage Units Stockton" won't have the desired effect that you want. Google is getting smarter about keyword-based business tactics and has been penalizing such names.

 

[djbaxter]

FYI, trying to create a business name like, "Storage Units Stockton" won't have the desired effect that you want. Google is getting smarter about keyword-based business tactics and has been penalizing such names.

Penalize in what way, @keyserholiday?

 

[keyserholiday]

Penalize in what way, @keyserholiday?

Decreased rankings or losing the KP results.