Duplicate GBP would like to Merge with Primary...any Downside?

[B2B]

Dear LSF members,

My client has a duplicate GBP listing. I don't want to delete/remove it. I read another member deleted a duplicate GBP and it removed All the client's reviews and tanked their SEO for the primary GBP, so I'd like to avoid that at all costs, as there's not undo option.

I read that merging the profiles is probably best. Any downside? Are there any other options?

Alternatively, would it be better to message Google Support and ask them to remove or merge the profiles? Timeline?

Ty,

Kevin

 

[keyserholiday]

If the duplicate GBP is not claimed, you can use suggest an edit and mark it as a duplicate. If it's claimed, Google won't merge them. If you remove it from your dashboard, Google might delete it.

 

[B2B]

Hi Jason, thanks for your reply.

The GBP is claimed. It's market Duplicate.

I read merging or deleting can cause issues to the Primary GBP...like reviews being deleted or affecting SEO negatively...which I'd like to avoid.

Are there other options I can pull the trigger on without it potentially affecting the primary GBP?

Thanks,

Kevin

 

[keyserholiday]

If Google marked it as a duplicate in your dashboard, then it's not live on Google. You can either ignore or remove it.

 

[B2B]

Ok great. No sense in merging it or deleting to potentially lose reviews or affect SEO... I'll just ignore it.

So the only issue is if you have a duplicate listing that's not claimed, then and only then, could affect ranking etc...

So if it's already marked Duplicate by Google, so what would happen if the Duplicate was deleted or merged? Could affect the primary GBP?

Thanks, Jason!

 

[keyserholiday]

Google already merged the two profiles when it marked one as a duplicate.

I doubt an unclaimed GBP would outrank the verified GBP, as one would get filtered out. The claimed one would have more reviews and would rank better.

Google is ignoring the duplicate listing, as you should.

 

[B2B]

Thanks, Jason.

Yep ignoring the duplicate.

Ty,

Kevin

 

[keyserholiday]

Thanks, Jason.

Yep ignoring the duplicate.

Ty,

Kevin

Happy to help, Kevin.

 

[B2B]

Hey Jason, I'm short listing the seo tools for local seo, which ones do you recommend and that are actually worthwhile. Can you recommend free or affordable alternatives? I'm looking at SEMRush and ahref and others...leaning towards ahref, but from your experience which tools do you like to use...and are you using an AI tools as well? Thanks, Kevin.

 

[keyserholiday]

I use Screaming Frog, Semrush, BrightLocal, PlaceScout, and Yext. The CMO for Ahrefs posted an inappropriate tweet to his counterpart at Semrush and spoke at and sponsored a conference that demeaned women. The event also had a known sex offender as a speaker.

 

[B2B]

Thanks! Ty for that insight re: ahref. Couple more questions if that's ok... Why do you like each of those tools? Any alternative tools that you use that offer the same benefits which are cost effective? Why do you like each of those tools? How do you feel about White Spark? Also I was thinking I would take some certification courses. Any you would recommend?

 

[keyserholiday]

Screaming Frog is free. I can see all of the meta titles and descriptions. "
Semrush for keyword research and competitor analysis for rankings and backlinks.
BrightLocal for ranking reports. I see the search report to run from the zip code over the city center.
PlacesScout for the heatmaps and review scans.
Yext for citations and review monitoring.

 

[B2B]

Thanks, Jason.