GBP for Appointment-Only Second Physical Location?

[Nikki Stine]

I need guidance on whether a second Google Business Profile would be compliant in this situation.


A solar installer is considering opening a second physical location in a nearby city to improve local visibility on Google. It would be a legitimate storefront with permanent signage, but it would not be staffed full-time. The primary purpose would be meeting clients by appointment. Walk-ins would be extremely rare if ever.


Here are the two areas I’m unsure about:


1. Phone number
Would this location need its own unique phone number to qualify for a separate listing, or can calls be routed to the main office?


2. Hours of operation
Can the listed hours reflect when someone is available to answer the phone, even if no one is physically present at the location during all of those hours?


Since this is solar installation, consultations are always scheduled in advance. I want to make sure I’m advising him in a way that aligns with Google’s guidelines before he moves forward.

 

[JS Girard]

1. Technically yes, but a separate number is preferable for both tracking purposes and to minimize the risk of mergers.
2. Google has explicitly said that is what their hours are supposed to mean (which is why SABs can have hours beyond when they actually go out: as long as someone will answer, it counts as "open").

A reminder, though: You cannot prevent people from not seeing that it's appointment-only. That's just the reality of shitty reading comprehension on the internet. We've had a commercial-cleaning only client who gets constantly called for home cleaning even though it's literally stated "commercial only" in the GBP name.

 

[Nikki Stine]

1. Technically yes, but a separate number is preferable for both tracking purposes and to minimize the risk of mergers.
2. Google has explicitly said that is what their hours are supposed to mean (which is why SABs can have hours beyond when they actually go out: as long as someone will answer, it counts as "open").

A reminder, though: You cannot prevent people from not seeing that it's appointment-only. That's just the reality of shitty reading comprehension on the internet. We've had a commercial-cleaning only client who gets constantly called for home cleaning even though it's literally stated "commercial only" in the GBP name

Thank you for confirming this.