GMB Expansion for SAB Client who Acquired a Business

[dotgal]

I have a SAB client that recently acquired another SAB business, who will retain its own brand but be labeled as a division of my client. Here are some questions:

1) What's possible to maximize reach? Google is saying SAB limit is 20 service areas. My client serves way more areas than that. Now with the acquisition, we're talking about way more between the 2 businesses.
2) Is it possible for my client to create a new GMB listing at the location of the newly acquired business, who also has an existing GMB? And vice versa, can the newly acquired business create a new GMB listing at my client's location? Or should the strategy be expanding the service area listings for the client GMB account and for the newly acquired business' GMB account?
3) The specialties slightly differ for each business, but there's overlap. What's the best approach to maximize reach?

 

[Phil Rozek]

@dookie:

1a. You can target larger regions, like counties or states. So the limit of "20 service areas" doesn't limit you much in terms of how much geography you can put in your GMB service area. Important caveat, though: your GMB service area doesn't help your rankings.

1b. The GMB service areas can mess you up, though, if your two GMB pages' service areas overlap. You'll want to make sure the two GMB don't cover any of the same places.

2. It depends. If those GMB pages have the same location, similar service areas, and use the same categories, one or more of them might get pulled. In general, it's risky to have two businesses in the same industry in the same spot.

3. For GMB, different primary categories and probably no "service areas" specified in GMB. I don't know many specifics of your situation, but may want to show your address(es). But your "reach" depends mostly on your organic SEO work (on-site + links).