Google Changes Business Name To Other Than Legal Name

[Lloyd Silver]

I have a client who we just setup a GMB page for. We of course included the legal name of the business. A couple of weeks later, I saw a notification that they had updated information in the profile and when I checked it was the name.

This is a carpet cleaning business and the legal name is XYZ Carpet & Upholstery Cleaning and they changed it to XYZ Carpet-Upholstery.

There are a few wrong citations out there that include this wrong version of the name, including Express Update.

I'm working on getting those citations updated. I presume that once I do so I can change the name back to the correct one. But is there a better way of handling that?

Thanks

 

[Margaret Ornsby]

Which name do they actually go by? As in, which name do their customers know them by? If its the full legal name then maybe a chat about why they made the change, if indeed they did it and not Google?

 

[Lloyd Silver]

Sorry perhaps I wasn't clear.

The name of the company is legally (and what customers know them as): XYZ Carpet & Upholstery Cleaning. That's the name used when we created their GMB page.

However, GOOGLE changed the name to XYZ Carpet-Upholstery. I'm sure they did this because that name is used in a few citations and at least one data aggregator.

We're in the process of updating those citations.

It does surprise me that Google would make a name change simply based upon an aggregator which in my opinion is likely much less reliable than what the customer (or marketing firm) entered directly into the GMB page.

 

[Linda Buquet]

Hi Lloyd,

Remember in training where I show that the dash is only one signal - Google is getting info from everywhere and sometimes trusts 3rd party data more. An automated process just changed the name based on 3rd party signals.

The solution is easy. Just call support and have them fix it since they are the only ones that can. Don't need to fix citations 1st.

But def do work on those citations because she may just keep changing it back, if she keeps seeing that name out there.

 

[Lloyd Silver]

Thanks Linda.