Google My Business Updates the Guidelines for Practitioners

[JoyHawkins]

Google has updated the Google My Business guidelines and has added the following under the section for practitioners:

"Sales associates or lead generation agents for corporations aren't individual practitioners and aren't eligible for a listing."

I know a while ago I asked Google if Colan would be allowed a practitioner listing. He's public facing and technically has his own client base. They told me no, marketing companies wouldn't qualify for practitioner listings. I think this new update helps clarify that a bit better.

 

[Phil Rozek]

@JoyHawkins, nice find. Of course, Google doesn't make it clear what the difference is between someone with Colan's setup and, say, an insurance agent. (The insurance agent usually is part of a larger organization, is public-facing, and has his or her own client base.)

I think you should create a "practitioner" listing for Colan anyway, just to see what happens. In the name of science

 

[CarrieHill]

Going on another Lead Gen GMB listing reporting spree for my Locksmith client! Wahooo!

 

[MiriamEllis]

Good catch, Joy!

Google's language here is a bit vague. It would be helpful if Google had given an example of what their idea of a sales associate is.

 

[Adam Bament]

Hi Joy et al,

Hoping to get some advice on deleting a GMB 'location'.

I have two GMB locations for the same business address under the one GMB profile: one for my medical clinic and the other for the managing doctor.

I want to remove the managing doctor's location as this doctor has left the business.

I note my two options are 'remove listing' or 'permanently closed', where remove listing just removes it from my profile.

My question: If I 'permanently close' the managing doctor location, will Google think the address as closed? I'm concerned that Google will also permanently close my medical clinic location.

Any help is hugely appreciated.

Cheers,
Adam

 

[JoyHawkins]

Hey Adam,

Did he leave to retire or is he working somewhere else now? If the answer is the former, Google will actually remove the listing entirely. If he's working somewhere else - they won't and I'd suggest you mark it as closed. It will show the listing as closed if people search for his name on Google but it shouldn't impact the practice listing.

 

[Colan Nielsen]

@Adam Bament Is the practitioner retired or have they moved to a new office?

Hi Joy et al,

Hoping to get some advice on deleting a GMB 'location'.

I have two GMB locations for the same business address under the one GMB profile: one for my medical clinic and the other for the managing doctor.

I want to remove the managing doctor's location as this doctor has left the business.

I note my two options are 'remove listing' or 'permanently closed', where remove listing just removes it from my profile.

My question: If I 'permanently close' the managing doctor location, will Google think the address as closed? I'm concerned that Google will also permanently close my medical clinic location.

Any help is hugely appreciated.

Cheers,
Adam

 

[djbaxter]

Same questions posted at the same time. And that, folks, is why @JoyHawkins and @Colan Nielsen are such a good team.

 

[Patricia Ptacek]

Along the practitioner line- I remember reading a thread that practitioners who practice in multiple locations can have multiple practitioner listings if the hours are fixed (tuesday @ practice A, thursday @ practice B). I am remembering that correctly and is it still true?

 

[Colan Nielsen]

Along the practitioner line- I remember reading a thread that practitioners who practice in multiple locations can have multiple practitioner listings if the hours are fixed (tuesday @ practice A, thursday @ practice B). I am remembering that correctly and is it still true?

Hey Patricia, yes that is still the case.

 

[Adam Bament]

Hey Adam,

Did he leave to retire or is he working somewhere else now? If the answer is the former, Google will actually remove the listing entirely. If he's working somewhere else - they won't and I'd suggest you mark it as closed. It will show the listing as closed if people search for his name on Google but it shouldn't impact the practice listing.

Thanks so much for your replies Joy, Colan & Patricia. The practitioner has retired. To get this removed, is it simply a case of requesting a call back from GMB?

 

[Rich Owings]

Along the practitioner line- I remember reading a thread that practitioners who practice in multiple locations can have multiple practitioner listings if the hours are fixed (tuesday @ practice A, thursday @ practice B). I am remembering that correctly and is it still true?

So the practitioner hours can't show them at both locations at the same time? What if it varies?

 

[Colan Nielsen]

So the practitioner hours can't show them at both locations at the same time? What if it varies?

Hey Rich, yes the hours aren't supposed to overlap. If it varies I would put in the "most" accurate hours. Have them match what's on the website at the very least.

I've yet to see Google penalize for getting the hours wrong. The only time I have seen GMB support scrutinize the hours was when trying to do a bulk verification. In that case I couldn't get verified until there was no overlap in hours.

 

[JoyHawkins]

Thanks so much for your replies Joy, Colan & Patricia. The practitioner has retired. To get this removed, is it simply a case of requesting a call back from GMB?

Yes. Make sure you tell them he retired and that you do not want it marked closed - you want it completely removed. This is a new guideline so I have heard stories about GMB support not understanding this is a possibility. If needed, quote this: Google My Business Changes How They Deal With Practitioner Listings - Sterling Sky Inc