Is having more than one GMB listing actually against Google guidelines?

[nathangdavidson]

Hi,

I've noticed one of my clients competitors has multiple GMB listings. Part of the Business Name on each is common, i.e. the name of the business, but the other parts include keyword and location spam.

I used Suggest An Edit to mark these as duplicates two weeks ago - highlighting they were duplicates of another listing (the one listed at the same address as the one used on their website) - but to date no action has been taken.

Maybe I need to be more patient?

My intention was to then use the Redressal Form to highlight these duplicates, but then I noticed this line in the "Guidelines for representing your business on Google"

*** There should only be one profile per business, as this can cause problems with how your information displays on Google Maps and Search. ***

Should. Hmm. This got me thinking.

Is having more than one GMB listing actually against Google guidelines?

I'm pretty sure I've read that it is, but is this a good enough reason to use via the Redressal Form. I've had limited success using the tool to date so just wanted to reach out to the community first before I use it again.

Any tips would be gratefully received from anyone who has had success in cases similar to this.

Many thanks for reading!

 

[jeff_taylor]

I've had limited success too. But yes this would be a good occasion to use the Redressal Form. Very clear.

 

[Brett Sullivan]

Hi,

I've noticed one of my clients competitors has multiple GMB listings. Part of the Business Name on each is common, i.e. the name of the business, but the other parts include keyword and location spam.

I used Suggest An Edit to mark these as duplicates two weeks ago - highlighting they were duplicates of another listing (the one listed at the same address as the one used on their website) - but to date no action has been taken.

Maybe I need to be more patient?

My intention was to then use the Redressal Form to highlight these duplicates, but then I noticed this line in the "Guidelines for representing your business on Google"

*** There should only be one profile per business, as this can cause problems with how your information displays on Google Maps and Search. ***

Should. Hmm. This got me thinking.

Is having more than one GMB listing actually against Google guidelines?

I'm pretty sure I've read that it is, but is this a good enough reason to use via the Redressal Form. I've had limited success using the tool to date so just wanted to reach out to the community first before I use it again.

Any tips would be gratefully received from anyone who has had success in cases similar to this.

Many thanks for reading!

I was wondering the same thing. I have a client that has two service locations that do not over lap but they are about 30 miles away and we’ve used certain keywords and city location for obvious SEO reasons

For Ex: Cupcake’s Cupcake Bakery XYZ City and Cupcake’s Cupcake Bakery ABC City.

So, if it’s Cupcake’s Cupcakes, and we add ‘Bakery’ along with the ‘city’ location has seemed to work for months.

But I’ve noticed precedence given to franchise companies with a verified address in another city yet they have used a city in their name which is outside of their area.

They still show on the map pack after being reported.

Everything has been working fine with one listing for almost a decade and the new location has been verified and their location page ranks on Google #1 for a short tail keyword we are working on BUT the map pack never shows UNLESS it is surrounding cities that are in the ORIGINAL verified GMB listings area.

I feel like I’m on a borderline given the company I’m working with and the short travel time between cities but I believe there is a false representation on the larger franchise locations by inserting a different city they’re are not located in just to get a piece of the pie.

 

[Stefan Somborac]

@nathangdavidson Don't let the use of the word "should" throw you off. Google allows only one listing per physical location. (Assuming each location also meets all other eligibility criteria.)

For SABS, you can have multiple listings provided each has "...separate service areas and separate staff...". (i.e. no overlap of service areas) Also "The boundaries of your profile’s overall service area shouldn’t extend farther than about 2 hours of driving time from where your business is based. For some businesses, larger service areas may be appropriate."

If your competitor's two locations are eligible, you're not going to have much luck reporting them as duplicates. Consider reporting them for name spam instead.

 

[nathangdavidson]

@nathangdavidson Don't let the use of the word "should" throw you off. Google allows only one listing per physical location. (Assuming each location also meets all other eligibility criteria.)

For SABS, you can have multiple listings provided each has "...separate service areas and separate staff...". (i.e. no overlap of service areas) Also "The boundaries of your profile’s overall service area shouldn’t extend farther than about 2 hours of driving time from where your business is based. For some businesses, larger service areas may be appropriate."

If your competitor's two locations are eligible, you're not going to have much luck reporting them as duplicates. Consider reporting them for name spam instead.

Hello @Stefan Somborac , thanks for your reply.

I think the first thing here is that these "duplicate listings" all look like residential addresses. So whilst they might "make in-person contact with customers during its stated hours" I'd say it's more likely they don't. They've each been set up as standard GMB profiles, rather than SAB's, so whilst they each have different addresses, my feeling is they're ineligible.

The latest revisions to the SAB guidelines are somewhat confusing to me, but since the three profiles are located within a 2 hour drive of their primary profile, I'd say they'd be ineligible even if they converted their profiles to SABs.

I may do as you suggest and re-report them for name spam if I they aren't removed within two weeks of my redressal form submission. It just feels like they're playing the system and it's hugely frustrating!

 

[JoyHawkins]

I think the redressal form is behind right now. I have reports from 3 weeks ago that don't appear to have been looked at yet.

 

[Stefan Somborac]

@nathangdavidson - Scroll down to the section "Remove a location from Maps" in the doc Remove one or more Business Profiles.

Using "Suggest an edit", "Close or remove" and then selecting "Private place or home", you may be able to get the listing removed entirely because it is ineligible.

 

[georgenenni]

I feel to maximize local search opportunities with GMB it is best to follow the big box retailers like Walmart, Home Depot, Kroger, etc. by creating departmental GMB pages. Try it yourself, in the U.S. most searches for "pharmacy near me", "deli near me", or "bakery near me" will deliver Walmart department listings. Google then "nests" these department GMBs, as many as a dozen for big retailers. For me this seems to encourage the process, as Google not only nests the listing, but also posts departmental hours for each GMB. For automotive, this allows the body shop to score better with those searches, such as "body shop near me", vs. the sales queries like "Jeep dealer near me".

 

[nathangdavidson]

@nathangdavidson - Scroll down to the section "Remove a location from Maps" in the doc Remove one or more Business Profiles.

Using "Suggest an edit", "Close or remove" and then selecting "Private place or home", you may be able to get the listing removed entirely because it is ineligible.

Thanks, I hadn't noticed that option before - I chose the 'Duplicate of another place' option previously which had no impact. I'll wait to see if Google react to the Redressal form I've submitted, if not, I'll try this. Thanks again.

 

[Contractor]

Unfortunately, Joy and others have said in other threads that Google doesn't remove claimed listings for "Private place or home".

I spent a lot of time trying to get these removed before finding this to be true.