Moving GBP to new address but Google already auto-created a profile there

[Adnan Dz.]

Hey everyone,

We have a client who is moving their storefront to a new address. The new location already has an unclaimed GBP, likely because the building had signage and showed up on Street View during renovations.

What’s the cleanest way to handle this? Should we claim the unclaimed listing at the new address first, then reach out to Google to let them know we’ve moved and ask to transfer reviews/history over? Our goal is to make sure everything carries across properly and avoid duplicate listings.

Also, if we run into issues claiming the unclaimed profile, is it better to just update the address on the existing profile and reverify at the new location if needed?

Thanks!

 

[JS Girard]

Hey everyone,

We have a client who is moving their storefront to a new address. The new location already has an unclaimed GBP, likely because the building had signage and showed up on Street View during renovations.

What’s the cleanest way to handle this? Should we claim the unclaimed listing at the new address first, then reach out to Google to let them know we’ve moved and ask to transfer reviews/history over? Our goal is to make sure everything carries across properly and avoid duplicate listings.

Also, if we run into issues claiming the unclaimed profile, is it better to just update the address on the existing profile and reverify at the new location if needed?

Thanks!

two options: you move the old profiles, then get them merged, or you try to get the google-created profile suppressed by reporting it, then move the old one once you've succeeded. Honestly, there's not much more else, and I generally don't trust Google Support to actually be any help nowadays.

 

[Adnan Dz.]

Thank you @JS Girard I was kind of afraid of that… We’ll try to report the listing Google created before we move. If that doesn’t work, we’ll update the address on the main profile, reverify (most likely), and take it from there. I might reach out to support just to see what they say - in case they recommend claiming the other profile instead.

Totally agree with you on support though… The main profile has 500 reviews, which makes this situation even more impactful.

 

[JS Girard]

generally, you can get google-created profiles removed fairly easily through suggestions as they usually lack owners. At least that's the situation in Quebec. I assume the balkans (if that where your client is located) are under a similar lack of heavy scrutiny compared to the US and other English regions.

 

[Adnan Dz.]

Thanks! We will try that first and see if we can get it taken down.

The client is in the US.

 

[JoyHawkins]

I would update the existing profile first. They might automatically merge the duplicate listing if they see the information matches.

 

[Adnan Dz.]

I would update the existing profile first. They might automatically merge the duplicate listing if they see the information matches.

Thank you @JoyHawkins We’ll go that route (and maybe report the duplicate a few times just in case).


Do you think it’s worth reaching out to support to explain the situation before we make the change? I'll probably just get an automated reply, but still... I’m a bit hesitant because with 500+ reviews on the main profile - it would be a big problem if something went wrong. We’ve also had Google mistakenly mark the wrong profiles as duplicates before, so I just want to be extra cautious.

 

[JoyHawkins]

They will just tell you to do it yourself, so I wouldn't bother.