Rebranding with a NEW Google business profile

[TorieL]

My client has rebranded and requires a new Google Business Profile (GBP) due to a complete name change, per GBP guidelines.

Challenges:

1. Old Profile Removal:
   • We deleted content, removed managers, and marked the old business as permanently closed.
   • Despite this, the old profile still appears on Google Search and Maps, not showing as permanently closed.
2. New Profile Creation:
   • A new profile was created with the new business name, address, and phone number (same as the old profile), but with a new website domain and logo.
   • The initial video verification failed without explanation, reverting to "Verification Required".
   • Multiple attempts (10+) to re-verify by video failed with an error: "Your video can't be uploaded. Record another video."
3. Reclaiming Old Profile:
   • In an attempt to remove the old profile, my client reclaimed it but faced a new issue.
   • We are now required to verify the old profile by video, which is impossible due to rebranding (signage mismatch with the old business name).
4. Profile Manager Issue:
   • Selecting the new profile in the business profile manager redirects to the old profile, making it seem like the new profile does not exist and preventing further verification attempts.

We need assistance with:​

1. Permanently Remove Old Profile:
   • Remove the old business profile permanently, even though we cannot verify it by video.
2. Verify New Profile:
   • Successfully verify the new business profile.

 

[ElizabethRule]

Hi there,

This is a bit late, are you still having issues with this rebrand?

If the new business is at the same address, in the same industry, and you will provide the same services as the old business, just under a new name, you can likely keep the old GBP and just change the name, website, phone etc. Especially if you are having issues verifying the old listing, you can change all the info on the profile to the new brand (so signage matches) and verify it that way.

If you managed to reverify the old listing with the old brand name and still want to remove it, there are tips on how to do that in here How to Close or Remove a Google Business Profile - Sterling Sky Inc

As for verifying the new profile, did you manage to do that or are you still having issues with uploading the video? You can request a live video verification here if you are still having issues.

 

[TorieL]

@ElizabethRule - thank you for your response and suggestions. Unfortunately, my client does not want to keep the old Google profile active. I believe they are going for a fresh start and don't want any reviews to follow them to the new brand.

Google merged the new business profile we created with the old one, so I can't even see the new (and unverified) profile in my business manager. Which means I've completed shifted focus on getting rid of the old profile.

The old profile is still active and, as I said earlier, I think Google merged the profiles because the profile owners and admins are set up how we set up the new profile. I have manager level access to the profile, but since it's unverified, none of our edits are going through. I had the owner try to mark the profile as permanently closed, but it didn't seem to make any impact.

I think from here I'm going to have the primary owner go in through their Google account associated to the business, head to Maps and suggest an edit - making sure to click, "business doesn't exist." I'm going to request that they add photos to show the new signage and that the old business is not there.

Now that I know the goal is to remove the old profile, I am hopeful this approach will find success! Then we'll try to create a new business profile and hope that the verification goes much smoother this time.

If you can see a flaw or an improvement to my plan, I'd appreciate the feedback! Thank you so much in advance!

 

[ElizabethRule]

Since the old profile is unverified, crowdsourcing map edits to get it removed can work. Get as many people as possible with high standing Google accounts to flag it for removal. Adding photos of the signage at that address is a good idea too, it should help Google understand the business is no longer there. You can even try removing all users from the profile and then suggest edits too, that sometimes works even better since no user account is associated with the profile.

I would not try to create the new profile until the old one is removed, or else you might run into the same issues as before!