Two GMB pages - same business but different names

[Caroline]

Hi,
My client now has two GMB pages. I claimed the second one as it was out there and put it under the one ownership and email. The second one that I claimed has a slightly different name than the main GMB but it is the same business and address etc. The main one I had had 80+ reviews and this one I claimed has none.

The main one is called John Smith Plumbing and Heating with the reviews
The second one John Smith

Google says that I can remove the second one but it will still be visible. So I suggested merging them. But the GMB help says they need to be the same name and they can't merge unless is so,

So is it OK to rename the second one John Smith Heating and Plumbing and then ask for a merge? Is that the best way forward do you think?

Any help would be awesome!

Thanks

 

[Patrick Leonard]

Hey Caroline,

For duplicate listings you're exactly right that merging is probably the best move. You've already taken the necessary first step by claiming the 2nd listing. Now you can simply rename the other listing and Google will proceed with the merge.

Good luck.

 

[Cherie Dickey]

Yes, you should be able to rename the second listing so that it's an exact match. The listing will also need to be released before the merge can take place as well.

 

[Caroline]

Thanks very much. What do you mean by "Released"?

 

[Cherie Dickey]

Hi!

Google will ask you to delete the listing from your dashboard, which releases your ownership of it. They won't merge two verified listings as far as I know... it's been a while since I've completed a merge personally, so this may have changed, but I'm pretty sure this is the process.

 

[JaraMoser]

Cherie is correct - they will ask you to remove the 2nd duplicate listing from all users before they will merge the pages.