What exactly is the point of continuing running a business as a SAB? It makes more sense to close down the business after a certain point.

[BSDChicago]

I've been running a service business for over 5 years now. For the first 4.5 years business was doing very well in my previous location, until I decided I wanted to live at a new address. As an SAB, I was unknowingly grandfathered in and had a pin on Google up until my move. Last June, I arrive at my new home, and go to update everything on Google. I now have to be listed as an SAB, which in theory shouldn't be a problem, IF I didn't have 10+ competitors operating out of their homes with a pin.

It's been a year now since my move. I got hit with the SAB move bug twice last year. Now, I find myself completely unable to rank to against my competitors who a) some don't have websites, b) some don't have phone numbers, c) can't spell correctly on their GBPs, d) have little to no reviews. I've spent a year combing through everything I can think on my website, social media, removing old citations, etc. I've tried editing competitors, submitting redressals with proof consisting of: pictures of houses, links to fake reviews, proof of keyword stuffing, and proof that the businesses don't exist according to state business records. NONE of my competitors have been successfully edited or updated. I hand out cards to everyone, I try my hardest to network, I ask for reviews. I can't afford the thousands of dollars a month for a warehouse or office or building to slap my business name on.

I use Localfalcon to monitor my rankings and while I was never ranking #1, over the course of the last month or so my rankings have been slowly falling to the 20+ position. I keep my GBP, social media, and website updated.

Sorry for the rant, but there has to be SOMETHING I can do right? The only thing I have on my to-do list is possibly having Whitespark, Brightlocal, Semrush, etc. build me 400 new citations but I can't see how having a citation on illinoisbusinesses.xyz would help my case.

 

[whitespark]

If you are an SAB that has moved, then:
- when you show your address on your profile, you will rank in your new area.
- when you remove your address, your ranking will shift back to your previous location.

So, you still rank, but not where you want to.

I have tried a few tests to fix this, but none have worked.

The only fix at the moment is to create and verify a new Profile at your new location and then get Google support to move your reviews. See this post:

3 Steps to Move Your Service Area Business Google Business Profile Without Destroying Your Ranking

Many business owners aren’t sure what to do when they operate out of their house and then have to move. In many cases, these moves aren’t close by and the business owner is trying to figure out if they have to start from scratch.

www.sterlingsky.ca

 

[BSDChicago]

If you are an SAB that has moved, then:
- when you show your address on your profile, you will rank in your new area.
- when you remove your address, your ranking will shift back to your previous location.

So, you still rank, but not where you want to.

I have tried a few tests to fix this, but none have worked.

The only fix at the moment is to create and verify a new Profile at your new location and then get Google support to move your reviews. See this post:

3 Steps to Move Your Service Area Business Google Business Profile Without Destroying Your Ranking

Many business owners aren’t sure what to do when they operate out of their house and then have to move. In many cases, these moves aren’t close by and the business owner is trying to figure out if they have to start from scratch.

www.sterlingsky.ca

I forgot to add in that 3-4 months ago I did create a new profile, reverified, then had my reviews moved over. I did lose about half of my old reviews, which I think was a good thing since they were created and mentioned my old location. Since then I have regained those reviews and more.

 

[whitespark]

I forgot to add in that 3-4 months ago I did create a new profile, reverified, then had my reviews moved over. I did lose about half of my old reviews, which I think was a good thing since they were created and mentioned my old location. Since then I have regained those reviews and more.

In that case, it’s likely that your new location is more competitive than your old location.

I wonder if you would rank better if you showed your address. Sometimes you can add your address, save, and not have to reverify. But there is definitely a risk that it will force you to reverify if you do this, and if it does go through you will technically be in violation of Google’s guidelines. Your rankings won’t be affected, but verification is a hassle. I’m not advising one way or the other. Just a consideration.

 

[BSDChicago]

In that case, it’s likely that your new location is more competitive than your old location.

I wonder if you would rank better if you showed your address. Sometimes you can add your address, save, and not have to reverify. But there is definitely a risk that it will force you to reverify if you do this, and if it does go through you will technically be in violation of Google’s guidelines. Your rankings won’t be affected, but verification is a hassle. I’m not advising one way or the other. Just a consideration.

I was actually thinking about turning the living room of my house into a little office/waiting room and getting signage made up for the sole purpose of a verification video. Although from what I've read Google's rules for signage have gotten a lot more stringent.

 

[chadkimball]

I was actually thinking about turning the living room of my house into a little office/waiting room and getting signage made up for the sole purpose of a verification video. Although from what I've read Google's rules for signage have gotten a lot more stringent.

How did this work out for you? Did it solve your problem?

 

[BSDChicago]

How did this work out for you? Did it solve your problem?

I ended up not doing it. I went through most of the process of getting signage made up, rearranging my home to make it look more like a waiting room. I painted the inside wall of my garage as well with my business name and info to make it look more like a garage bay.

I ended up chickening out at the last moment because I felt like my luck would've led to either the address not being verified or someone editing it and me being in a worse position than before.