Will changing a business name in GMB cause reviews to be lost?

[micromano]

Hey all,

I have a three part question about the consequences of changing a business name.

I have a professional corporation which I intend to keep active, but I've also registered in my state an official DBA (Doing Business As). I'd like to start using the DBA for two of my existing business locations in GMB (Google My Business).

If you change your business name and the URL of your website in Google My Business (GMB), do you lose all your accumulated reviews?

Are there any other common pitfalls or concerns with a change of business name and URL in GMB?

Lastly, if a DBA name has a geographic reference (e.g. the state), is that more likely to be flagged and/or penalized by Google? To be clear, the DBA name I intend to use is not keyword stuffed, but it does have the geographic identifier.

 

[Eoghan_Aircam]

Historically I've seen this play out on a case by case basis so I'd encourage reaching out to GMB and Yelp (if also listing there) support and expect to provide plenty of proof it's the same business, team etc, just a reskin of the name. You *should* be OK to retain the reviews.

Local identifiers in the name are OK as long as you can back up that that's your actual name and what you're known as and not a keyword tactic. IE. real world signage also has the local identifier in it, it's on your website, your official DBA name etc.

 

[micromano]

Historically I've seen this play out on a case by case basis so I'd encourage reaching out to GMB and Yelp (if also listing there) support and expect to provide plenty of proof it's the same business, team etc, just a reskin of the name. You *should* be OK to retain the reviews.

Local identifiers in the name are OK as long as you can back up that that's your actual name and what you're known as and not a keyword tactic. IE. real world signage also has the local identifier in it, it's on your website, your official DBA name etc.

Thanks for the insight. Much appreciated.

 

[chadkimball]

when I've done this, the reviews remained. But either way, you might get a suspension when you try to change that info in the dashboard. google is suspension happy these days and not a lot of staff to help once you're suspended.