Moz Q&A is closed.
After more than 13 years, and tens of thousands of questions, Moz Q&A closed on 12th December 2024. Whilst we’re not completely removing the content - many posts will still be possible to view - we have locked both new posts and new replies. More details here.
Transferring SEO services from one agency to another - troubles, concerns, etc.?
-
Hey Moz Community,
I have a friend I'm asking for who has an agency and will be taking over SEO from another agency.
One thing that worries me is that the agency has confirmed dozens of locations in Google Places (about 60-100) for this business. How would you transfer Google Places ownership (assuming they cooperate)?
Could the previous agency delete these listings? If so, how would that affect Local SEO? For example, the location and phone number is already on the website. Isn't that good enough for all of these locations (about 100)?
I hope this is clear; please let me know if not. I would be interested in hearing any other feedback about moving agencies.
Thanks,
Cole
-
I think Google updated the 14 days processing. You add a manager -> One day waiting -> Make owner.
Thanks so much for your help!!!
-
Contact Google & have them help you on the back end.
https://support.google.com/business/?hl=en#topic=4539639&contact=1
You have to wait 14 days to transfer ownership to a manager.
It'll go much faster if you just have them call you.
-
What if the email address is @agency.com? Then, physical email addresses can't be turned over.
Best alternative would be to transfer ownership in G+ dashboard? Would this alternative simply be by adding another manager and that new manager delete old agency manager? Or is there a place to actually change ownership? I can't seem to locate the change of ownership if it does exist.
ETA: I found it. You add someone as a manager then you wait 1 day, then add them as the owner.
Thanks,
-
You can transfer ownership in the G+ Dashboard. I highly recommend having the current agency turn over the email address that's associated with ownership of all of the location listings. With that, you won't actually have to transfer ownership in G+, only IRL with the actual account & password access.
Yes, the previous agency can delete the listings. You would have to reverify all of them if they go this route.
You can also go about getting these via the bulk upload process & having the ownership of these businesses authorize Google to transfer ownership of all 100 listings to what ever email address you choose. This isn't a quick process. Suggestion 1 is the best route.
~Scott Davis, Senior SEO Specialist at Valet Interactive Marketing
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
What do I need to do for SEO when moving a business out of state?
Hello! So I have a business that I run out of a single location for the last 3 years. I am unfortunately having to move here in the next few weeks My question is what do I need to do in order to have the best chance at SEO for the new location? When should I make the changes? Does it take a long time for me to stop showing up in the previous location? and is there something I need to do to remove those? Also, is there an app or a website where I can find and update all listings at once or at least a bulk of them? I know that there are some weird sites that have my business info in them that I did not put there. Obviously these would have the wrong address. Some do not have a contact info or a way for me to log into them. What would I do with these sites? Thank you!
Local Listings | | Rmarkjr810 -
How to remove a link in GMB "Products & Services: places.SinglePlatform.com"
I manage a GMB account for an HVAC client and noticed in their knowledge graph it shows: "Products & Services: places.SinglePlatform.com" I cannot find this anywhere on the backend on GMB. Has anyone experienced this and how did you fix/remove the link? Luckily, the link goes to the clients profile on SinglePlatform, but the info is outdated.
Local Listings | | Bryan_Loconto0 -
How do I treat multiple buildings on the same college campus on Google for local SEO?
Should I delete them? Simply give them a different address like "City, State, Zip"? I see the benefit of having key buildings on campus in Google Maps, but I don't want those to affect my accuracy score and, thus, my local rankings for SEO.
Local Listings | | GabeGibitz1 -
Another Business is Using My Client's Address
This morning my client contacted me that another business is using their address as their own! They received a Google verification postcard with pin number on it, but luckily had the foresight to not give it to the person when they called. After some research, we also found out that they are using our address on Facebook and LinkedIn as well. The kicker is: this business is another SEO firm! You would think they would know that using our address would cause NAP issues for their own business. Has anyone dealt with another business trying to hijack their address for local rankings? Any advice on steps to take to report this abuse would be appreciated. Since this person is obviously unscrupulous, we don't want to provoke them into taking any other negative action online that could affect our business.
Local Listings | | IlluminousGwen0 -
Would two telephone numbers on a website affect NAP consistency? One is the "actual" business number with Schema, the other is a call tracking number.
Hello! I have two telephone numbers listed on a website - one is the "actual" business number and is utilizing proper schema, while the other is a call tracking number featured more prominently on the site (both in the header and above the "actual" business number in the footer). The code looks like this: New Patients: 999-555-5555 Current Patients: 555-555-5555 Does Google prioritize the "actual" business number because it has the proper schema on it? Or would the call tracking number still be counted and affect NAP consistency for Local SEO? Thanks!
Local Listings | | nowmedia11 -
SEO - Should individual doctors at facility claim a Google My Business profile?
My client is a physician facility with several doctors practicing at the facility. When doing a Google search for some of their practices such as "family practice" one of the doctor's profiles will display in the Google Local pack - however it is not linked to the facility website where their profile exists. As of right now, we are using YEXT and other tools to claim Google Business Profiles for each practice, not the individual doctors. If there are unclaimed accounts for individual doctors, they are alerting Google that it’s a duplicate and should be taken down. Is this the right process to follow for SEO best practices or should we be claiming both the business and individual doctor profiles? The reason they are not claiming individual doctor profiles is to cut down on duplicate reviews as part of the Reputation Management Program. Advice much appreciated!
Local Listings | | chrisvogel0 -
Address Format for Local SEO
Hi, Ive been reading how important it is to get the address of a business consistent and written in the right format to help with Local Search Engine Rankings. Is this correct? If this is the case, are there any online generators to help create this html in the right format to put into a webpage. Thank you.
Local Listings | | Ampweb0 -
Targeting both Dutch countries .NL & .BE --> 2 ccTLD's using rel-alternate or just one TLD?
We want to target both Dutch countries .NL & .BE (Belgium & Netherlands).
Local Listings | | Brainlane
Should we go for the 2 ccTLD's using rel-alternate, or go for one TLD, .EU or similar? We currently have an SEO project going on where DNS.be & DNS.nl are equally important. Currently we are using the rel-alternate meta data. The .be website is doing fantastic, the .nl one seems stagnant and not really getting to target. For a similar project, we are now wondering whether we should go for the same approach, or just pick one TLD (.EU or similar). Note: we cannot create content that is regionally specific, since the content is just what it is and cannot be altered.0