How do I find associations between two businesses?
-
Google seems to have associated two business that share the same location (with added suite numbers) and I'm not sure how to break the association. The puzzling thing I discovered the other day is when I do a brand search in Google maps it populates this other business as seen here: (https://www.google.com/maps/search/tatt-away/@27.184467,-81.4366649,8z/data=!3m1!4b1)
We have multiple locations in Florida
I know this other business and it's hosted on the same VPS as well.
My question is how to I find the correlation and break it?
-
More that will help you show google there two companies
Yes in order to break the correlation between the businesses it does not really matter that they're on the same IP. more on that at the bottom in case you're using a .com and trying to target a country that you have yet to tell Google Webmaster tools you wish to target.
this only matters if you are outside of the country you are are targeting with a geo-targetable domain like .com, see
https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/1347922 etc.
you will then want to make sure you sign up for
https://www.google.com/business/ this is free and allows you to add your business to Google plus
one very important part of adding this site correctly or sites correctly to Google Webmaster tools is to make sure you have chosen www. or no-www in Google Webmaster tools the reason this matters is you cannot target any country without doing this first. See
https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/44231?hl=en
Then add Your businesses to
https://www.google.com/business/faq.html
you should place your IP address into the box in this URL this will tell you where your server's data center is
http://www.neustar.biz/services/ip-intelligence
( always nice to see people using a VPS)
one thing to understand about IP addresses is they do play a small role in Google's understanding of where you are but it is extremely small. If you are in the United States and have a .com address you will want to use Google Webmaster tools and target United States. Obviously you would want to do the same for whatever country or in. If you're in a country with an non-geo-targetable domain like .ca ( Canada) or .de( Germany) you automatically are targeting the countries with a geo-target domain.
There is really no other way around doing that then once they're created use Moz local to create citations that will differentiate the two businesses even more.
https://moz.com/local/overview
one of the best
I signed up with
You will also want to add schema to your address along with a KML file and XML site map with your latitude and longitude
this is a free tool that allows you to do this and even creates a schema generated map.
http://www.geositemapgenerator.com/input
If you use WordPress I recommend purchasing the Yoast local plug-in it will do this and add it to your site map flawlessly along with giving people directions to your business
you can also incorporate tools like yoast local SEO in order to add https://yoast.com/wordpress/plugins/local-seo/
http://local.yoastdemo.com/widgets-demo/
another easy way to add schema for your address is to use
Google's rich snippet creator which is only good for Google not other search engine but if that does not bother you here it is.
https://www.google.com/webmasters/markup-helper/
in my opinion this is one of the greatest schema tools and it has a WordPress plug-in if needed.
http://schema-creator.org/organization.php
or you just want a fast address made correctly
http://www.feedthebot.com/tools/address/
to better understand why you should use it
http://www.webmechanix.com/advantages-of-html5-and-semantic-markup
All the best,
Tom
-
I found the issue, it was human error. Thanks
-
Hi Wesley,
I'm looking at the link you've shared and am not sure I'm seeing what you're reporting. The query in your search if for Tatt-away and the maps box is showing 3 different businesses at 3 completely different addresses. I don't see 2 businesses with the same address/different suite. What are you seeing, specifically? What are the businesses in question?
-
Wesley,
Have you tried adding the suite number to your listing? I would try to add that and then also build more citations around the web with the exact same Name, Address (with suite #) and Phone Number. Use the MozLocal tool to find opportunities.
Also, when dealing with multiple locations, you should set up specific pages on your website (let's call them 'location landing pages') and associate those to each corresponding Google+ page. I see that you have the 'thetattaway.com' listed as the website for both Google+ pages I could find.
-
Yes in order to break the correlation between the businesses it does not really matter that they're on the same IP.
The most important thing to do is to create a suite number or whatever your town allows you to change. So for instance I had to create a Suite 101 and sweet 102 for business I have in order to appease Google.
I too live in Florida and the town of Winter Park charged me $312 to do this I do not know what your town will charge but I do know if you go down to the county clerk's office you can get the suites created.
There is really no other way around doing that then once their created use Moz local to create citations that will differentiate the two businesses even more.
All the best,
Tom
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
-
Google My Business for Municipalities?
I'm working with the City of Lakewood, WA, on an image campaign that overlaps a bit with some SEO goals. If you Google "Lakewood, WA", in the knowledge panel to the right of the search results is an image of building on fire. I'm not sure where this image comes from or why it has been selected as the image to represent the City of Lakewood but its been there for a while. If this was a small business, I would simply claim their Google My Business page and feed some good images into it. Problem solved. But Google doesn't offer an option to "Claim this City". LOL. Can you create a GMB page for a municipality? Does anyone know the right thing to do here to make this picture go away and give the city more control over its own image?
Local Listings | | TheKatzMeow2 -
Seasonal Setting Options for Google My Business
Hi there, Not sure if anyone will have any insight but I have a seasonal business that I am closed for from September to March. I don't want to mark my business as "permanently closed" through Google My Business as I don't want my customers to think I've gone out of business. I've seen a few times through forums that you can change your business to temporarily closed, but I can't find the specifics on how to do this. Any insight, suggestion or resources would be great! Thanks!
Local Listings | | MainstreamMktg1 -
Google My Business Multiple Listing
Can a specialist doctor who operates out of several locations have multiple GMB listings? She operates under her company brand name if that makes a difference. Thank you community!
Local Listings | | Crystal.w0 -
How to tell Google My Business what area is local to my company?
Hello Mozers I've been stumped by the changes in the interface with Google My Business. I used to be able to set up the area for which I wanted a business to cover. Now I can't find anyway to tell Google. The company I work for is in St Albans and our main workload is London. It would be helpful if I could actually control what Google Local sees as Local for my company, i.e. to encompass central London which is only 19 miles away. Can someone give me an idiots guide has to how to tell Google the area I'd like our local listing to cover? Thanks
Local Listings | | Catherine_Selectaglaze0 -
Home-Based Business
Can a single business list multiple locations that are home-based? Will Google find this acceptable? More details. The business is a service based business that operates in two states. The owner has one approved Google My Business listing for her main location - her home in DE. She also has employees and stores supplies at her in-law's home in PA. Separate phone numbers are used for each business location. We have tried to create a Google My Business listing for the PA location and it has been rejected for quality reasons. We've asked clarification and received none. Is this worth pursing further or does it violate Google guidelines?
Local Listings | | DonnaDuncan2 -
How to handle Local SEO when two businesses merge
Hi, I have a landscaping client who is buying another company and merging the two companies together. I trying to figure what the best way to handle this type of situation is. Here are the specifics. Company A I've been working with him for a number of years, he has a really robust site with good content and with really good rankings. I've done a ton of citations, he's in good shape. His company has decent name recognition. Company B My client is buying Company B. Their site is really poor, no SEO done on site and no directory listing work. The company has great name recognition in the community and gets most clients through word of mouth. My client has decided to take Company B's name because its a more well known company. He is going to merge the companies, because he doesn't want to have 2 companies from a management standpoint. He plans to keep both physical locations open. So here are my questions. Do I keep both sites live for a period of time and put a message notifying people that "Company A is now Company B Name"? OR Do I transfer all the good content from Company A's site to Company B's site and do a 301 redirect of the URL. How should I handle the data aggregators and directory listings? I'm trying to keep all the great natural traffic that Company A gets to its site, start to build traffic around company B's location while following all of Google's policies. I could just start over and in the long-term they'd be fine, but I really love to find a strategy to avoid my client taking a big hit in organic traffic. Thanks in advance Mozzers!
Local Listings | | JohnWeb121 -
Will changing my business location affect my ranking for localised searches in my original area?
I run a mobile outdoor personal training service in London, UK (i.e. no bricks and mortar gym). Or, rather, my business is in London (all my clients and the freelance trainers that work for me) but I'm personally due to move out to the county of Suffolk. As I work from a home office and my company's registered address is my home, that means I have to inform Companies House and various government agencies that the company has moved. Does this mean: a) I also must tell Google the company has moved, and; b) if I do will Google start to see my website as being for a Suffolk-based company? I really don't want this to happen: my clientele are mostly in London., I still want to market to Londoners. And if I want to expand the areas covered by my company, Suffolk is not high on my list. You'll excuse me if this is a simple question! Thanks for any help you could give
Local Listings | | fionadoggett0 -
Google Plus Business (How to replicate categories from Places)- Advanced
I'm very familiar with local promotion. However, I work in some fairly competitive local markets and in most cases only a few dominant keywords are necessary for the client to perform well. With new clients who aren't grandfathered into the old places interface, I cannot setup custom categories. This is known to everyone, but what I would REALLY appreciate is if someone could explain how I can at least to some degree replicate that targeting? To put it in perspective, for the standard categories (through Google Plus Business) my client rank very well; thus you can assume the client's local strength is solid; but when it comes to the few specific terms I need, I can't see to replicate the effect. Please help... anyone! 🙂
Local Listings | | mgordon0