Skip to content
    Moz logo Menu open Menu close
    • Products
      • Moz Pro
      • Moz Pro Home
      • Moz Local
      • Moz Local Home
      • STAT
      • Moz API
      • Moz API Home
      • Compare SEO Products
      • Moz Data
    • Free SEO Tools
      • Domain Analysis
      • Keyword Explorer
      • Link Explorer
      • Competitive Research
      • MozBar
      • More Free SEO Tools
    • Learn SEO
      • Beginner's Guide to SEO
      • SEO Learning Center
      • Moz Academy
      • MozCon
      • Webinars, Whitepapers, & Guides
    • Blog
    • Why Moz
      • Digital Marketers
      • Agency Solutions
      • Enterprise Solutions
      • Small Business Solutions
      • The Moz Story
      • New Releases
    • Log in
    • Log out
    • Products
      • Moz Pro

        Your all-in-one suite of SEO essentials.

      • Moz Local

        Raise your local SEO visibility with complete local SEO management.

      • STAT

        SERP tracking and analytics for enterprise SEO experts.

      • Moz API

        Power your SEO with our index of over 44 trillion links.

      • Compare SEO Products

        See which Moz SEO solution best meets your business needs.

      • Moz Data

        Power your SEO strategy & AI models with custom data solutions.

      Enhance Keyword Discovery with Bulk Analysis
      Moz Pro

      Enhance Keyword Discovery with Bulk Analysis

      Learn more
    • Free SEO Tools
      • Domain Analysis

        Get top competitive SEO metrics like DA, top pages and more.

      • Keyword Explorer

        Find traffic-driving keywords with our 1.25 billion+ keyword index.

      • Link Explorer

        Explore over 40 trillion links for powerful backlink data.

      • Competitive Research

        Uncover valuable insights on your organic search competitors.

      • MozBar

        See top SEO metrics for free as you browse the web.

      • More Free SEO Tools

        Explore all the free SEO tools Moz has to offer.

      NEW Keyword Suggestions by Topic
      Moz Pro

      NEW Keyword Suggestions by Topic

      Learn more
    • Learn SEO
      • Beginner's Guide to SEO

        The #1 most popular introduction to SEO, trusted by millions.

      • SEO Learning Center

        Broaden your knowledge with SEO resources for all skill levels.

      • On-Demand Webinars

        Learn modern SEO best practices from industry experts.

      • How-To Guides

        Step-by-step guides to search success from the authority on SEO.

      • Moz Academy

        Upskill and get certified with on-demand courses & certifications.

      • MozCon

        Save on Early Bird tickets and join us in London or New York City

      Access 20 years of data with flexible pricing
      Moz API

      Access 20 years of data with flexible pricing

      Find your plan
    • Blog
    • Why Moz
      • Digital Marketers

        Simplify SEO tasks to save time and grow your traffic.

      • Small Business Solutions

        Uncover insights to make smarter marketing decisions in less time.

      • Agency Solutions

        Earn & keep valuable clients with unparalleled data & insights.

      • Enterprise Solutions

        Gain a competitive edge in the ever-changing world of search.

      • The Moz Story

        Moz was the first & remains the most trusted SEO company.

      • New Releases

        Get the scoop on the latest and greatest from Moz.

      Surface actionable competitive intel
      New Feature

      Surface actionable competitive intel

      Learn More
    • Log in
      • Moz Pro
      • Moz Local
      • Moz Local Dashboard
      • Moz API
      • Moz API Dashboard
      • Moz Academy
    • Avatar
      • Moz Home
      • Notifications
      • Account & Billing
      • Manage Users
      • Community Profile
      • My Q&A
      • My Videos
      • Log Out

    The Moz Q&A Forum

    • Forum
    • Questions
    • Users
    • Ask the Community

    Welcome to the Q&A Forum

    Browse the forum for helpful insights and fresh discussions about all things SEO.

    1. Home
    2. SEO Tactics
    3. Local SEO
    4. Local Listings
    5. Two businesses - using separate suite numbers

    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.

    Two businesses - using separate suite numbers

    Local Listings
    4
    8
    5793
    Loading More Posts
    • Oldest to Newest
    • Newest to Oldest
    • Most Votes
    Reply
    • Reply as question
    Log in to reply
    This topic has been deleted. Only users with question management privileges can see it.
    • wcksmith1
      wcksmith1 last edited by

      I have a client that has an office in a particular suite (Suite 101) at a local address. They rent the space so they cannot just add another suite number.  They are going to have two websites for two different businesses run from the same location.  They will have separate local phone numbers for each business.  Is it too much of a stretch for them to show one as "Suite 101-A" and the other as "Suite 101-B" for their local pages?  One of the businesses is very new with few citations at this point.  The other has not started up yet, so we have better  control of the citations that will be created.

      I've seen similar questions posted, but not one that addresses this specific issue.

      Thanks for any advice!

      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • LindaBuquet
        LindaBuquet last edited by

        Thanks Wick for the extra details. This one is tricky because some of the services will overlap.

        Where an SMB may see themselves as 2 different companies, Google often looks at it as a marketing ploy and sees it as really 2 divisions of the same company.

        This one is a little hazy to me. I think the only safe way to even try to have 2 listings is if none of the categories cross over. So even though they both do home maintenance of sorts that cat should not cross over.

        Does that make sense?

        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
        • wcksmith1
          wcksmith1 @LindaBuquet last edited by

          The primary site, and business provides services to elderly people in their homes - bill payment, home nurse visitation, home maintenance, etc. to help them stay in their homes.

          The second "business" is for a general market home repair/maintenance.  Clearly, they will be using some of the same resources but want to try to touch that more broad market with home repair.  They will have a separate local phone number.  I don't know if its the same personnel answering the phone.

          Thanks for any thoughts you may have!

          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • LindaBuquet
            LindaBuquet last edited by

            Hi Ryan,

            Luckily I have not been in that situation. But I have not taken on clients personally for 3 years. So back when I did, merging would have been more of a concern, which leads me to Miriam's question.

            1st off, good points all Miriam! Re: merging you are correct.  I very seldom see that issue these days which is why no one talks about it, I think.

            The bigger question I have for Wick is what industry is each of the businesses in?

            And is it a really small company where the owner is answering both phones and is mainly the one doing both services?

            Because there is a chance they may not qualify to even have a 2nd listing.

            If you can answer the 2 Qs above, I can weigh in more.

            wcksmith1 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • MiriamEllis
              MiriamEllis Subject Expert last edited by

              Good question, Wick!

              You know, this really does get into the murky water. We can state the dilemma this way:

              1. Google wants a precise, accurate address, as Linda has so correctly referenced. Linda is completely on the money about the use of a suite number where no such suite exists falling afoul of Google's clear guidelines. If I walk up to your door and can't find Suite B, then I've been misled.

              2. So, if the business owner follows Google's guideline and doesn't add a non-existent suite, then the reality has to be faced that the risk of merging and duplicates may be increased by adhering to the guidelines. This is the tough part. If I live with my sister and she runs her yoga business out of the same building I'm running my photography studio in, we are both running the risk of Google jumbling our listings up.

              3. So, where does this leave us? Basically, it leaves us with possibly having problems with our presence on Google because we are abiding by Google's rules. That's a rather imperfect situation, of course, but is the reality. And it leaves me wondering things like:

              • Whether Google actually would have a problem with a suite number legally obtained from postal or local authorities, even if I don't put up a dividing wall and a second front door for the second business. Wikipedia defines a 'secondary suite' this way: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secondary_suite ; it normally has a second entrance. But is this a legal definition? And, is it Google's definition? In my hypothetical scenario, could I technically have a suite with a shared entrance and no interior partition dividing me from my sister's yoga business? I honestly don't know if there is a rock solid answer to this.

              • And, here's one Linda would be better able to answer than I, given her position as a TC in Google's own forum: in instances in which a cluster of businesses have no suites, how is Google's track record of merging looking these days? I've heard they've gotten better at this than the formerly were, but it seems like it has been some time since I've seen much commenting on this topic.

              Just some thoughts. I would welcome further discussion on this thread from all community members!

              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
              • RyanPurkey
                RyanPurkey @LindaBuquet last edited by

                Hi Linda. I've had some clients in the medical field that fortunately had their own offices--or buildings in some cases--which made this easier, but have certainly seen multiple doctors practicing out of the same suite using a ###+Letter format. Have you come across this in your work? Just curious how you handled it. PM if necessary. Thanks!

                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • LindaBuquet
                  LindaBuquet last edited by

                  I'm very much a purist when it comes to the Google Local guidelines, since I deal with fixing problems all day AFTER someone has gotten in trouble.

                  In my mind sharing an office like this is tricky to handle.  Now you likely would not get in trouble for adding a suite, but to me if a suite does not really exist, then it does not exist so it's a little like making up a fake location.  Here is the pertinent part of the guidelines.

                  Use a precise, accurate address to describe your business location. Make sure that your page is created at your actual, real-world location.

                  In big office buildings you'll often see 10 businesses that are all at the same address that don't specify a suite at all, so it would look to the algo as if they are all in the same office. So maybe just skip suite on the new listing?

                  Just my anal-about-the-rules 2 cents. 😉

                  RyanPurkey 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                  • RyanPurkey
                    RyanPurkey last edited by

                    Hi Wick.  I've seen this behavior before and it's pretty common amongst doctor offices in commercial settings. For example, here's a listing that uses the 101A format as you're considering: https://encrypted.google.com/search?q=Dr.+Barry+M+Zingler+MD%2C+New+Jersey

                    Just be disciplined in your presentation of the different address, names, and phones so that they always match and you should be well on your way. Also, you might want to clear the A/B differences with the building where they're renting in order to make sure no mail gets lost as well.

                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • 1 / 1
                    • First post
                      Last post

                    Got a burning SEO question?

                    Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.


                    Start my free trial


                    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.

                    • See all categories

                    Related Questions

                    • Rmarkjr81

                      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 | | Rmarkjr81
                      0
                    • scottgray0620

                      How do I rank for a different business categories on google local?

                      Hello, How do I appear on the local listings for google in different categories or services that I offer? For instance, we're a physical therapy clinic by trade but we specialize in orthopedics, sports medicine, and lower back pain. Thus, how do I rank on google local for these types of services? Currently, we rank for physical therapy but we also miss out on a big part of our business by not ranking for these listings on local. Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Cheers, Scott

                      Local Listings | | scottgray0620
                      0
                    • WizIQMarketing

                      Can having a google business listing harm a company selling services globally?

                      Hi, We are a SAAS platform offering cloud based solution for educators. We had a google business listing in India and recently added one for US as well. Our keywords rank significantly better in India than in US. Is it a good idea to remove these business listing? Also, what could be other factors that impact GEO SEO rankings for a online company like ours?

                      Local Listings | | WizIQMarketing
                      0
                    • stuartstein

                      For Google's Structured Data, should I change my listings from Product schema to Local Business schema?

                      I was reading Google's Structured Data spec, and I'm considering changing the schema of our listing pages from the Product schema to the Local Business schema. Is this a good idea? To give you a little more info, the pages that I'm classifying are listings for physical spaces that our website rents out for activities, such as meetings. Here's an example of a listing: https://www.peerspace.com/pages/listings/550ddcde2f352d0800fc186b  Our goal is to add the proper schema.org tags to the page so that our spaces show up in local searches, such as "meeting space in San Francisco." The problem is that when we add location microdata (addressLocality, addressRegion, etc.) to our current "Product" schema, Google tells us that "Products" can't have a location. However, we aren't quite a "Local Business" either, since we don't publicly share our space's street addresses—only the space's neighborhood/city/state for privacy reasons. As a result, we get an error from Google's Structured Data Tool as a "Local Business" page because "streetAddress" is required for Local Businesses. Should we switch to the Local Business schema anyway, even though we get structured data errors for streetAddress? Or is it better not to include the location information in the microdata so that we don't have errors? Does Google penalize you for incomplete tags? Any input is appreciated!

                      Local Listings | | stuartstein
                      0
                    • ViviCa1

                      Having two GMB listings at same address

                      We currently have two verified GMB listings at the same address - I "inherited" these when I joined the company, and was considering merging them, as I am aware it is generally not recommended to have more than one listing per company per location. However, the two listings highlight two different sectors of our company so I decided to keep both and optimised them as best as possible by completing the information, adding pictures etc. One of the listings uses our legal company name, one uses our name that we trade under as an e-commerce business. The listing with our legal company name links to our corporate website and focuses on installations we do, while the listing with our e-commerce business name links to our ecommerce website and focuses on products we sell through there so they differ a bit from each other. Both serve the entire country, so they are not targeted specifically toward local searches. The following differ: Business name, sector, website
                      The following are the same: Address, phone number, opening hours So far we haven't had any issues, both are verified and show up in Google, but recently, we have had the following notification pop up: Fix locations with duplicate addresses__Use shop codes to differentiate locations that have the same address. Click each location and give it a unique address or shop code, or remove it. I'd appreciate some advice as to what would be best in this situation. Should I just add shop codes to differentiate the two listings in order to be able to keep them both? If so, what purpose do these shop codes have, how should I format these and will these be publicly visible within our listings? If you would suggest merging them, how could I ensure that it shows up whether people search for our e-commerce business name or for our legal business name as these are different? Thanks in advance!

                      Local Listings | | ViviCa1
                      0
                    • Ryan_V

                      NPA. Adding two new locations. What phone numbers to use?

                      Hi everyone, Our client wants to add two new locations. Not sure what phone number to use.
                      We have main phone 800 number, with no adders associated, and local phone numbers for locations which we do SEO for. New two locations are not for SEO purposes. Client just want them to be listed on website and on major directories for now. Understanding NPA importance:
                      Should we use main 800 for both locations? 
                      Should we get new phone numbers for each one? Thanks

                      Local Listings | | Ryan_V
                      0
                    • measurableROI

                      Removing phone number from GMB = lower rankings?

                      Hey, all!  I have a client who needs for people to see her website before they call her, or else she spends 15 min explaining what's already on the site.  Her Google My Business rankings are excellent for a lot of keywords (yay!), so people are seeing the number big and bold and just picking up the phone.  I called GMB support to ask if removing the phone number would affect rankings, and they said "I don't think so".  If this weren't a HUGE deal to the client, I wouldn't take the chance, but she feels that she's losing business by being on these calls when legitimate prospects try to call and get voice mail.  So...  any experience with removing phone numbers from GMB, or any other creative solutions to the quandary?  Thanks so much for reading!  ~ Scott UPDATE: Well, we went ahead and tried it anyway, and our GMB listins on the 7-pack nosedived!  STRONGLY recommend against this, at least with the current algorithm!!  The phone number is back now.  🙂

                      Local Listings | | measurableROI
                      0
                    • ArthurRadtke

                      How to submit a new business in Factual

                      I am trying to create citation for my client sites in Factual.com. As, I am not a hardcore developer, I wont be able to use the API as mentioned in the Factual website. It also provides a lit of  Trusted Data Contributors, which are paid third party service providers. I would like to know, whether it is possible to create a business listing in Factual, by using any other means than these two options.

                      Local Listings | | ArthurRadtke
                      1

                    Get started with Moz Pro!

                    Unlock the power of advanced SEO tools and data-driven insights.

                    Start my free trial
                    Products
                    • Moz Pro
                    • Moz Local
                    • Moz API
                    • Moz Data
                    • STAT
                    • Product Updates
                    Moz Solutions
                    • SMB Solutions
                    • Agency Solutions
                    • Enterprise Solutions
                    • Digital Marketers
                    Free SEO Tools
                    • Domain Authority Checker
                    • Link Explorer
                    • Keyword Explorer
                    • Competitive Research
                    • Brand Authority Checker
                    • Local Citation Checker
                    • MozBar Extension
                    • MozCast
                    Resources
                    • Blog
                    • SEO Learning Center
                    • Help Hub
                    • Beginner's Guide to SEO
                    • How-to Guides
                    • Moz Academy
                    • API Docs
                    About Moz
                    • About
                    • Team
                    • Careers
                    • Contact
                    Why Moz
                    • Case Studies
                    • Testimonials
                    Get Involved
                    • Become an Affiliate
                    • MozCon
                    • Webinars
                    • Practical Marketer Series
                    • MozPod
                    Connect with us

                    Contact the Help team

                    Join our newsletter
                    Moz logo
                    © 2021 - 2025 SEOMoz, Inc., a Ziff Davis company. All rights reserved. Moz is a registered trademark of SEOMoz, Inc.
                    • Accessibility
                    • Terms of Use
                    • Privacy

                    Looks like your connection to Moz was lost, please wait while we try to reconnect.