Promoting three businesses at the same locaiton
-
Hi,
A potential client has three busiensses at the same location. Does google allow for three business listings at the same location?promoting three businessess -
Hi Cornelius!
Another great question from you. Here's how to understand this:
-
If these are 3 legally distinct businesses (a lawyer, a bakery and a chiropractor) all at the same physical location, and each is staffing the office during stated business hours and each has its own unique phone number, you should be A-OK. Google is pretty sophisticated at parsing out multiple businesses at the same address these days. But...
-
If you ever suspect that these are NOT 3 legally distinct businesses, hold on. If, for example, a legal firm is trying to pretend that its personal injury services, estate services and criminal law services are 3 distinct businesses, then they are being spammy as all get-out trying to list them as 3 different businesses. It's the Local SEO's job to tell them they shouldn't do this and that they are headed for a listing takedown if Google, competing Local SEOs or the public notices what they have done. Another example of this would be an HVAC company trying to bill itself as two different business: one for heating and one for cooling. Eligibility for local business listings revolves around physical location, not the number of services a company offers. So, one physical location for a single business = a single local business listing.
There are some exceptions to the above, like a multi-practitioner office or a multi-department campus. Happily, you'll find that the Guideline For Representing Your Business On Google lay this all out in pretty clear terms, and these are what Local SEOs study and refer to in creating local search marketing strategies that keep clients safe from penalties and takedowns. If you're just getting started marketing local businesses, start with the guidelines. Google has been the dominant player in Local Search for over a decade, and so their definitions of good vs. bad practices have, perforce, become industry definitions in many, many ways.
Hope this helps!
-
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
-
GMB best practice for chiropractic office (individual vs. business pages)
For a chiropractic or other doctor's office with multiple doctors, should each have their own personal Google My Business page page AND a business page for the practice? If they just have a business page now, is it worth creating a page for each of the individual doctors? And what if some of them have different focuses (like a acupuncturist and chiropractor), does that mean you should make individual doctor pages when you otherwise wouldn't bother? And IF we should create pages for the individual doctors, should they all have the same address and website since they work in the same practice. Curious if there is a best practice for this... has anyone seen positive or negative results with or without the individual doctor pages? Thanks!
Local Listings | | Mike-i0 -
Should I claim a non-local Google business listing?
If I have a business which is non-local, but has one location and is showing up with the address and directions already in the knowledge panel, should I claim the business? Eg: the company manufactures a single product and ships directly to customers all over the world. On the one hand, of course it seems I should claim it and get more control. On the other hand, part of that process is setting a service area and I worry that by doing so I may be making the company seem less relevant outside the service area in Google's eyes.
Local Listings | | PlusROI0 -
Update business name across 150+ locations
We have 150+ locations. The current names in GMB vary based on the branch. They may include a branch number or city location in the title or some variation of the company name. We'd like to update these to reflect our company wide branding and drop the branch #/location. Any ideas on the impact of this change?
Local Listings | | Jason.Capshaw0 -
Is it ok to use a mobile phone number for business listings?
Hi all
Local Listings | | coolhandluc
I know the use of 0800 numbers and toll-free numbers are a big No when it comes to NAP but what about mobile phone numbers?
Will google penalise the use of a mobile over the use of a land line? Thanks0 -
Can I request removal of a duplicate competitor Google Business listing?
I have a local competitor that is boggling me with his local pack rankings. For certain keyword phrases, he is ranking in multiple local 3 pack spots. The thing is, he only has one business location. So basically he has two different Google maps listings for the same business location ranking in the local pack. The NAP information is different for both listings except for the physical address. I can't understand for the life of me how this is actually helping him instead of hurting him.... My client has way more citations. A decent blog with solid content. An SEO optimized mobile website (compeititor website is not mobile ready). Etc..... Don't get me wrong, my client is doing really well and is ranking top 3 in his area for nearly 30 industry related keyword phrases. I guess that is part of the reason I'm so boggled. Can anyone provide any insight? Can I bring this up to Google and have them remove the duplicate listing somehow? I'm literally sitting #4 in the local pack for some valuable keywords, and the only reason I'm not #3 or higher is because the same physical business location is taking up two of the spots. Any help is appreciated. Thanks!
Local Listings | | GO2Tech0 -
How can I submit Baidu business listings if I live outside of China?
A client of our wants to manage business listings for three locations in China. We wanted to submit to Baidu but from what I've learned this is highly regulated (you live in China, pay a fee and call them to confirm). This is the only article I could find about submitting to Baidu: http://www.nanjingmarketinggroup.com/blog/baidu/how-can-baidu-maps-help-my-business Are there any conduit or 3rd party services available that can handle this? Thanks
Local Listings | | RosemaryB0 -
Using same business number on different websites
Hello, I have number of websites in different locations with different business name and address with verified listings. However, I am thinking to use the same phone number on all the websites as it is difficult for me to keep track of all the numbers. So, is it okay to use the same phone number on different websites with different business name and address? Waiting for your thoughts. Brian
Local Listings | | BrianBotts.0 -
SEO ROI for brick-and-mortar small business?
So I've just been contracted to do some on-page and local SEO for a number of websites, and aside from analytics, I don't know how to prove the ROI. Any thoughts on that? For example, how do I prove a restaurant is getting more customers because I optimized their website and established and enhanced local listings (or if that's even the case)? How would I measure that success, especially if there are other variables (maybe they're also kicking off some off-line marketing in tandem ... )
Local Listings | | sbs2190