Google Places & Multiple Listings

[elcrazyhorse]

Our client used to have a listing in each city, but after updating the addresses they were forever under review.  Google said that businesses serving customers at their locations can only list their primary office.

Back when this client had multiple city listings, all addresses but one were UPS boxes.  If they are to change back to "No, all customers come to the business location," can they once again submit a listing for each city using these addresses?

Yes, I realize they are UPS boxes, but they insist on being listed for each city.

[MiriamEllis]

You are so welcome, Zeke!

[elcrazyhorse]

Thank you, Miriam.  Sometimes it's good to have a third party confirm what you already know the correct answer should be.  Appreciate it.

[MiriamEllis]

Hi Zeke,

Oh, clients like these are a handful! Explain, very clearly, to the client that the reason their listings went under review was because they broke the rules. What they want to do now is still breaking the rules and could risk their one legitimate location's rankings if Google decides they are spamming the index. Don't be vague. Be totally straightforward on this. Show them the guidelines: http://support.google.com/places/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=107528

Especially this part:

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Business Location: Use a precise, accurate address to describe your business location.

Do not create a listing or place your pin marker at a location where the business does not physically exist. P.O. Boxes are not considered accurate physical locations.

Do not create more than one listing for each business location, either in a single account or multiple accounts.

Businesses that operate in a service area, as opposed to a single location, should not create a listing for every city they service. Businesses that operate in a service area should create one listing for the central office or location and designate service areas. Learn how to add service areas to your listing.

If you don't conduct face-to-face business at your location, you must select "Yes, this business serves customers at their locations" under the "Service Areas and Location Settings" section of your dashboard, and then select the "Do not show my business address on my Maps listing" option.

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If the client cannot see that these rules are precisely describing that what they want to do is a violation, my advice is to drop them like a hot potato.

Local SEOs strive to help honest business people - not to abet rule breakers. If your client changes his tune after he sees the guidelines, then you can offer him an alternative, legitimate strategy that would work along these lines:

1. The client may go after true local rankings for his city of location by running a well optimized website that incorporates important local hooks, by having a single Places listing/Google+ Local Page that follows all the rules, and by building citations for his single, legit address.

2. If he is a service-radius-type business (like a plumber, carpet cleaner, chimney sweep) and serves customers at their locations rather than at his location, then he must comply with the hide address rule on his single Places Listing.

3. All of the above goes toward achieving high local rankings within the pinned, lettered blended/local pack of results.

4. Now, to approach the task of ranking well for his service cities (as a plumber, carpet cleaner or lawyer would), he can begin to showcase his work in these other surrounding cities where he is not physically located by created awesome city landing pages for each. These pages must feature totally unique, first class copy (no cutting and pasting copy, no thin content). He can create a unique page for each city that he serves.

5. He can then work on earning links to these pages to improve their chances of rankings.

6. Unlike the goal of steps 1,2 and 3, the goal of steps 4 and 5 for his service cities will be organic rankings - not local rankings. Google predominantly views any business as being most relevant to its city of location - not its service cities, so this is vital for the client to understand.

By following the above method, the client will be doing all he can to try to gain high local rankings for his city of location terms, and high organic rankings for his service city location terms. This is a completely valid way of working with this type of business model. Lay it out clearly for the client what you can do, and then let him make a decision. If he just won't see the light, walk away...he's going to be living in penalty land until he decides to play by the rules. In my own work as a Local SEO, I have learned to shoot straight with clients like this one who are spamming either because they don't understand the rules, or because they do know the rules and want to bend them for their own perceived benefit. The first type, I have a wonderful opportunity to educate. The second type, I can be quite direct in stating that I only offer guidelines-compliant services. Then, let them decide. Good luck and I hope this helps!