Service are business - change of address methodology

[echo1]

How would you go about changing an address for a SAB (service area business) ? Phone number will remain the same, the new address is about 4 miles away, same city, different zip code.

[MiriamEllis]

It is always my pleasure!

[echo1]

Thanks again Miriam, you have been very helpful indeed!

[MiriamEllis]

Hi Echo1,

Let me take your questions step by step for clarity here.

• You may lose some or all of your reviews, unfortunately. When you move, it's as if Google considers you to be a new business. This is an unsatisfactory approach in many people's views. My take on Google's thinking is that if Joe's Restaurant on 4th Avenue closes because it was terrible and then Joe opens a new restaurant on 23rd Street, it might be great. Google applies reviews to a physical address, not a business name. So, yes, you may lose your reviews.

• I agree with Nyagoslav's estimate.

• Do not attempt to merge your Google+ Local page with a Google+ Business page. As Google has stated, this feature is meant for brick-and-mortar single location businesses - not for SABs like yours. And, just so you know, nobody I know in the Local SEO sphere is recommending that ANY business attempt to merge, because the system is so confoundedly buggy right now. So, avoid any attempts to do this. On a positive note, Google is currently rolling out a new Google Places for Dashboard. Few people have seen it yet, but when it does roll out, you will be able to activate social features, apparently with the click of a button, even if you are an SAB. So, stay alert for news of that.

Good luck, Echo!

[echo1]

Thanks  Miriam, this is what I have gathered from the internet as well but I needed to be sure. The excel file with all the directories and citations is ready.

A couple of follow up questions:

• What would happened with the reviews, are they moving the over to the new listing?

• In your opinion, how long does it take to get the rankings back up (assuming they will go down for while). I read Nyagoslav's article where it says ""In a competitive niche it may take 6+ months for a listing to regain the same power as its old “closed” brethren. Even in very low competitive niches it takes at least a few weeks."

• I am in the process of merging the listings (Google + and Google places), should I still proceed with changing the address or should I wait?
  Update: See response from Google Help below_: "Hello, it looks like you verified a non-storefront business in Google+ which does not make contact with walk-in customers at the business location. We don't currently support this type of business in Google+ Local. We've ask that you continue to manage it through the Google Places dashboard." ; they are_ basically telling me they will not merge the two listings.

[MiriamEllis]

Hi Echo1,

The process of changing an address is the same for both a brick-and-mortar business and an SAB.

1. Change the address on the website

2. Go to the Google Places Dashboard and edit the address there. Follow these guidelines:

Verified business owner of a page, and is your business moving locations? Here's what you do.

"Edit your address in Google Places for Business or in the Google+ page admin area, whichever you are using to manage the page. This will either make a new page or edit the address on the existing page. It may take a week or two after editing your address before you see an update. At this point, you may need to go through a verification process again. Don't worry -- this is normal.

If you see a page that's still got the old address, click on Report a problem and mark that location as closed. Provide the link to the new address or information about the new location if possible. You can find more instructions on closing a location here: Remove a listing or mark a place as closed or moved - Places for business Help (http://support.google.com/places/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=154102)"3. Locate all of your citations on other sources and edit the address there to reflect the change.4. Monitor your Google+Local/Place Page to be sure the listing never reverts to the old address.And that should do it. Not surprised if there is confusion surrounding this issue. Google has changed their policy twice in the past 6 months. The guidelines I've quote above represent their most current policy. Hope this helps!