Google requires that businesses that serve there customers at their customers' locations must hide its address. However, this causes an notice in Moz Local advising that the Google listing is inconsistent. Is that something to just ignore?
-
I run a walking tour company that operates from a virtual office. We run tours are set locations outside the office. Because of this, Google requires that we hide our exact location. However, Moz Local is warning us that "incomplete listings can negatively impact your ability to rank well in search engine results".
Most listings won't allow you to hide an exact address. Do the search engines understand this and therefore we won't get penalized?
Thank you.
-
Hi Adam,
I want to make sure you received the answer I gave to Stephen via the Help Desk as well. Basically, right now, yes, Moz Local in marking hidden Google+ Local addresses as inconsistent and this is negatively impacting the Moz Local listing score, but coincidentally, this is something our Engineers are working on to change. I don't have an ETA, but it is our plan to stop marking these as inconsistent in the near future, and this will remove any negative impact on the listing score. Hope this helps!
-
I had the same question, thanks for making Moz aware.
-
Thank you Miriam. I did just that.
-
Hi Stephen!
Good topic. You are quite correct that Google requires companies without a staffed physical office to hide their addresses. And, in a level playing field in which all of your competitors are also hiding their addresses, there would be no negative impact. However, if some of your competitors do have staffed physical offices, it is believe by some Local SEOs that you may be at some disadvantage in not having one yourself. It's important to stress that this is a theory, not a statement issued by Google. There is likely some truth in it, though.
Now, that being said, Moz Local accepts listings with hidden addresses, but if we are marking a hidden address as inconsistent, this might be worth taking up with the Help Team to discover if it's normal for the dashboard to treat a hidden address this way. It could be a question that the Help Team will need to take up with Engineering. You can contact the Help Team here: https://moz.com/help/contact
I hope this is helpful!
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 Is Linking to Wrong Local Page - How To Change?
Hi All Thanks in advance for any support. I've setup two "local" pages to target the next door town for one of my clients. One page targets "t shirt printing" and one page targets "embroidered workwear" However when I search for "embroidered workwear town in question" google connects the search to my t-shirt printing page and not the embroidered workwear page. Would it be possible to advise on what I need to do for the correct page to be linked to the search term? Here is a link to the search term in question **https://tinyurl.com/vvgr5r5 ** and the page that we would like to appear in the results, not our tshirt printing page https://tinyurl.com/s77md9o Thanks in advance for any help
Local Listings | | ruislip180 -
Two Google My Business accounts for two companies at same address
I have a client (flat roofing) with two registered businesses both of which are based from the same address, upon trying to create a new GMB account for the second business, it was immediately suspended by Google. So somewhat unsurprisingly one address one business, but is there a way around this?
Local Listings | | Donsimong0 -
What is the naming format for locations is it brand name--Location name?
I am trying to arrive at an agreeable format for consistency across the ecosystem for our multiple locations. Is there a character limit for the location name?
Local Listings | | lina_digital0 -
Google My Business: Multiple businesses operating from same address
Hi guys, This seems to be quite common (especially now with "hotdesking" becoming increasingly popular), but I've never had to do local SEO for a business like this before so was just wondering on best practice for a business who shares the same brick-and-mortar location with multiple other businesses. For Google My Business verification, it does seem you just have to get there first. With Google unverifying the first account tied to that address if you attempt to verify another - I don't want to do this, due to the relationship between my client and the verified business in question. Any suggestions?
Local Listings | | Ria_1 -
My website Not ranking in google
Hey there, My website Created in wix , & its Ranking in google, i have searched & get know That Websites By wix are nt getting indexed by google is this true?? If not then what are steps i can take To boost MY Site SEO I have Read article Of Wix Here . please check, Thnx in advace
Local Listings | | falguniiepl10 -
Best Practice When Selling One Location of Company with Multiple Branches - Local Search
I have a client with a small business with 4 different branches. Currently, we have a main landing page for the company, plus distinct landing pages for each branch with maps, territories, distinct phone numbers, etc., for each branch. The company recently sold one of the branches to a competitor as they do not want to service that area anymore. They have asked me what they should do now. Obviously, we are going to remove the location page for that branch, but we also need to transfer the phone number to the other company for use as part of the sale. What tasks should I look into for separating the branch from the rest of the company while still maintaining best practice for the rest of the site/company? Thank you for your help and suggestions.
Local Listings | | Ayres-SEO0 -
Local Business Registered at not a real Address
Hi, I am working on local SEO for a client of mine and was interested to hear what will be recommended in this case: My client registered his business in a NYC address, for his own business needs. Can I use this address as a second location for the business? There is a secretary taking care of ALL the businesses listed there, but is not a location that services customers. We don't service customers on site at any location because it's a pickup business to begin with, but we do have a fully functional office in NJ Please don't dismiss this right away, it was registered in NYC and not in NJ and all our information on the web cites this address over our NJ one (obviously i'm working on promoting our NJ one, but that's nowhere to be found on the web).
Local Listings | | Rachel_J0 -
Moz Local
Is there anything similar to Moz Local in London, UK? I need to run citations for 2 local businesses 'but' and want to use 'trusted' platforms. Please share you experiences and how this has helped your clients. Thank you Gary Victory
Local Listings | | GaryVictory1