Google My Business - duplicate and previous owner uncooperative
-
Hi there,
One of my SEO clients, a summer camp, is having a problem with their GMB listing.
They have two listings: the one they set up, with the correct address and other business info, and the one the previous camp owners set up, with an incorrect NAP. When we try to edit the duplicate listing, we're unable to verify that we own it because it's connected to the previous owner's phone number. They've passed away and their sons are now the contact, but they're not interested in helping out.
Any suggestions on how to close the duplicate listing without being able to verify that it's your own business?
Thanks,
Susannah
-
Thanks a lot - I really appreciate your help!
-
Thank you Sean!
-
Susannah,
As Sean mentioned, it is possible to get in contact with GMB, but it can be tricky. We have ran into similar issues, we had an issue where the suite number was a letter then number, for instance C 109. We contacted the GMB team, left a message with contact info and manged to get a call back the same day. The changed the issue over the phone.
I would suggest getting in contact with GMB and describing your issue with the team. Talking with Google will make the process much easier.
Start by reporting the problem here, https://support.google.com/maps/answer/3094088?from=cuf
Hope this helps.
Chris Hickman
-
Hey Susannah,
Generally speaking, sorting out GMB listings can be quite a troublesome process.
Your best bet, if you can't verify ownership yourself, is to report the page. There's a good guide to how to do this here:
https://www.bowlerhat.co.uk/how-to-report-a-fake-google-business-page/
Failing that, I've found the GMB team at Google quite helpful for dealing with these kind of things - It's a troublesome process to get in contact with them but once you do, they're not bad.
There should be an option to request a call from GMB within your GMB login interface - it takes a bit of looking to find it but I'm sure you will.
I hope this helps,
Sean
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 business spam query
Hello Our Business is Verified Business Listing in google, as of Everything ok, But there are around 6-7 other company Who Registered Our website as there website, so my question is How should we make them spam & make Our website verified With Our main Location only, How to make Our business Listing Secure, please Guide as, to help Resolve this issue, Thnx in advance
Local Listings | | falguni-iepl0 -
Tracking Phone Numbers in Google My Business Listings and Beyond
Hey all, Wanted to run something by you. I am getting pressed to use tracking phone numbers for all of our GMB pages for over 100 locations across the country. Has anyone done this for their own listings or for their clients? Because I will have to do it for GMB, this means I will be sending these same phone numbers out to the other major directories and data sources around the web. The phone numbers do contain the local area code for each city and do directly connect our customers to their specific location without any kind of redirecting. How is Google looking at this? I have read before it is a no-no but have also read it is not a big deal. Any thoughts would be much appreciated! -Ben
Local Listings | | Davey_Tree0 -
Children's club Google My Business conundrum
Hi there I have been contacted by a small business to help them with their <acronym title="Search Engine Optimization">SEO</acronym> effort.
Local Listings | | coolhandluc
The business is a children's club offering drama classes, music classes etc... Looking at their online visibility shows they don't even have a Google my business profile which is where i was going to start however, they operate from a local school after hours. The local school already has a GMB profile, obviously with the same address and postcode. Is it possible to set up a GMB for the children's club anyway? Many thanks0 -
Can I add multiple listings for my business for the different services I provide?
Hi there everyone. I'm a Moz Local user and I have a quick question. I'm a music teacher. Can I add multiple listings for my business for the different services I provide? For example - Saxophone lessons, Piano lessons etc...? That way I would have different listing profiles for each instrument - all pointing to a different landing page on my website? Or is this considered to be bad practice? Many thanks for your help in advance.
Local Listings | | JackMSVaughan1 -
1800 number for google local
Hi A client with a local business has a 1800 number on their google plus page and most citations. How important is it to use the local number and not a 1800 one for google local? Should we change the phone number to the local number and update all listings? Or should we just continue with the 1800 number and stay consistent? I have added the local number as a second number on the google plus page.
Local Listings | | henya1 -
Google MyBusiness Profile Pictures not Showing
Can someone tell me why some search profiles in maps don't show the profile image? Meaning the business has pictures in their profiles, including their main profile, its at 100% completion and the audience is not age restricted and the images still don't show? Attached is an example (not my clients but you can see what happens) I appreciate any ideas! Thanks iIpSPaB
Local Listings | | mgordon0 -
New google maps listing was showing & now is not
Here is a brief description of what I am doing and what happened. I recently acquired a new client who had an unclaimed google business listing. We claimed the listing and within 2 days it was showing up for its main search term on Google. Almost immediately my client was receiving new calls from the listing. Within a week the listing no longer shows up with the other listings on the home page but does show up when searching on google maps. Does anyone have a lot of experience with Google+ & business listings? If yes, what are some of the most common reasons listings might be removed, shuffled around, increased or decreased in ranking, etc. Sincerely, Garret
Local Listings | | eWebify0 -
How does google choose the local searches?
In a larger city (london for example) when there are dozens of one specific industry, how does Google choose who to show in their local results? For example if I type "solicitor london" it shows me 7 local results, but I know there are far more than 7 solicitors in London. Do they change as frequently as the rest of the serps or is there something you can do to ensure you get in that local search? Added to this, does being part of a chain/franchise make a difference? Help/thoughts/advice would be appreciated.
Local Listings | | Gordon_Hall0