Skip to content
    Moz logo Menu open Menu close
    • Products
      • Moz Pro
      • Moz Pro Home
      • Moz Local
      • Moz Local Home
      • STAT
      • Moz API
      • Moz API Home
      • Compare SEO Products
      • Moz Data
    • Free SEO Tools
      • Domain Analysis
      • Keyword Explorer
      • Link Explorer
      • Competitive Research
      • MozBar
      • More Free SEO Tools
    • Learn SEO
      • Beginner's Guide to SEO
      • SEO Learning Center
      • Moz Academy
      • MozCon
      • Webinars, Whitepapers, & Guides
    • Blog
    • Why Moz
      • Digital Marketers
      • Agency Solutions
      • Enterprise Solutions
      • Small Business Solutions
      • The Moz Story
      • New Releases
    • Log in
    • Log out
    • Products
      • Moz Pro

        Your all-in-one suite of SEO essentials.

      • Moz Local

        Raise your local SEO visibility with complete local SEO management.

      • STAT

        SERP tracking and analytics for enterprise SEO experts.

      • Moz API

        Power your SEO with our index of over 44 trillion links.

      • Compare SEO Products

        See which Moz SEO solution best meets your business needs.

      • Moz Data

        Power your SEO strategy & AI models with custom data solutions.

      NEW Keyword Suggestions by Topic
      Moz Pro

      NEW Keyword Suggestions by Topic

      Learn more
    • Free SEO Tools
      • Domain Analysis

        Get top competitive SEO metrics like DA, top pages and more.

      • Keyword Explorer

        Find traffic-driving keywords with our 1.25 billion+ keyword index.

      • Link Explorer

        Explore over 40 trillion links for powerful backlink data.

      • Competitive Research

        Uncover valuable insights on your organic search competitors.

      • MozBar

        See top SEO metrics for free as you browse the web.

      • More Free SEO Tools

        Explore all the free SEO tools Moz has to offer.

      NEW Keyword Suggestions by Topic
      Moz Pro

      NEW Keyword Suggestions by Topic

      Learn more
    • Learn SEO
      • Beginner's Guide to SEO

        The #1 most popular introduction to SEO, trusted by millions.

      • SEO Learning Center

        Broaden your knowledge with SEO resources for all skill levels.

      • On-Demand Webinars

        Learn modern SEO best practices from industry experts.

      • How-To Guides

        Step-by-step guides to search success from the authority on SEO.

      • Moz Academy

        Upskill and get certified with on-demand courses & certifications.

      • MozCon

        Save on Early Bird tickets and join us in London or New York City

      Unlock flexible pricing & new endpoints
      Moz API

      Unlock flexible pricing & new endpoints

      Find your plan
    • Blog
    • Why Moz
      • Digital Marketers

        Simplify SEO tasks to save time and grow your traffic.

      • Small Business Solutions

        Uncover insights to make smarter marketing decisions in less time.

      • Agency Solutions

        Earn & keep valuable clients with unparalleled data & insights.

      • Enterprise Solutions

        Gain a competitive edge in the ever-changing world of search.

      • The Moz Story

        Moz was the first & remains the most trusted SEO company.

      • New Releases

        Get the scoop on the latest and greatest from Moz.

      Surface actionable competitive intel
      New Feature

      Surface actionable competitive intel

      Learn More
    • Log in
      • Moz Pro
      • Moz Local
      • Moz Local Dashboard
      • Moz API
      • Moz API Dashboard
      • Moz Academy
    • Avatar
      • Moz Home
      • Notifications
      • Account & Billing
      • Manage Users
      • Community Profile
      • My Q&A
      • My Videos
      • Log Out

    The Moz Q&A Forum

    • Forum
    • Questions
    • Users
    • Ask the Community

    Welcome to the Q&A Forum

    Browse the forum for helpful insights and fresh discussions about all things SEO.

    1. Home
    2. SEO Tactics
    3. Local SEO
    4. Local Listings
    5. [Local Search] Do you get penalized by using a Google Voice number for each seperate business location?

    Moz Q&A is closed.

    After more than 13 years, and tens of thousands of questions, Moz Q&A closed on 12th December 2024. Whilst we’re not completely removing the content - many posts will still be possible to view - we have locked both new posts and new replies. More details here.

    [Local Search] Do you get penalized by using a Google Voice number for each seperate business location?

    Local Listings
    3
    5
    1036
    Loading More Posts
    • Oldest to Newest
    • Newest to Oldest
    • Most Votes
    Reply
    • Reply as question
    Log in to reply
    This topic has been deleted. Only users with question management privileges can see it.
    • aedesignco
      aedesignco last edited by

      My client is expanding and opening up separate locations and I will be getting all their online business listings up and running. The client wants to use a single 1-888 number for all locations, however, it was my assumption that they would need a local number for each location to improve their ranking. Could I suggest using free Google voice numbers that get forwarded to their 1-888 number or will Google discredit us for this?

      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • aedesignco
        aedesignco last edited by

        Thank you everyone. I think this client is small enough and with only three locations, we're safe to proceed with Google Voice for now.

        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • BlueCorona
          BlueCorona last edited by

          Hi there!

          I have to agree with Miriam. Because Google is constantly changing or getting rid of things they offer, I would be weary of building out all your online citations with a phone number that could eventually need to be updated—causing you a lot of headaches until you get this updated across the board.

          I would look into setting up some type of call tracking. This will be an easier way for you to determine where users found your number, which location they're calling into, etc. If you're interested in learning a bit more about why we suggest call tracking, check out this blog we wrote about it.

          Let me know if you have any other questions—happy to help!

          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
          • aedesignco
            aedesignco last edited by

            Thank you. I think just starting out with Google Voice for these locations is just fine. They literally opened the offices just to have some presence in the areas. You can do that in Cleveland, Oh (cheap rent)!

            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • MiriamEllis
              MiriamEllis Subject Expert last edited by

              Hey There!

              There are several important reasons for not sharing a phone number between locations:

              1. Google states that they want the number to connect as directly as possible to the individual location. So right there, Google's own guidelines are warning your client not to share phone numbers, whether they are toll free or local.

              2. When numbers are duplicated, there is a risk of listing conflation ... in other words, there's a chance that the listings for City A could have their details mixed up with that of City B. Merges do not appear to be as common as they once were in Google, but the risk is still there. Address and phone number are the key factors that differentiate multi-locations from one another. Separate is better.

              3. I can almost guarantee that, at some point, a business which is branching out into a multi-location model is going to want to utilize call tracking at some time. Before you begin building listings, you may want to bring this up to the client. If the client decides to buy new numbers, he may want to make them call tracking numbers from the get-go, so that NAP inconsistencies don't start populating the web. With a single phone number, tracking is simply not going to be possible for a multi-location business. For more on PROPER call tracking (that won't get you into trouble) see: https://www.callrail.com/resources/mike-blumenthal/ and https://www.callrail.com/blog/guide-to-local-seo-and-nap/. Pay special attention to porting.

              4. My main concern about using Google Voice would be that they could sunset it. They've done the same with so many products over the years, I would personally feel anxious using it to build citations with for my important company. If they should shut it down, what would happen to all those numbers that users have used for their local business listings? Could be a big headache. I'm not terribly well acquainted with Google Voice, and am not sure of what the rate of adoption is, but I'd rather go with a different company for calls and call tracking.

              Hope these suggestions help you assist your client!

              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • 1 / 1
              • First post
                Last post

              Got a burning SEO question?

              Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.


              Start my free trial


              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.

              • See all categories

              Related Questions

              • GaryT_SEO

                Radius Size around GMB location for google local search

                We are a digital marketing agency Our clients are (virtually all) retail automotive dealerships. We compete in various market places coast to coast (USA). Since Google puts retail automotive dealerships under Local SEO umbrella, is it known ( published ) how large is the radius around my client's Google My Business rooftop's address? How wide is their search 'reach' according to Google? Asked another way, in a triangular, three SEO geo area, with one city being at the epicenter of the population dispersion, and my client, versus my client's competitors being different distances from where the majority of the population emanates from, all other SERP factors being equal (assumption) between the two competitors, how far is each clients REACH from a Local Search standpoint. Is this known? Published by Google. ONE example: https://www.google.com/maps/dir/BMW+of+South+Albany,+U.S.+9W,+Glenmont,+NY/42.7662693,-73.8138088/@42.6727121,-73.7993527,12z/data=!4m9!4m8!1m5!1m1!1s0x89dde0fe8829c405:0xd915fb9b3b60bf33!2m2!1d-73.7973301!2d42.589211!1m0!3e0

                Local Listings | | GaryT_SEO
                1
              • StantonOptical

                Can I use the same interior photos for multiple stores in Google My Business?

                Hi, The company I work for has many store locations across the country. Getting good/quality interior pictures has become very difficult for us. We recently good a Virtual Tour from Google for one of the locations, and they took some really pictures. According to Google, the "Photos should represent the actual business" and "Represent the real-world business location". My question is: since our stores are VERY similar in the interior, can we use the same pictures for them while we get more pictures? Would Google penalize this? Thanks!

                Local Listings | | StantonOptical
                0
              • OhYeahSteve

                Average Percentage of Clicks on Google (Adwords vs Local 3 Pack vs Organic)

                Does anyone know the allocation, percentage-wise, of clicks that go to Adwords vs Local 3 Pack vs Organic on Google Search (average)?

                Local Listings | | OhYeahSteve
                0
              • LaurenGT

                Scoot local links

                I've been approached from Scoot trying to sell me their local directory links. 
                Its a one-off price of around £80 to be listed on all of their 500+ directories and £20 a month to be able to do any changes and to keep the web links active.
                The list of the directories are here - http://submittrackz.scoot.co.uk/directories The question is, are the links of much benefit for local seo?
                I was thinking of reselling this so the cost is not the problem so much, its just the quality of the links in question.
                Thanks
                Dave

                Local Listings | | LaurenGT
                0
              • coolhandluc

                What is the radius for local search results

                Does anyone know if there is a specific radius google uses to display local search results or is it simply based on the number of competitors or industry vertical.
                Let's say I am based in covent garden London and I am looking for an indian restaurant. I assume that all results will be very localized as there are plenty of Indian restaurants in convent garden. But If i was looking for, let's say "wooden pipe shop" (i believe there is none in convent garden) what would google display? how far away from my desired location will google be able to extend it's results to?

                Local Listings | | coolhandluc
                0
              • TomBinga1125

                Local SEO business name issue due to aggregator

                So I work for a college and we have multiple locations. My tactic has been always to keep the name the same for all of them (no city name), and then change the address and phone number for each. But there is 1000s of college listings websites out there that aggregate college and school data from the same source: the US government. Now the way that they have most, if not all, multi-location colleges listed is: "college name-city name". I can see the value in that, but I guess I'm just wondering what to do since it obviously can't be changed. Should I revert all of our listings as "college name-city name" to match the 1000s of listings that have it that way? I've been under the impression that I should leave the city/town name out of the name, but I'm just wondering what you think best practices would be? Thanks
                Tom

                Local Listings | | TomBinga1125
                0
              • Ryan_V

                NPA. Adding two new locations. What phone numbers to use?

                Hi everyone, Our client wants to add two new locations. Not sure what phone number to use.
                We have main phone 800 number, with no adders associated, and local phone numbers for locations which we do SEO for. New two locations are not for SEO purposes. Client just want them to be listed on website and on major directories for now. Understanding NPA importance:
                Should we use main 800 for both locations? 
                Should we get new phone numbers for each one? Thanks

                Local Listings | | Ryan_V
                0
              • wcksmith1

                Two businesses - using separate suite numbers

                I have a client that has an office in a particular suite (Suite 101) at a local address. They rent the space so they cannot just add another suite number.  They are going to have two websites for two different businesses run from the same location.  They will have separate local phone numbers for each business.  Is it too much of a stretch for them to show one as "Suite 101-A" and the other as "Suite 101-B" for their local pages?  One of the businesses is very new with few citations at this point.  The other has not started up yet, so we have better  control of the citations that will be created. I've seen similar questions posted, but not one that addresses this specific issue. Thanks for any advice!

                Local Listings | | wcksmith1
                0

              Get started with Moz Pro!

              Unlock the power of advanced SEO tools and data-driven insights.

              Start my free trial
              Products
              • Moz Pro
              • Moz Local
              • Moz API
              • Moz Data
              • STAT
              • Product Updates
              Moz Solutions
              • SMB Solutions
              • Agency Solutions
              • Enterprise Solutions
              Free SEO Tools
              • Domain Authority Checker
              • Link Explorer
              • Keyword Explorer
              • Competitive Research
              • Brand Authority Checker
              • Local Citation Checker
              • MozBar Extension
              • MozCast
              Resources
              • Blog
              • SEO Learning Center
              • Help Hub
              • Beginner's Guide to SEO
              • How-to Guides
              • Moz Academy
              • API Docs
              About Moz
              • About
              • Team
              • Careers
              • Contact
              Why Moz
              • Case Studies
              • Testimonials
              Get Involved
              • Become an Affiliate
              • MozCon
              • Webinars
              • Practical Marketer Series
              • MozPod
              Connect with us

              Contact the Help team

              Join our newsletter
              Moz logo
              © 2021 - 2025 SEOMoz, Inc., a Ziff Davis company. All rights reserved. Moz is a registered trademark of SEOMoz, Inc.
              • Accessibility
              • Terms of Use
              • Privacy

              Looks like your connection to Moz was lost, please wait while we try to reconnect.