I need some help with my addresses, please.
-
I've only ever had a mailing address for my business, but I now have a new physical address which I use to meet clients at, and it's in a different city. There's no mailing address at the physical location though, so I'm keeping my mailing address at the post office where's it always been.
What should I do about changing my address? Should I change it, or leave it alone? I could add it easily to my website, as a physical address and a separate mailing address. But what about my Google Maps listing, social sites, and citations?
I rank at the top for my keywords in my original city, so I don't really want to lose that. Would it be a good idea to add a location/landing page to my website for the new city, to help me rank there?
Hope that made some sense - thanks in advance.
-
Hi Coppell,
Google puts the burden on business owners to become aware of and read Google's guidelines. They won't stop you from creating most listings that violate the guidelines, but these listings can then be taken down for violations if a) Google catches them, or, b) a consumer or competitor reports them.
The only time you should create a Google My Business listings is if it is guideline-compliant. Otherwise, you are putting effort into something that's a liability to your brand and reputation, instead of being an asset.
So, unfortunately, you were unaware of Google's guidelines in this and have built rankings and reviews around an ineligible address. Regarding the new address, I had asked some questions. You mention it has no postal delivery. Why is that? Is it on a brand new street? How do business owners occupying your street receive mail? Also, you mention you are sharing this office with a friend. Are they in the same business category as you?
-
Hello,
The new office space is shared with another friend of mine. I will not be changing the mailing address, because of convenience reasons.
I am ranking organically and locally. I had no idea I wasn't allowed to have a mailbox as my address. How was I able to do this if it's a violation?
Should I change the address? Even if it's working well -no issues with spam so far. Would I lose my reviews? I really don't want that to happen.
Thank for your help.
-
Hi Coppell,
Thanks so much for asking about this. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but if you formerly built a Google My Business listing for a mailbox, that was actually a violation of Google's guidelines which state:
PO Boxes or postboxes located at remote locations are not acceptable.
So, if you've achieved local pack rankings based on this ineligible mailbox address, I'm afraid these would be viewed as unearned and could be removed as spam. You haven't specified whether you are talking about ranking well organically or locally, but if it's the latter, then this is definitely a concern.
Now, as you mention, you do have a real, physical office where you are meeting customers face-to-face. Can you please provide a bit more information about why it has no mailing address? Are you saying your city doesn't deliver mail to you there? Something else? Where does mail get delivered to businesses located at this new location?
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
-
Do I need separate local numbers for two fitness locations?
I'm beginning local search work for a local studio that has two locations in the same city. Do I need to provide two different phone numbers in my NAPs for each studio or can both locations have the same phone number? Thanks! Ann
Local Listings | | amws240 -
Google My Business Shared Address Problem
Hi, I have an issue. Our organization shares a church with another organization. Years ago they claimed the address. They have their Google Business category set up as "Religious Organization". About 6 months ago we started sharing the same church with them. We are a total different organization. We now have a verified listing (same address but with STE 100 in it) with the main category being "Church". There are a few issues I am seeing: When doing a search for our address, the icon is the default one, whereas all the other churches in the area show the church icon. Is this because they claimed the original address as "Religious Organization" and because we only have STE 100, even though labeled as Church, Google doesn't see it that way? If you search for the location + church, neither of our organizations show, even after 6 months. They only show if you search for the organization name or address. Could this be because Google doesn't consider this address (therefore both of us) as a church and doesn't show it? Here is our Google local listing and the one we share with. Any help would be greatly appreciated. https://www.google.com/maps/place/1018+Parkway+Dr,+Spring+Hill,+TN+37174/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x8863828b8f17015b:0x59fd9715acc7e144?sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi7h5DCqfbXAhXBc98KHXcyA4gQ8gEIKDAA Thank you!
Local Listings | | vetofunk0 -
1 physical address, 2 live GMBs for 2 different businesses
We recently have a chiropractor client who came to us to do SEO for his newly opened myotherapy practice. We were very surprised he managed to request and got approved a GMB for the myotherapy practice under a different business name but the exact same address. Has there been changes in Google policy recently that 2 businesses are able to share the one same address? If we built citations for the myotherapy practice with the same address, will it send conflicting signals to Google? His chiropractor practice is currently ranking no. 1 in local pack and SERP for his main keyword "chiropractor + location". Any insight would be greatly appreciated!
Local Listings | | Gavo0 -
Should citations include all your address? What is most important?
Hi I am looking to rank highly in local search for the city we are based in and I will be creating some citations so that we can rank for a city but have a problem. Our website lists us as being located in the Wirral which is a borough but Google + requires you to add a county for this line so could add either Merseyside or Cheshire. Should I leave this part of the citation out - i.e. Wirral or Merseyside. We are ranking well for the term Wirral and do not want to effect this. Could anyone advise me here so that we can start to rank better for the city Birkenhead? The Wirral is a peninsular as can be seen on Wilipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolitan_Borough_of_Wirral
Local Listings | | SEM_at_Lees0 -
I really need an Seo Web Developer or Firm.
I am sorry if this is the incorrect place for this but I have searched all over trying to find a reputable firm or person to create or modify my current webpage and rank it better for my keywords. There are just so many people and companies out there, everyone I have worked with has done seemingly nothing for what I paid them (could not be transparent or answer questions). Everytime I look for a firm I come across this site and I use Moz Local, seems like the place to find or get help finding the right person or company to help me. I am looking for an expert in local SEO. I want to ensure that my website is always on top of the current algorithms, I want someone that can rank offsite pages like Facebook and Yelp. Can create or work off my current responsive wordpress site to ensure it is properly optimized to rank well for the local keywords I want. I am not cheap, I am willing to pay. But I need someone who knows local seo in an out. Map listings, citations, link building, different landing pages for services for various local cities, and web design. Graphic arts is a plus as well. I would really appreciate any help or references in finding the correct person or company for me. If it matters I am a local plumber and hvac company based in the chicagoland area. Could anyone please lead me in a positive and honest direction?
Local Listings | | MattRyanNonnie1 -
Help with Google Places, local listings & Google+ please!
Hi all, I work for enterprise app development & mobile consultancy, Mubaloo. I recently asked a question around getting better rankings for London-based search results. One answer was to set up a local listing for Mubaloo's London office. I thought I had done by setting up our London office up on Places for Business - is this the same as a local listing? In addition to this, I can't connect our existing Google+ page to our local Mubaloo Bristol & London listings as Google has created separate pages for each! Is anyone else having this issue? Can it be resolved?
Local Listings | | donaldsze0 -
Google+ Local Address not changing
Just changed a Google+ Local address, however realise that its not changing. Does it usually take time for a Google+ address to change once submitted? Would like to know the process here so that this address can change so as to ensure NAP consistency.
Local Listings | | Gavo0 -
Paid Yahoo Listings - I Need This, Right?
With the help of a 3rd party contractor, our company has been claiming and curating local listings for several months across dozens of advised platforms. After months of nightmares with Yahoo support, I see that they no longer support free basic local listings and you must buy enhanced listings at $9.95. I'm correct in proposing this to my supervisors, right? We have 70 locations so that's a pretty penny (and have already dropped some funds on our initial efforts), but isn't this a necessity? Not just because it's a top 3 search engine, that it's a major part of the local ecosystem, but that they also have partnered with Yelp and are ramping up their local search efforts? I know there are new tools out there right now (Moz Local, Yext, Locu, etc.), but I only need Yahoo and they don't fit in with our needs at this time. Please advise - thank you!
Local Listings | | SSFCU1