2 Businesses, Same Location, Different Google My Business Accounts?

[camarin_w]

This is not my area of expertise, but I have a customer with a unique problem. They are primarily an agency that assists student-athletes nationwide with the college recruiting process. They also have a non-profit organization that runs soccer camps for local kids only.  The soccer camp would of course benefit from having it's own GMB page, but they've been told by Google that they can't use the same address as their recruiting business. They are in the same office and moving/adding an office isn't an option at this time.

Does anyone have any ideas on how to overcome this issue without risking penalty from Google? Should they change their business name to combine both and add categories for their non-profit? They're such disparate businesses that I'm reluctant to have them do this, but is that the best/only option?

Thanks all!

[MiriamEllis]

Hey Paul,

I'm so sorry that I just now saw your question. So, a "duplicate" listing is a listing that shares identical or near-identical NAP with another listing. Co-located businesses aren't duplicates if they have different names and phone numbers. That being said, if Co-located businesses share a category, then Google may filter one of the them out of the local packs, per the "Possum" effect.

[TheKatzMeow]

Miriam,

Does this mean that multiple businesses operating out of a building with the same address won't be viewed as duplicates?

[MiriamEllis]

Hi Camarin,

Thank you so much for the answers. Having read them, I am failing to see how the soccer business, legally registered as a separate business and unrelated to a college recruiting company, would fail to qualify for a Google My Business listing. The only obstacle I can see is if Google is treating the soccer business as if it is truly just a service of the college recruiting business, despite them being two legally distinct businesses. The "just a service of" issue is generally seen in a scenario in which something like an HVAC company tries to build one listing for heater repairs and another for air conditioner repairs, which is clearly not allowed. But that's not really what you're describing here: we seem to be talking about two different businesses.

Three more questions:

1. Are the names of the two entities totally distinct as in ABC Athlete College Recruiting and NY Soccer Camps, or do they share elements as in ABC Athlete College Recruiting and ABC Athlete Soccer Camps?

2. Do they each have their own phone number, answered with the appropriate brand name when it rings?

3. When you say "Google won't list the latter", are you positive the client tried to create a listing and it was in some way rejected by Google, or are you just saying you're not seeing both of them ranking when you do a branded search?

[camarin_w]

Glad to know I'm not the only one! I just posted the responses to Miriam's questions so hopefully that moves us in the right direction.

Cheers, Cam

[camarin_w]

Hi Miriam! I have your responses to this from my customer. TIA for your help with this!

1. Yes, each of these entities is it own legally registered entity. One has nothing to do with the other.

2. RE: Meeting at the office with customers/recruits: It all depends on where the family resides. If the family lives in or near the New York metropolitan area, we would most likely meet in the office. But for most of the families, we work with; communication is done via Skype, Phone, or email.

3. The recruiting service and the non-profit soccer camp's office work take place in the office building. But the actual  soccer sessions take place at several parks and other locations across Nassau County, Long Island.

4. Yes, the soccer clinic is a year-round service. All our clinics are 6-weeks long, and we host one in the Fall and Summer seasons and two in the Spring and Winter seasons.

5. Since the recruiting business and the soccer clinic business work in the same office space, at the same address, Google only recognizes the first as a Google Business and won't list the latter as well.

[TheKatzMeow]

Camarin,

I'm eagerly awaiting the answer to your question as a I have a very similar one. Keep up the great work.

Best,

Paul

[MiriamEllis]

Sounds like a good plan!

[camarin_w]

Thanks Miriam for the thoughtful questions and response above. I believe I know the answers, but let me verify with my client and repost. I don't want to surmise anything here that isn't entirely accurate! Thanks again - I'll write back as soon as I can!

[MiriamEllis]

Hi Kevin!

Thanks so much for joining in on this conversation. Just a heads-up that suite numbers are not a solution for differentiating businesses in Google My Business. Google doesn't pay any attention to suite numbers, and the use of fictitious suite numbers is actually a Google guideline violation, because Google requires that you represent the address of the business exactly as it appears in the real world.

[MiriamEllis]

Hi There!

Some questions for you:

1. Are these two legally distinct businesses? One being the recruiting agency and the other being a non-proft soccer camp, both legally registered as unique entities, or is the soccer camp just a service offered by the recruiting agency rather than a stand-alone "business".

2. Does the recruiting agency meet face-to-face with the student-athletes?

3. What is the exact physical location scenario? Is the soccer camp actually taking place in the same office as the recruitment work?

4. Is the soccer camp a year-round business, or is it seasonal? How does this work?

5. What, exactly is meant by "they've been told by Google that they can't use the same address as their recruiting business"? Does this mean that the business spoke 1:1 with Google support about this?

Please, answer all five questions as best as you can so that the community can be sure to provide advice most closely tailored to the specifics of this business. Looking forward to your replies!

[KevnJr]

Google has been very responsive when we expanded our business and split our brand, don't hesitate to call and explain your situation, setup a future email conversation and ask what the best practice is.

I would ask if changing the soccer club to a suit # would be acceptable or acquiring its own unique address. Consider a complex with lots of doctors or lawyers, what method do they adopt to have their GMB page?

I hope this helps.

KJr