Using PO Box/Virtual Address for local citations, but not GMB?
-
Hello. So, I am aware that it is in violation of Google My Bussiness's terms of service to use register a PO box/virtual address with GMB, but is it problematic to use such addresses for general link building with local citations, such as local directories and resource pages? Would the cons outweigh the pros (more backlinks)?
And what about using one of these kinds of addresses on my website, but not GMB? Is it all so interrelated nowadays that I should steer clear of publishing a virtual address anywhere? That just seems hard to wrap my head around as PO Boxes have served a valuable function for small businesses for some 150 years.
Thank you,
Jon
-
@elizabethrgoff Thank you. Yes, I am aware that I cannot use such addresses on GMB. But I was wondering about using them elsewhere on the internet, such as on my website or for other citations (such as local and industry-specific directories and resource pages).
-
Google is no longer allowing business owners to create a business listing using a P.O. Box. “Do not create listings at locations where the business does not physically exist. P.O. Boxes are not considered accurate physical locations.
-
@miriamellis Thank you Miriam. That makes sense.
I did meet with clients face-to-face in an office before the pandemic, and am currently working online out of my home, so I really won't have a business address that I care to make public once I release my office space in a couple of months.
I suppose I will list my business address on my website as:
Business Name
City, State, ZipOn another note, my GMB listing currently says: "Service options: Online appointments · Onsite services not available"
So it is aware that I'm not seeing clients face-to-face right now. From what I have read around Moz and elsewhere, I should expect a significant drop in my map-pack rankings if I delete my address from my profile and go SAB, but I'm wondering if I have a chance of retaining my rankings since Google already knows I'm online-only. In your experience, how much of a rankings dive do you see businesses take in GMB when they transition from a physical office to SAB in an industry that is primarily based around office visits?
-
@custardextract Hi Jon! My apologies that you didn't receive a speedier reply to what is a very good question. You are right that PO boxes have been a useful and necessary asset for businesses for many years, particularly in areas without direct mail delivery. Google's policy does not take this into account, so as you've said, you know not to use these in Google listings. While other local business listing platforms may not be a strict about this as Google, the trouble is, Google will crawl the ecosystem you build with P.O. boxes instead of street addresses listed as your business location. If you need to publish a P.O. box as your mailing address on your website (in addition to publishing your street address) that should not be a problem, but it may not be a great idea to build other citations or links around this version of your contact info. Are you dealing with a business that has no street address at all? Does the business meet with customers face-to-face (or, at least, did it do so prior to the pandemic?) You are welcome to tell me more and I'm happy to continue discussing the specifics of your scenario.
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
-
How do I rank for a different business categories on google local?
Hello, How do I appear on the local listings for google in different categories or services that I offer? For instance, we're a physical therapy clinic by trade but we specialize in orthopedics, sports medicine, and lower back pain. Thus, how do I rank on google local for these types of services? Currently, we rank for physical therapy but we also miss out on a big part of our business by not ranking for these listings on local. Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Cheers, Scott
Local Listings | | scottgray06200 -
Is having two websites with the same NAP equal to the local search visibility issues?
My company works in two directions: printing and website design / development. I have one website for both printing and website development but it doesn’t have “printing” in domain name (velvdesign.com) I would like to rank higher for printing related keywords. Do you think I should have two separate websites, one for printing (velvprinting.com), another for website design /development (velvdesign.com)? If yes, am I going to get into NAP’s issue because my company has only one location? I can get the second phone number to improve local search visibility. Thank you very much in advance for your time!
Local Listings | | VELV0 -
Local SEO without a GBL
Hey everyone, I'm working with a local catering company that does not have a physical address available for use. Because of privacy concerns, the company is not open to using their home address. The local competition in the targeted area is fairly strong and established already. Does anyone have ideas on how I can work around this?
Local Listings | | a_toohill0 -
Local Optimization for Multiple Businesses Issues/Strategy
Hello Everyone, So we have a client with a geo-focused ‘sports’ site but they also have a second site they are using to promote the seasonal camps they run. Local demographics and traffic would be a priority and main source of traffic. We know it would be ideal to have all of it consolidated but in this case a separate site was needed. The camp site would be under a different Name but they do not really have a different physical location from the primary site. Assuming we can’t find a discernable different location we could use; from a local optimization perspective we have two questions: Does that mean that we shouldn’t venture into local listings that need an address and trying to rank for map results and instead shift focus to other local strategies (i.e. geo-relevant content, link acquisition….etc.)? – We don’t want to dilute or devalue the primary site at all but if possible would like to be able to come up for both. Should we avoid listing the address on the camp site as text for similar reasons? We know the same business could be listed for multiple locations but any suggestions on the opposite approach or input would be very appreciated. Please let us know if there is anything we could provide details for that might help. Looking forward to hearing from all of you! Thank you in advance. Best,
Local Listings | | Ben-R0 -
Citation verifications with phone trees
We have several clients whose practices have phone trees enabled for their primary number, which means we aren't able to send automated verification calls for Google, Yelp, ExpressUpdate (Infogroup), YellowPages, etc. Sometimes our clients are able to temporarily disable their phone trees, and sometimes said site's support teams manually verify for us once we have proven our association with the businesses. We just wanted to reach out to see if anyone had alternative solutions or workarounds, since phone trees usually cause a significant hangup. Thanks!
Local Listings | | copyjack0 -
Not showing in local for primary keyword
I have a client in the junk removal business and I can't get him to show in local for junk removal +city. Junk removal is not a Google Plus category so we have to choose Garbage Collection Service, which everyone else does as well. I've optimized the site and the local listing pretty well, much better than the competitors, but we're still not showing. It's not that we're asking to rank better, we're just trying to get on the list for the one term that makes all the difference in this business. I feel like there's a junk removal party going on and we're not invited. I've thought about a possible over-optimization penalty, but there's no G warning or message and we use fewer keywords than our competitors and have no spammy links as some of the competition does. Some companies that are no longer in business are visible. I just can't figure out what we might be doing wrong. Any ideas or suggestions I might have missed?
Local Listings | | Dino640 -
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 -
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