2 Businesses, Same Location, Different Google My Business Accounts?
-
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!
-
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.
-
Miriam,
Does this mean that multiple businesses operating out of a building with the same address won't be viewed as duplicates?
-
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:
-
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?
-
Do they each have their own phone number, answered with the appropriate brand name when it rings?
-
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?
-
-
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
-
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.
-
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
-
Sounds like a good plan!
-
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!
-
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.
-
Hi There!
Some questions for you:
-
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".
-
Does the recruiting agency meet face-to-face with the student-athletes?
-
What is the exact physical location scenario? Is the soccer camp actually taking place in the same office as the recruitment work?
-
Is the soccer camp a year-round business, or is it seasonal? How does this work?
-
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!
-
-
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
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 Listing Doesn't Appeare on 3Pack anymore
Hi, One of my GMB listing suddenly stopped ranking in the 3Pack Results. It used to always rank in 1st or 2nd position in the 3Pack results, Suddenly since 24th May it completely Flatlined, I don't know why but It doesn't show up in the results, or when I click see more. It completely vanished for that term locally. My Listing is based in Brisbane, QLD, Australia and it doesn't show up for that term in The Brisbane area. But when the Location info is Australia and not Brisbane, Australia it shows up again. I don't know what is the problem in this case... Any Suggestions will be much appreciated.
Local Listings | | Moxoms10 -
Structured data for business listings
If I have a page of 20 local business listings, do I need to provide structured data for each business listing? is that necessary and would it help with SEO? So if I have a page of Vancouver Brain Injury Lawyers, and list off 20 local law firms that focus on that type of injury, should I have structured data for each law firm that I list?
Local Listings | | EBKMarketing0 -
4 shared locations - 1 phone number - legacy GMB - HELP!!!
I have a friend who is a dietician and has the following issue with his business He works in 4 different locations across town- Each location is shared with other practitioners. - he uses the same phone number for each location (free 0800 UK number)- he has legacy google places profiles for some locations with some reviews he'd like to keep and other locations he'd like to delete.He'd like to be present on page 1 of google for terms like dietician in "name of location he works in"I am clearly concerned about his NAP profile since he only has 1 phone number for all locations.The address of each location can clash with other practitioners working there who have already registered a GMB profile using the same addresses although there might be the possibility of using something like "suite x" to differentiate his business in the address.Can anybody advice on how they would approach this one please.Thanks
Local Listings | | coolhandluc0 -
Adding new business location. Google My Businesses vs. Google Map Maker
Hi everybody, Adding new business location. Is it better for local visibility to add it via Google My Businesses dashboard directly or via Google Map Maker first (and then claim it in My Businesses dashboard)? Thanks
Local Listings | | Ryan_V0 -
I am looking for some Local authoritative websites and aggregators of local business data
Does anyone know where I can obtain a list of aggregators of local business data for the UK? I am also looking to understand the best way to find local authoritative websites that I could build backlinks with. Hope you can help. Many thanks Nick
Local Listings | | SEM_at_Lees0 -
Why does Google only display a 3 pack of local business results for some terms?
We have seen a pattern in the Google UK SERPS where only three local listings are triggered for a query although they have a more local results to show but chose to only show three: Anyone else seen this? Anyone know why? Is there a magic number for them to trigger a six pack, does the data set they pull from need to be larger for them to trigger more local listings. "Solicitors Cambridge" = 3 listings https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=solicitors+cambridge&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&gws_rd=cr&ei=_vCwVc2mHMiAUZ-luZAE "solicitors kent" = 3 listings https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=solicitors+cambridge&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&gws_rd=cr&ei=_vCwVc2mHMiAUZ-luZAE#q=solicitors+kent "Solicitors Oxford" = 6 listings https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=solicitors+cambridge&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&gws_rd=cr&ei=_vCwVc2mHMiAUZ-luZAE Any thoughts?
Local Listings | | highwayfive1 -
Connecting a google business page to my website
How do i connect a Google business page to my website? I have followed googles instructions but don't see the link to my website as advised here: https://support.google.com/business/answer/4569085?hl=en Can anybody shed any light please.
Local Listings | | mari-rose0 -
What to do if the domain name is very different from real business name for local listings
Hey guys, any advice is very welcome , I m´ ranking locally a website in the bay area for cabinets www.cabinetsbayarea.com we picked this domain name more for SEO purposes because it has the two most important keywords that we want to rank. My issue is that the real busniess name is HEMA DESIGN CENTER, so i dont know if we should change the name in the chamber of commerce to CABiNETS BAY AREA or list the business as HEMA DESIGN CENTER, with this website www.cabinetsbayarea.comr. We only mention the real name in the About Us. CABINETS BAY AREA it is more as a deparment of the real business name HEMA DESIGN CENTER What should i do? Thanks a lot, David
Local Listings | | conexion330