Two businesses with the same adress
-
Hi Guys,
A client of mine took over an competitors site 12 months ago. They sell almost the same products and both websites now list the same address on their contact page. Local search isn’t really important to them (webshops). They aren’t really active with Google plus reviews. but I’m still wondering.
Could this cause any ranking problems? A lot of online citations still mention the old competitors address and two almost identical company’s with the same address sounds like an bad idea. Any suggestions about this topic?
Just as a side note: the competitors site lost a lot of traffic, which is caused by a lot of different problems (double site migration were they didn’t think about SEO). So I would love the hear your thoughts about this specific ranking problem.
Thanks a lot!
-
Whaha that's the goal actually Thanks for you responses!
-
Fair enough! I think the duplicate address issue won't cause any problems as long as your content is unique...I wouldn't sweat it! Worse case scenario, you start competing with yourself for page 1 rankings
-
Yeah it will probably take 6-12 months to recover (or to get near the previous traffic). Redirects are on the road map and a lot of other stuff as well. Actually I wrote an whole report about the problems some time ago, but a lot of points haven’t been implemented by the developer. So that’s why we’re taking on the project again since the current situation clearly doesn’t resolve itself.
The address situation is just an point I stumbled upon just now. At the time I wrote the report both brands had their own unit number within the same complex.
-
Hey Bob,
It would almost be easier if it was spam or thin content related. My suggestion would be to drop your ill performing site completely...or get ready for a bit of a wait. Because of the double site migration/poor user metrics...there is no fast recourse. Once this damage has been done, it is going to take some time for it to regain its rankings. Essentially you are dealing with a fresh start.
Is there no way to access the old URLs to perform some redirects? That would be your best bet in restoring this baby to its glory.
-
Hi Christopher,
Thanks for your response!
I totally agree with you. Local is a chance an webshop should take. In this situation however local is a small issue, my main concern is recovering the 80% traffic loss in the last year during to a double failed site migration and bad user metrics. In this case I want to keep both shops separated since historically they both performed great.
Merging both now would mean we take the traffic loss as it is. I believe it’s possible to recover at least to a certain point in this situation since these problems aren’t spam / thin content related.
-
Hi Bob
Sounds good, it's hard to be certain on this when you have the other issues and variables in play. Would first look at cleaning other issues first.
But I do also agree with the guys above you might also need to consider the value against the cost of trying to rank with 2 positions on search engines or whether it's more cost effective to merge and focus all efforts on 1 site.
Let us know how you get on.
Cheers
Dan
-
Hi Dan,
Thanks for your answer! Our situation is exactly the same. Different brands, social channels, unique content etc. it's like coca cola and pepsi on the same adress. Both selling the same, but different.
Good to hear your story. In this case I will just start cleaning up all the other mess of the site migration first and will see what happens.
Thanks a lot!
-
We've had situations similar where a client has multiple ecommerce stores both with the same physical address on contact page and they weren't penalised or hurt by any traffic loss, however although they were selling products from same catalogue, there were distinct differences within the content.
2 separate brands were used, and unique product descriptions & category descriptions for example. Individual social media channels with unique content also.
So these other factors perhaps need to be taken in consideration and context is important?
Is all the content on the sites the same?
Cheers
Dan
-
Well, if local search isn't a concern then this might just fly. But I think neglecting local SEO (even as a webshop) is a poor decision. There could be an abundance of untapped local traffic - why ignore any relevant (and easier to rank for) traffic? My only concern here is the indexing of NAP information...not sure how Google will handle it...but they generally are not fans of a duplicated company presence (ie.multiple Google+ pages, duplicate content, etc.)
If you really want to prevent any issues and strengthen the performance of their site...I say merge these bad boys together. As you said, they sell almost the same products - and one is performing poorly. Why even attempt to split the traffic?
Best,
Christopher
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
-
Why won't a business show up in the local pack when all signs point to that it should?
Hello! I've been trying to figure out why a business won't show up in the local pack even though their GMB has more reviews, seems to be doing everything right, and just doesn't show. The business is "A Senior Journey", and should be showing up for searches relating to "senior placement services tucson" or "senior placement tucson", but no dice. Been doing a competitor analysis and they are doing better or on par with all of their competitors. The same businesses in Tucson that are competitors show up both times, even Phoenix locations, but not A Senior Journey...any ideas? Thank you!
Local Listings | | WebMO-Tech-Rep0 -
Has anyone tried using AMP links in Google Business Listings?
We have a client with multiple locations, and Google Business listings for each location. We've also created AMP pages for each of those location landing pages, and they're ranking on page one of their main queries, just below the local pack. We're wondering if anyone has tried pointing a GMB website listing at an AMP page, or if there are considerations to keep in mind before testing it out. So far, we've discussed whether to use the AMP url (amp.domain.com) or the Google viewer url (google.com/amp/s/amp.domain.com), and potential concerns for desktop users.
Local Listings | | WompM0 -
When I search my business, how can I make all my locations to a multi-location business appear in the map pack?
I have a question about local SEO. I do the marketing for a multi-location medical facility. When I search the facility on Google, the website appears on the left and the Google My Business information for the nearest facility to me appears on the right. However, I would like to see a map-pack of all facilities appear under the website information as well. How can I make all locations appear in the map-pack form below my basic website information?
Local Listings | | FlynnZaiger0 -
SEO - Should individual doctors at facility claim a Google My Business profile?
My client is a physician facility with several doctors practicing at the facility. When doing a Google search for some of their practices such as "family practice" one of the doctor's profiles will display in the Google Local pack - however it is not linked to the facility website where their profile exists. As of right now, we are using YEXT and other tools to claim Google Business Profiles for each practice, not the individual doctors. If there are unclaimed accounts for individual doctors, they are alerting Google that it’s a duplicate and should be taken down. Is this the right process to follow for SEO best practices or should we be claiming both the business and individual doctor profiles? The reason they are not claiming individual doctor profiles is to cut down on duplicate reviews as part of the Reputation Management Program. Advice much appreciated!
Local Listings | | chrisvogel0 -
How to rank same business page in different locations?
Hello all, First of all thanks for answering my previous queries. Now, I have one more query and I am hoping to get best possible answers from you guys. Query: I have one business which is located in one city only and I have a verified listing there (I am ranking good in that city). However, I want to rank the same business page in couple of other cities as well. What should I do considering that I cannot create a new listing for other cities because I have my office in single location only? Looking forward to answers. Brian
Local Listings | | BrianBotts.0 -
Strategy for a business that has many service locations, but no real storefront?
I've struggled for a few years now trying to find the right solution. Say a client (home services contractor) has only one "location" - only one physical address from which they manage operations. This is not a retail store, not an office where customers would go. Technicians are dispatched to a 50 mile radius to provide service. This 50 mile radius includes a large metro area and many small cities. Let's take Austin, TX for example. Let's say Contractor ABC has it's office/warehouse in a smaller city just north, Round Rock, and the office's zip code is 78664. But they provide service to all of Austin and some surrounding cities such as Cedar Park, Pflugerville, Lakeway, Buda, etc. Their competitor, Contractor XYZ, services the exact same areas, but they have the benefit of having a physical address in the heart of downtown Austin, zip 78701. How does Contractor ABC effectively compete for rankings in Austin as well as the rest of the service area? More specifically, what is the best practice for handling NAP in this scenario? Most recently our strategy has been to enter the actual physical address where required (not trying to pull one over on google and trusting that google makes the correlation to the metro area) and where we can, we just put the metro (Austin, TX for example). This is also for display purposes so that a potential customer in Austin or Buda doesn't think, "Oh, this company is in RoundRock, this is not for me." I have multiple clients in this scenario and would like to have more clarity in this strategy before signing them up for MozLocal - P.S. any feedback on the current usefulness of that platform is also welcome!
Local Listings | | vernonmack0 -
Why does my business does not appear on Google Maps ?
I recently created a Google + Profile for a client (I'm from Canada), even created a profile for Google Maps, received the code and my business is now verified. It's been nearly three weeks and the business still does not show or is even marked on Google Maps. I reviewed my profile to make sure I did not forget anything. I even contacted Google maps to suggest a change, nothing seems to work. Can anyone help me ? Thank you !
Local Listings | | marketingmedia.ca0 -
Google+ Business Listings: Hours Displayed Incorrectly
Hi, When I do a search for our brand + location name (basically making sure we at least appear for that) the hours displayed are incorrect except when I log into our account to edit the hours they are right. Ex: Google SERP displays hours 8am - 11pm but within business listing account hours entered are 8pm - 10pm. Has anyone come across this and why would it be? Is it a case of other citations showing the incorrect hours? Thanks for your help WMCA
Local Listings | | WMCA0