Local Listing Conundrum
-
Hello Mozzers, I have a client with a unique situation that I am hoping I can get some feedback on.
One of our service industry clients has a location that is claimed on all major sites (Google, Bing, etc., etc.) - so all is good there. They are experiencing an issue, however, because their check-in building is actually located at their conference center across the street, which has a different address. The issue is mainly that it is confusing and a pain point for customers as they get to the destination without realizing they need to actually be at the building across the street first for check-in.
The client is considering changing their primary address to the conference center address across the street, which was previously not a separate / claimed entity. They would still maintain the main business listing and just adjust the name. Their thought process is that Google would bring people to the conference center / check-in building first rather than to the main business building.
I personally have major concerns about making the switch. I feel like this would be potentially confusing to both users and search engines. And, the main business listing has already acquired a ton of reviews that we would be starting from scratch with.
My immediate recommendation would be to better communicate the check-in process to guests and not go through the change of address process, but I figured I would throw it out to the community for feedback.
Thoughts?
-
So glad it helped! Good luck to you!
-
Thanks so much for the clarification and recommendations, that is very helpful!
-
Hi Meisha,
Thanks so much for replying to my questions. That definitely helps me better visualize the client scenario. Okay, so bearing in mind that if this were my client I would advise them to physically change the location of the check-in from the conference center to the hotel, as this is clearly not a comfortable/natural layout for guests, if the company is unable to make this structural change, here's what they are up against:
-
If this business were in a different industry (not a hotel) there would be some wiggle room for them having 3 different GMB listings, as Google does permit multi-department listings. That works well for car dealerships (parts department, sales department, repairs department) and for hospitals (x-ray, emergency, billing). But for a hotel - no. Google is not going to have a category which represents hotel check-in, so despite this entity of the business having a separate entrance and phone number, I would not advise creating a 3rd GMB listing for the check-in. I don't believe it would fit in with Google's conception of a department and it could get the business into trouble.
-
So, since we don't want to do that, what we're left with is having the 2 GMB listings (one for the hotel and one for the conference center). But, we can't alter their names, as that would also violate Google's guidelines. Google can read street level signage, so unless the real-world name of the conference center is Green Tree Conference Center & Waldorf Hotel Check-In you cannot put those words in the business title of the GMB listing.
-
Because of this, what you are left with is listing the hotel and listing the conference center exactly as they appear in the real world, in terms of their names, addresses and phone numbers, with no additions. And that leaves guests being confused and discomfited.
-
So, if we can't move the check-in desk to the hotel, what the client is left with as options would include:
- Making it abundantly clear on the hotel site that check-in is across the street
- Instructing all phone staff who take reservations to verbally signal this to guests
- Including this also in any emails, print mail or other forms of confirmation guests receive when booking
- Hiring a staff member who manages the parking lot to greet guests as they arrive by car and personally instructs them to check in across the street.
- Anything else the business can think of to alert guests about the location of the check-in to lessen inconvenience to them.
What I'm describing here, based on my understanding of your client, would be the only safe options I can think of. Hope they help!
-
-
Thanks for your response.
To answer your questions:
1.) Hotel
2.) The hotel has several numbers so I imagine check-in does have a unique number
3.) I also do believe that check-in has a separate entrance than the other conference center facilities
4.) Check-in building is just the same address as the general conference center building
5.) The main / primary building hosts all of the rooms, hotel amenities, etc.
They were going to keep both addresses on the hotel website and specify check-in building versus hotel building. They were also going to change the name on the current / main Google local page to something more generic and then have the name for the new Google local page be hotel name +check-in or something similar, which I was not a huge fan of. I feel like having multiple local pages with the hotel name in the title could potentially cause issues, as will having multiple addresses on the website. I'm also sure that they cannot move the check-in across the street, for whatever reason, so that is an issue they will have to overcome.
Thoughts?
-
Hi Meisha,
Wow, that is a conundrum!
I'm going to start with some outside-the-box thinking here. If this were my client, I would tell them that (much like a grocery store floor plan) their current floor plan has highlighted a customer pain point. They are causing consumers frustration by making them go across the street to check in, which feels unnatural to the consumer. If it felt right, it wouldn't be a pain point. So, my first piece of marketing advice to this client would be to make a physical adaptation to put the check-in center in Building A, where consumers believe it should be. Problem solved. I realize this would be a hassle for the business, but when you consider that what they are currently risking now is getting off on the wrong foot with all of their customers at the very start of the 'relationship', what you have is negative sentiment>leads to negative reviews>leads to negative reputation>leads to negative impacts on revenue. That is not a path any business would want, so if at all possible, making a physical accommodation to the obvious needs of customers would be the smartest thing the client could do.
If it is totally impossible to move the check-in into building A, I have some questions:
-
What is the industry?
-
Does the check-in have its own phone number, or is the number shared with any other part of the business?
-
Does the check-in have its own entrance door, or is it shared by the conference center in building B?
-
Does the check-in have its own street address, or is it just the address of building B?
-
What, exactly, is in building A right now?
The answers to these (if you can share them) may help us puzzle out the second-best solution if the check-in can't be moved.
-
-
Great question!
You may want to consider providing two separate sets of NAP information for these two separate locations.
So you would have:
#1 - Business Name - Existing Address - Existing Phone Number
#2 - Business Name: Conference Center - Conference Center Address - Conference Center Phone Number
As long as you're able to go through the Google verification process with this conference center (receiving the postcard and phone call to verify that the NAP information for this new location is correct), you should be fine from a Local SEO perspective, and this should also improve user experience (since users will be directed to the proper location!)
I would also recommend listing these two addresses separately on the Contact Us page of your client's website, along with specific details about which location the user should plan to visit based on their needs.
Hope this helps!
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
-
2 Google my business listings for one company
Hello all I work for a small company. we do carpentings and old wooden furniture repairs. With the same company, we've started a tiny house building business, which is completly different of what we usally do and this is a national business wj The question is, can a create a different google my business listing for this activity ? It has different brand on logo but same phone number and same physical address. From what i ve found in google help pages , i would say yes, but i d take opinions about this , tks for your precious answers from google : Departments within other business, universities, or institutions
Local Listings | | uservices
Departments within businesses, universities, hospitals, and government institutions may have their own listings on Google.
Learn more
Publicly-facing departments that operate as distinct entities should have their own page. The exact name of each department must be different from that of the main business and that of other departments. Typically such departments have a separate customer entrance and should each have distinct categories. Their hours may sometimes differ from those of the main business.
• Acceptable (as distinct listings):
o "Walmart Vision Center"
o "Sears Auto Center"
o "Massachusetts General Hospital Department of Dermatology"
• Not acceptable (as distinct listings):
o The Apple products section of Best Buy
o The hot food bar inside Whole Foods Market
For each department, the category that is the most representative of that department must be different from that of the main business and that of other departments.
• The main business "Wells Fargo" has the category "Bank" whereas the department "Wells Fargo Advisors" has the category "Financial Consultant"
• The main business "South Bay Toyota" has the category "Toyota Dealer" whereas the "South Bay Toyota Service & Parts" has the category "Auto Repair Shop" (plus the category "Auto Parts Store")
• The main business "GetGo" has the category "Convenience Store" (plus the category "Sandwich Shop") whereas the department "GetGo Fuel" has the category "Gas Station", and the department "WetGo" has the category "Car Wash"1 -
Duplicate central index listing
Hello Moz community I have a duplicate listing in Central Index (GB) and all communication channels seem unresponsive. I have emailed support and general sales. I even tried contacting them on their facebook account. I am stumped as to how I can get this duplicate listing removed as I have no control over it and the support is non-existent. Any suggestions would be gratefully received.
Local Listings | | Avid-Panda2 -
Did anybody else notice a big change in local/map results in late Jan early Feb
Hi, We work on quite a few local campaigns for clients and saw a fair bit of movement in the UK in late January/early February. Did anybody else notice this? Some of ours have improved, some have lost out, but the results generally seem to have shifted against usual guidelines for listing optimisation (reviews, local phone numbers, consistency with website etc.). Any thoughts? Thanks
Local Listings | | jasarrow0 -
Local SEO business name issue due to aggregator
So I work for a college and we have multiple locations. My tactic has been always to keep the name the same for all of them (no city name), and then change the address and phone number for each. But there is 1000s of college listings websites out there that aggregate college and school data from the same source: the US government. Now the way that they have most, if not all, multi-location colleges listed is: "college name-city name". I can see the value in that, but I guess I'm just wondering what to do since it obviously can't be changed. Should I revert all of our listings as "college name-city name" to match the 1000s of listings that have it that way? I've been under the impression that I should leave the city/town name out of the name, but I'm just wondering what you think best practices would be? Thanks
Local Listings | | TomBinga1125
Tom0 -
How Far is Too Far to Show Up in Local Results
Hi everyone, I have one client that is located about 45 minutes (25 miles) outside of a large city and I can't seem to help them rank within that large city. They're a relatively new business in the service industry (meaning they'll travel to an individual's residence) and in the surrounding cities closer to their physical location, they rank extremely well. In this large city, they have 3 keywords in the top 10, 2 snack pack rankings and then everything else is below 51! I have a feeling that distance depends on many things, but I am wondering if anyone has ever figured out how far away is **too far **to be considered local by Google. My feeling is that sure it would be nice to rank locally for this large city as it would open them up to a really large customer pool, but that maybe 45 minutes away is just not local (I know I personally don't consider that "local"). Again, I understand that ranking locally depends on a really wide range of factors, but I'm considering only distance in this question. Thanks so much!
Local Listings | | KaitlinNS0 -
Is eLocal a scam or legitimate directory for local SEO?
I just got an email from eLocal with information that is way farther off than any other email I have received from directories I know. I ran a search on them, and it definitely seems fishy. Plus, it's not showing up as a problem in my Moz Local account. However, I don't want an inconsistent listing if this is a legitimate site I should correct. Anyone have experience with them? What should I do? Thanks for the assistance, Ruben
Local Listings | | KempRugeLawGroup0 -
Local search results question
Hello, I wonder if anyone can help. I have a client who is based outside the main city that he is wanting to rank in. The address on his website is his own home which is about 20 miles from the city. However, he services the city and the surrounding area. His ranking for the very competitive keyword is on page 2 and won't budge. We have made his Google+ page show the servicing area to include the city. We add new content regularly. The onsite SEO is strong and the city name is in the Title and H1 tags. We have lots of local consistent citations for him. This usually results in movement in the SERPS in my experience. But after 3 months this keyword is stuck whilst his other less competitive keywords are moving up. He is ranking 1st for the local area to his home address for the competitive keyword. So my question is - is this purely a result of his local address. Does Google rate him less local than his competitors who have addresses in the city even after we do a lot of citation building etc for him? Will it be possible to rank him for the city? I know 3 months isn't long but still would expect to see some difference. Anyone got any thoughts?
Local Listings | | AL123al0 -
Local domains vs. subfolders?
I am in the process of rebranding a B2B website for a UK company that has been established on a .net address for ten years. The CMS is Wordpress. The company has previously had localised content on .net/de, .net/au extensions for various regions where they have offices (US, Oz, various Europe.) I am getting varied and at times conflicting feedback from the creative agency, inhouse digital staff, and IT about the best way to proceed with the new website and in particular its future local language versions. Question 1: If we change the .net website to a .com address, will 301 redirects safeguard our SEO real estate? Question 2: we own the .com extension and have been using it for some back office stuff. It was purchased because it was advised that the .net did not carry much credibility in the US, is this correct? Question 3: If we change the .net to the .com which is hosted in the US, will we wipe our search rankings on Google for the UK and non-US locations? I saw this post and wondered:
Local Listings | | LConnect
http://moz.com/community/q/uk-rankings-disappeared-after-us-website-launch Question 4: is hosting the regional site best done on a local domain (we own a bunch) or does that not really matter? Question 5: If we use a WP plug in and just use subfolders for translating and localising content (US, Germany, Australia), what is the best way of serving that content for local PR? Sorry about the many questions 🙂 Guni0