Moz Q&A is closed.
After more than 13 years, and tens of thousands of questions, Moz Q&A closed on 12th December 2024. Whilst we’re not completely removing the content - many posts will still be possible to view - we have locked both new posts and new replies. More details here.
How Do I Remove Address from Google Business Page?
-
Not very up to date in handling local listings, so here's my situation. I have an office that is not going out of business, but instead going virtual. So that physical address will no longer exist but the team is intact. So I am dealing with the Google Business Listing page for this office at https://business.google.com/
In the "Published on" section, it has Google Search, Google Maps, and Google+. I want to remove it from Maps and the address from this account. There's an address for this store, but editing it only seems to allow changing, but not removal.
There is also the option of "Mark as Permanently Closed", but surely that isn't the best option since that will leave a nasty red "PERMANENTLY CLOSED" in the results when searching.
What's the best course of action here?
-
Wow, that's awesome Joy! Thank you so much for reaching out and helping! Nothing more infuriating to me than a half completed job, and you were pivotal in getting it done. Thank you so much!
-
Hey Nathan,
Sorry this took so long. Our backlog is pretty long but Google got back to me yesterday to let me know they removed the listing all together
-
Very interested in hearing the process for what Google recommends when removing a virtual office listing. Thank you for being such a great thought leader in this space!
-
Perfect. I updated my preferences. I'll let you know when I hear back from Google on this.
-
Thanks for the instructions. If you don't mind Joy, I'd send them to you there if you are still willing to help. Thanks!
-
Hi Joy!
Here's how you can change your PM settings:
-
Click on your avatar in the upper right hand corner of Moz.com (it could be your photo or just the first letter of your name)
-
Select "private messages" from the dropdown that will appear
-
Check the box for "accept private messages" and your done! Easy as pie
Our community manager would also recommend that you accept emails from Moz - they'll go to whatever email you've listed in your community profile. This can be helpful in communicating with other community members.
Hope this helps!
-
-
Nathan,
Weird - I have no idea where I would update my settings to allow PMs. Maybe Miriam knows
-
An office space that's been given up now that the company is virtual. I was going to send you the address via PM, but it says your account doesn't accept them.
-
In case they ask, what was the address exactly? Was it a storefront, an office space where you worked, or just a residential address you used to list as a service area business?
-
Thank you so much for that! We unfortunately got stuck in a situation where it was setup incorrectly as a local business from the beginning, but it was just lived with. But now the address is going away completely and it's become a situation that needs to be resolved. Hopefully without that big ugly "Permanently Closed" sign. It's bad for business in general.
Thank you!
-
Nice of you to try to get advice from the horse's mouth on this one, Joy. Thank you. Very generous!
-
Unfortunately like Miriam stated your business won't be eligible for a local listing anymore but since the office did exist there at some point, Google won't remove it and they will apply the "permanently closed" label to it. I'll check in with Google to see if there is anything else that can be done and let you know. This isn't the first time I've run into a scenario like this.
-
Thank you for the link, I will give it a read and try Google support again.
-
Good question, Nathan!
If the business model is changing from local (defined as serving customers face-to-face at your location or at theirs) to virtual (no face-to-face contact with customers anywhere) then it will no longer be eligible for a Google My Business listing. If this is the case then, yes, you'll need to act on this, and unfortunately, as you are not simply moving to a new location, you are likely to end up with the red 'permanently closed' label on the listing. I recommend reading Joy Hawkin's article from 2016 on this issue in case you see any nuances that might apply to your situation:
http://searchengineland.com/google-fixing-permanently-closed-problem-242364
And, I would further recommend contacting Google's support to ask if they have any further advice for you, as your situation is not the run-of-the-mill moving locations scenario, but represents a complete change of business model.
-
Ok, i understand what you are saying, now. You may still wanna try contacting support. I had an issue that they helped me resolve relatively quickly.
Good Luck,
Matt
-
Thanks for the response. Normally that would be perfect, except the expectation is to provide support nationally. It was never a local only business; that's just where their office is. I get the feeling that the listing might need to just be deleted, and start over with a brand page?
From what I can tell, you can't convert a business page to a brand page.
-
Nathan,
You will be changing to a "service area business." Here are the directions for setting it up.
https://support.google.com/business/answer/3038163?co=GENIE.Platform%3DDesktop&hl=en
Beyond that, you may have to contact support.
Matt
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
-
Bingplaces.com wanting access to google account
Hello, we have a google my business account. On bingplaces.com it is saying they would like access to our google account. Is that normal for bing to share access with the google my business account? Thanks.
Local Listings | | MeritInsuranceGroup0 -
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 -
Seasonal Setting Options for Google My Business
Hi there, Not sure if anyone will have any insight but I have a seasonal business that I am closed for from September to March. I don't want to mark my business as "permanently closed" through Google My Business as I don't want my customers to think I've gone out of business. I've seen a few times through forums that you can change your business to temporarily closed, but I can't find the specifics on how to do this. Any insight, suggestion or resources would be great! Thanks!
Local Listings | | MainstreamMktg1 -
Google listing only appears when I move / zoom in or out of the map
Hi everyone, We are having an issue with this local business. The Google listing isn't immediately appearing on the map. You have to move the map or zoom in and out for the listing to appear. I find this really odd as our competitors - with no reviews and way further in proximity - are appearing with no issues. The listing is only about 4km where I'm doing the search, while competitors with no reviews are about 20km away. We are ranking in the top 5 organically for the search term I used (pool renovations brisbane), but nowhere in local unless the map is moved. When the listing appears, sometimes the pin also looks grey instead of red, while others are red (if that makes sense). On top of this, their organic rankings have also been on a downward trend since June. I'm currently doing a backlink audit to see if it's contributing to the issue. If anyone also has other ideas, could you please let me know? Thanks.
Local Listings | | nhhernandez1 -
Local citations from business directories in other countries
Hi all, I normally work for clients in my home county (The Netherlands) and with local citation building I focus on Dutch websites or well know .com websites in the Netherlands. My rule of thumb kinda was, if it’s not known in the Netherlands it isn’t worth getting mentioned there. Since The Netherlands are pretty small and I think Google ain’t perfect I was wondering if it makes sense to list a Dutch business on any .com business listings that are internationally big, but aren’t well known in the Netherlands. Two reasons that got me thinking this direction: A big well known Dutch company offers a service such as Moz local and did integrate their service with several international business listing websites that I never heard off, since these business directories focus themselves on other parts of the world. Google ain’t perfect and I think they got more budget to identify trustworthy business directories with an international focus or a focus on America then with a focus on The Netherlands. So I’m wondering if it makes any sense to list a Dutch business on let’s say the top 20 international business directories (although these directories don’t have any brand recognition in The Netherlands).
Local Listings | | Bob_van_Biezen0 -
Listing a physical address on an ecommerce website?
Hey Mozzers! Got a question for you. I’ve been assigned my first ecommerce client. He doesn’t want to list his physical business location, as he fears that including his address will hurt him on a national level (he ships all over the world). He’s not particularly interested in ranking locally, although he wouldn’t mind it. He only wants to show a PO box address. Will this help or hurt him? I believe it’s the latter. Also, he has 16 shipping points across the U.S. Is it helpful to add these cities and states to the site? Thanks in advance! -Kanya
Local Listings | | RainmanCreative0 -
Why I'm I ranking so low on Google Maps
About 3 months I started a website (www.guyetteroofing.com) for my roofing business in Montgomery, Alabama. The site is still a work in progress, however, because the competition doesn't really market via internet it was fairly easy to rank on Google Maps. Within 1 month the business was letter "A" in Google Maps. About 3 three weeks ago my ranking was dropped considerably, not showing up at all in letters A through G. The business is still indexed in Google Maps, but only represented by a small red dot. My website is still ranking pretty high for "roofers in Montgomery", but my position on Google Maps has all but disappeared. I have no idea what I've done to be rank so low on Google Maps but still have a solid position on regular Google Search. I've checked my citations and my NAPs, there are a few inconsistencies but nothing major. How can I rank so far below my competition if I have twice as many citations, an actual website, and a Google Plus page?
Local Listings | | billyguyette0 -
How to remove a former business location from Google Places?
I've received a strange response from Google Places on local listings for a home builder. Google's rep suggested that we not list the new home sales center (a model home) since at some point it will change from being a business listing to a residential listing. That is just wrong. It will be a place of business for the next 3 years and then will flip to being a private residence. These days it is uncommon, but not that rare to turn over ownership from public to private or vice versa (A residence becoming a law or other commercial establishment. Or a whole office building becoming condos.) The issue is, when it does happen, how do we get Google and others to recognize that a business is no longer a business location? I've had trouble bringing down the address of former former model home sales centers on Google Places much to the chagrin of the residents.
Local Listings | | BlairKuhnen0
