How To Merge Google Business Profile Listings
Accurate Google Business Profile listings are key to a solid local SEO strategy
- Multiple Google Business Profiles might make sense if you have several locations or sister companies, but duplicate listings should be merged or moved
- It’s fairly simple to merge Google Business Profile listings, but you’ll need to get in touch with Google to do it for you
- If you choose to suppress a Google Business Profile listing, a local business listing service can save you time and alert you of duplicate listings in the future
Why is merging Google Business Profile listings important?
Before we explain how to merge two Google Business Profile listings, let’s first break down why it’s so important to be on top of your profiles. Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business) is arguably the most important directory on the web, but it’s so much more than that. Not only can users discover your business and all your important information like phone number, website, address and opening times, but you can also share company news, special offers, photos and videos.
You can boost your visibility on Google Business Profile with updates and special offers
Google Business Profile Insights also offers a wealth of analytics to help you understand your profile’s performance, including which keywords users are searching to find you and what day of the week is bringing in the most phone calls.
Google Business Profile Insights give you actionable data on your business
But if you’ve got multiple Google Business Profile listings for the same business, users might have a confusing time understanding which one is accurate and choose a competitor instead.
And similarly to duplicate content, Google will have to choose which one to rank over the other - and you don’t want it to be the defunct one with no reviews.
Semrush’s Listing Management tool can help you quickly identify and suppress duplicate profiles, but in some cases, merging Google Business Profile listings is the way to go.
When might merging Google Business Profile listings be the best option?
Having multiple Google Business Profile listings might make sense for a company with several locations or significantly distinct departments, but redundant duplicate profiles aren’t great for your local SEO.Perhaps a former employee already created a Google Business Profile listing and no one realized it before setting up a new one. Or maybe you acquired a business and the old listing is still live with the same address and phone number.
Fortunately, merging Google Business Profile listings is possible, although depending on your situation, it might not be a straightforward process… Can I merge two Google Business Profile accounts?
It’s important to note the difference between merging Google Business Profile listings and merging Google accounts.
You’ll find the steps on how to merge two Google Business Profile listings below. But if your question is whether or not you can merge two Google accounts, the answer is “no”.
How to merge two Google Business Profile listings: Step-by-step
In order to merge Google Business Profile listings, you’ll have to get in touch with Google and ask them to review your case.But first, you need to make sure that the lesser of the two profiles is unverified. Here’s how you do it in each of the three possible scenarios:
Scenario 1: You have access to both Google Business Profiles
Google can’t merge two verified accounts, so you first need to “unverify” the one you’re not so fond of in your dashboard:
- Log in to Google Business Profile Manager.
- Select the business you wish to “unverify”.
- Select the “Actions” drop-down menu.
- Select “Remove business”
Scenario 2: You don’t have access to the Google Business Profile you want to merge and it’s unverified
This is the best-case scenario because you simply need to send Google a link to the unverified business via the Help Center and explain you’d like to merge it with the verified profile.
Scenario 3: You don’t have access to the Google Business Profile you want to merge and someone else has verified it
This is going to take a bit more work. You’ll need to try to claim the business by clicking “Own this business?” on the profile and follow the instructions to get the business under your Google Business Profile Manager. Once there, you can “unverify” it following the steps in Scenario 1 above and ask Google to merge them.
What’s the difference between moving and merging Google Business Profiles
You probably don’t want to merge a duplicate Google Business Profile if it’s not going to be conducive to boosting your online presence and reputation.Merging Google Business Profile listings mixes all the reviews and photos together into the new combined profile, so if that’s not what you want, it might be best to suppress your Google Business Profile instead.
Showing users the most relevant information is key to providing the best experience for them and driving conversions for your business.
Using Semrush Local's Listing Management tool to suppress Google Business Profile listings
Suppress duplicates in just one click
Multiple listings for the same business can appear on Yelp, Facebook, Amazon Alexa, Apple Maps, Bing… or any one of the long list of business listings in which your business should appear.
Keeping track of all these platforms is a daunting task for an individual or small marketing department, and if you do decide to monitor it all yourself, it’s a huge drain on resources.
