An introduction to Google Business Profile
Formerly known as a Google My Business listing, a Google Business Profile (GBP) is one of the most critical parts of your Search Engine Optimisation strategy.
When a business inevitably takes the plunge into expanding their digital footprint, the first of the many things they will do is attempt to create a Google Business Profile, which is the card you will often see when you search up a business on Google.
The beauty of a GBP is that it's a multi-purpose tool. For instance, a GBP doesn’t just show your business name and a few photos of your storefront, products, and services. It also gives you a place to promote said products and services and write blogs and allow customers to leave reviews.
Having this level of interaction on an easily accessible platform such as a GBP is a great way to strengthen your branding and increase the level of trust any potential new customers feel when they see you online.
The last benefit to having a GBP is that it allows your business to compete in the map pack, which is the three links you’ll see under a map sometimes when you search for some of the keywords a company operates under.
For example, when you type “Plumbers Perth”, you will likely see a map and three businesses underneath it. This is known as the Google map pack, which has its own ranking system, seperate from the actual SERPs.
So...
Did you know that you can create a Google Business Profile without an address?
The main thing that stops many small business owners - who are likely running their business from their home - from creating a Google Business Profile is the impression that you cannot create a listing without having an address publicly facing. The good news is that this is certainly not the case!
To achieve this, simply remove the address and select a service area in its place after you request your Google Business Profile verification code.
Google also allows the use of email verification, if you can provide a domain email address for the website connected to the business profile, so you can bypass the postcard verification completely.
When you change your address to a service area, this still allows you to appear in location-specific searches relating to your business.
Creating a Google Business Profile this way ensures that when you enter your verification code and your listing finally appears in the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPS), you will only see the service area that you have chosen, and your private address will stay hidden from the public.
Many small businesses often want to kickstart their online presence with a GBP. Still, they rarely have the time to follow through with the setup and management of the profile simply due to being so busy focusing on their day-to-day business obligations.
Contact the team for guidance with your Google Business Profile
PWD is a digital agency with over a decade of experience with Google services, SEO and more, who can handle all of this for you as a part of our digital marketing services.
If your business wants to dive into the digital realm and need a team of professionals who genuinely understand your business and have values aligned with that of your own, please don’t hesitate to contact us today.
When you search for a local business like yours on Google, what’s the first thing that comes up?
Probably some ads:
Then something like this, a local pack of business information, pulled from Google Business Profile (formerly known as Google My Business) listings:
According to a 2021 local search ranking factor survey by Whitespark, Google Business Profile accounted for 36% of factors affecting business’ ability to appear high in results like the ones you see above (specifically in local pack results).
In other words, Google Business Profile affects your ability to get the attention of potential customers actively looking for a business like yours.
As a result, it’s no wonder that SEO experts routinely tell local businesses, “Claim and optimize your Google Business Profile.”
Great, but what if you find that the realities of your business don't fit neatly into one box or another, like something as simple as your business address?
In this post, we’ll help you troubleshoot some common address-related issues in Google Business Profile so you can get back to serving customers faster.
1. Google Business Profile (Google My Business) account without an address
If your business does not “make in-person contact with customers during its stated hours” through either 1) a physical address, or 2) a service area around your physical location that allows you to “travel to visit customers where they are,” you cannot have a Google Business Profile, according to Google’s guidelines.
exceptions to this rule are:
- ATMs
- Video-rental kiosks
- Express mail drop boxes
- Seasonal businesses (although they must provide signage year-round)
- Virtual kitchens (as service-area businesses)
Ineligible business types include:
- Online-only businesses
- Businesses that offer services, classes or meetings, from a location they don’t own or have the authority to represent
- Rental or for sale properties, (although sales or leasing offices may be eligible).
- Lead generation agents or companies
2. Can I use a P.O. box for Google Business Profile (Google My Business?)
You may be thinking, “Okay, but I have a P.O. box address I can use.” Unfortunately, according to Google’s guidelines, “P. O. boxes or mailboxes located at remote locations are not acceptable” for business addresses.
According to Google’s guidelines, other ineligible business addresses include those of:
- Virtual offices
- Co-working spaces (unless that office maintains clear signage, receives customers at the location during business hours, and is staffed during business hours by your business staff.)
3. How to hide Your address on Google Business Profile (Google My Business)
According to Google, if your business does have a physical location, (such as an office) but you only travel to customers, you have a service-area business. These businesses can set service areas but should not display their business addresses.
If you serve customers at your business location and travel to customers, that makes you a hybrid business, which can display both a public business address for customers to visit and a service area.
If you are in the process of setting up your profile, you can hide your address by checking “no” when asked whether you serve customers at your location.
Next, enter your service area(s). These should be identified by city, zip code, or other geographic area. For more details, check out this help article.
4. How to delete an address in Google Business Profile (Google My Business)
Maybe you already claimed your listing and entered a business location but want to start over as a service area business. To do this, Google recommends you take the following steps:
Desktop
- Go to Google Business Profile Manager and select which location you want to edit.
- Go to "Info."
- Click on the address field.
- Hit “Clear address.”
- Hit “Apply.” Now, only your service area will be displayed, or, if you haven’t entered one, Google will generate one for you.
A few things to remember when setting up service areas:
- You cannot enter your service area by making a radius around your business location (like you used to). Instead, enter the name of a town or zip code.
- Google allows you to have up to 20 service areas.
- It should take no more than 2 hours to drive to the edge of your overall service area.
5. Can two businesses have the same physical address on Google Business Profile (Google My Business)?
According to Google Business Profile Gold Product Expert Sherry Bonelli in this support thread, this is generally not a good idea. Most likely, attempting to do this would result in your Google Business Profile getting suspended.
This is because, when you try to add a new business profile with an address that is already attached to another profile, Google flags it as a “duplicate location” (Google).
As Bonelli notes, in general, Google doesn’t want home-based businesses appearing on Google Business Profile, since the platform was originally created for brick and mortar storefront businesses, and later went on to include service-area businesses.
Often, when someone sets up multiple business accounts under the same address, it is either a home-based business or a bad actor.
If you run two businesses out of the same location, she recommends picking the more important one to avoid risking both businesses.
That said, there are a few situations where what might appear to be a separate business can have the same (or almost the same) address as another business.
Special circumstances
Chain locations inside a mall
For example, Google says that “if a branch of your business is located within another complex, such as a shopping mall that is already listed on Google Business Profile, you can request to have this information displayed in your Business Profile.” You can do this by submitting this form.
Departments
Google also allows “Departments within businesses, universities, hospitals, and government institutions” to have their own profiles. Provided that:
- They are “public facing”
- “Operate as distinct entities”
- Have distinct categories that are different than other departments
- Have a name that is different from the organization
They may also have their own entrance and set different hours.
Car dealerships
Similarly, Google says that “all car dealerships can have a profile for the dealership itself and more profiles for their departments, like sale[s], parts, or services.”
If this sounds like your business, Google has special guidelines for car dealerships.
Public-facing independent practitioners within certain industries
Also, multiple, “public-facing,” “independent practitioners” (such as “doctors, dentists, lawyers, financial planners, and insurance or real estate agents”) that “can be contacted directly at” a single “verified location during stated hours” can have their own business profile (singular) separate from the organization’s profile . . .
Unless they are the only public-facing representative of a “branded organization” (e.g. American Family Insurance) for that particular location, in which case they should not have a separate profile.
Those eligible for a separate profile within a larger building, such as a clinic, can request to have their location within an already listed building containing multiple practitioners displayed.
Note that there are separate rules for healthcare provider business profiles.
If you are ever confused about how your Google Business Profile should be configured, you can make an appointment with one of their small business advisors.
Conclusion
Navigating addresses and eligibility can be particularly hairy on Google Business Profile. The best course of action is to carefully read Google’s guidelines to determine if your business is eligible, identify whether your business type is subject to special rules, and then proceed from there.
If dealing with Google Business Profile looks like one more task to add to your already heaping plate, contact us. We offer Google Business Profile optimization as part of our local marketing packages.
Topics: Local Business Marketing