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.
Google My Business: Company listing is showing in search instead of division address - similar names/same city
-
Hi!
I have a client whose company name is very similar to one if their company divisions. This division has multiple locations but its main location is in the same city as the parent company. The problem is that when you search for the division, the parent company shows up. The parent company has a physical address, but most users searching need to be going to the division address which takes customers. They are having problems with customers coming to the parent company address instead.
I have made the Google My Business parent company page to show service areas instead of their business address. Yet, their listing still comes up first when searching for the division location. This is because of part of the parent company name is in the division name. My client wants users to be able to find the division more so than the parent company.
Anyone had this issue before? Any tips would be great!
-
Miriam,
Yes, that was very helpful! We will make sure to follow these steps.
-
Thanks for the further details, Agrier. The answer to this is not simple, but I'll do my best to be concise, and will number the following suggestions:
-
If the parent company needs to maintain its GMB profile, but is in agreement with the branch that they shouldn't be outranking the branch, have the parent de-optimize their listing. Remove photos, the business description, hours of operation and service menus. Don't have them use Google Posts, Q&A, SWIS or any other influential features. I'm not sure of the business model, but if they can accurately list themselves as an SAB instead of brick-and-mortar, that could help, too.
-
Next, go full bore on the branch listing. This means optimizing every single aspect of the GBP you can. Here is a complete guide to this: https://a-moz.groupbuyseo.org/blog/ultimate-cheat-sheet-google-knowledge-panels
-
Underpin the branch listing with the strongest possible landing page on the website that you can. This means good content + good internal and inbound links to it.
-
Steps 1-3 are your best bets for overcoming the present ranking advantage the parent company has, as well as any filters that might be happening if the two businesses are closely located to one another.
-
Finally, remember that local rankings are not static. What customers in one part of this branch's town are seeing may be quite different from what customers on the other side of town see. For more on this, I recommend reading the following: https://a-moz.groupbuyseo.org/blog/find-local-competitors
Hope this helps, and please let me know if you have any further questions!
-
-
We have had thoughts about just removing it, but the client still wants the company GMB to show when searching for the parent company name. The problem is that the name is so similar to the division that when searching in the same city the division shows up for GMB instead. We have had some lead way where when searching on Google Maps only the parent company and division locations show up and only the division gives a physical address to visit.
Any help is much appreciated.
-
Hi Agrier,
The question I asked you, above, was in hopes of understanding whether the parent company needs to rank for purposes of its own or is expendable. If you can let me know the answer to this, I'd be very glad to discuss further!
-
The parent company Google My Business has been live for a while and has 7 reviews which also might attribute it to showing above the division. One thought was to remove the parent company GMB and try to get a knowledge panel instead. Thoughts on just completely removing the GMB for the parent company?
-
Hi Agrier,
Is it necessary for the parent company to come up at all in search? Is there any benefit to it ranking highly?
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
-
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 -
Radius Size around GMB location for google local search
We are a digital marketing agency Our clients are (virtually all) retail automotive dealerships. We compete in various market places coast to coast (USA). Since Google puts retail automotive dealerships under Local SEO umbrella, is it known ( published ) how large is the radius around my client's Google My Business rooftop's address? How wide is their search 'reach' according to Google? Asked another way, in a triangular, three SEO geo area, with one city being at the epicenter of the population dispersion, and my client, versus my client's competitors being different distances from where the majority of the population emanates from, all other SERP factors being equal (assumption) between the two competitors, how far is each clients REACH from a Local Search standpoint. Is this known? Published by Google. ONE example: https://www.google.com/maps/dir/BMW+of+South+Albany,+U.S.+9W,+Glenmont,+NY/42.7662693,-73.8138088/@42.6727121,-73.7993527,12z/data=!4m9!4m8!1m5!1m1!1s0x89dde0fe8829c405:0xd915fb9b3b60bf33!2m2!1d-73.7973301!2d42.589211!1m0!3e0
Local Listings | | GaryT_SEO1 -
How do you go about updating / correcting bad business listings when you cannot contact the website directly?
There is a business listing I wish to correct / update on 411dir.biz There is no way to contact the website online, and in cases like this, I try to do a whois lookup, and reach out via the email / phone number there. This site seems impossible to connect with, has anybody else come up against situations like this in the past, if so what do you tell your client / what other approaches do people have? Thanks!
Local Listings | | ParadigmPCB0 -
2 Businesses + Same Address = Not a Problem?
Imagine someone who has 2 separate businesses with the same (home) address. Both are verified Google My Business G+ pages, each with its own separate website. Essentially the old business that is being de-emphasized is a guitar lesson teacher's studio. This G+ page is set as a storefront where people come to. The new business is similar, it is music lessons (private in-home instruction). This G+ page is set to have a service area - this goes along with their new business model. We all know that consistent NAP is essential BUT do you think these are competing against each other because they share an address even though the businesses are separate?
Local Listings | | Rich_Coffman0 -
What To Do With Two Business Having The Same Name?
Hi friends, We have a client who is in a peculiar predicament... essentially his business and his biggest competitor share the same name. Officially on their business licenses they are differentiated by the year they were each established, but in all their marketing, on their website, and in the community they are both known by the exact same name. When the company name is searched for, the competitor shows up #1 organically with the map pin as well as in the knowledge graph, and our site shows up number 2 without any any map pin or Google+ page site link or anything. We thought we could differentiate ourselves by changing his Google+ page name to his official business name (with the date) and building a bunch of really good citations with that official business name, but we still haven't made a dent for his branded keyword, and our Google+ page site links aren't even showing up. Has anyone run into a situation like this and any suggestions?
Local Listings | | localtrifecta_im0 -
How to show on Google Maps for specific areas close to me?
Hi there, Im wondering the best approach to get more consistent listings for google map searches (the pins on the map) for a business.
Local Listings | | Ampweb
Here is a small overview. My client provides storage services in London. His business is very local as customers will only want to use them if they are from surrounding local suburbs within the City. His business is showing on the map for some of the suburbs close to his business, but it does not actually show when you search for the closest location (suburb) that his business is located in, or other local suburbs. What would be the best approach to ensure google shows a pin for his search results when users search for all close-by suburbs to his business address? Is this possible or will it just happen over time? He already has landing pages on his website for each of his suburbs that he is trying to target, eg: "Self Storage Camden".0 -
Reliability of http://www.scamanalyst.net/
Hi - has anyone used scamanalyst.net as a research tool? If so, do you have any thoughts on how reliable the site information is? My thought is to use in conjunction with Open Site Explorer (in the process of tidying up a clients' questionable site links). Thanks so much.
Local Listings | | E2E0 -
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
