What Are Duplicate Google Business Profiles?
It’s possible that your business might accidentally end up with two Google Business Profiles (formerly Google My Business) instead of just one.
Duplicates can occur for various reasons, such as accidental creation by users, changes in information (like address or name updates), or errors in Google’s automated systems. In some cases, scammers may even create fake profiles to harm your business. Google takes these issues seriously and provides an easy process for legitimate business owners to remove duplicate or fraudulent profiles.
If your business already has a verified Google Business Profile (GBP), any additional profiles created will be flagged as duplicates. These duplicate GBPs won’t appear on Google Maps or in regular Google search results.
However: There’s a chance you may see two GBPs visible on Google Maps or Google Search. If these profiles aren’t marked as duplicates yet, you’ll need to report those profiles or request to merge them.
In this article, we’ll guide you through resolving duplicate GBP issues and show you how to merge two GBPs if needed.
Why Do You Need to Fix a Duplicated Google Business Profile?
First, let’s explore why it’s so important to avoid duplicate or visible double Google Business Profiles (GBPs).
Duplicate profiles (that have already been identified) are not visible to customers. This means that no matter how much effort you put into optimizing them, they’re essentially useless since potential customers will never see them. It’s crucial to ensure you have ownership of the “main” profile, which we’ll explain further in this article.
If two GBPs are visible, it can lead to contradictory or inaccurate information that confuses potential customers. Moreover, it can also confuse Google, resulting in lower rankings for your business in general. Remember, having multiple GBPs does not mean more visibility - in fact, it has the opposite effect! Thus, let’s have a look at how to resolve this issue!
How to Merge or Report 2 Google Business Profiles?
If two GBPs appear on Google Maps or Google Search, you’ll need to report them as duplicates and request a merge.
Important: These instructions only apply if the two profiles are visible on Google Maps or Google Search and are not already marked as duplicates. If they are marked as duplicates in your GBP Manager, you won’t need to follow these steps and can skip to the next part of the article!
Conditions for a Duplicate Profile and/or Merging Them
The profiles must either belong to the same business (with the same name, address, phone number, reviews, etc.) or be businesses that can be combined. For example, if you have a beauty salon with two GBPs - one for a brow bar and another for a hair salon - they can be merged.
Interesting: Our customer success manager Diana helps clients daily with Google Business Profile-related issues and observed the following:
“I’ve seen cases where duplicate profiles exist but have different owners. This often happens when one profile was created after the other because the original profile wasn’t verified. Since the owner couldn’t access or see the unverified profile, they assumed it didn’t exist and created a new one!”
How to Report a Duplicate GBP / Request Merging?
- Search your business on either Google Maps
- Click on “Suggest an edit”
- Click on “Place is closed or not here”
- Select “Duplicate of another place”
- Select the duplicate profile one from the suggestions (optional)
- Optionally you can also submit images that support your case
- Click on “Submit”
Google Support will review your request, and if the GBPs have different reviews, those will be merged as well.
You should receive a response from support within a few days. If your request hasn’t been processed - meaning there’s no change to the profile situation and no reply - you can follow up with Google Support for assistance.
Learn how to contact Google Support for help.
How to Solve a Duplicate Google Business Profile?
If a profile is marked as a duplicate, that’s actually a good thing. Seriously! As we’ve already discussed, having two visible profiles on Google can harm your visibility and confuse potential customers. So, if Google has already flagged your profile as a duplicate - whether through user suggestions or automated systems - your problem is halfway solved. The next step is to ensure you have access to the “main” GBP, the one that remains visible on Google (Maps). You’ll need to either claim it (if no owner exists yet) or resolve an ownership issue by submitting a request to the current owner. This can sometimes be the case if you took over the business from someone else.
Learn how to request ownership of a Google Business Profile.
If your GBP is not claimed yet, make sure that you click on the “Claim this business” button and follow the instructions to verify that you are the rightful owner of the business.
Learn how to verify your GBP and why this step is unavoidable.
Once you have access to the correct profile, you can delete the duplicate listing. You need to pay attention that you are the (primary) owner of the profile. Managers do not have the right to remove a listing. However, this isn’t strictly necessary since duplicate profiles aren’t visible to customers. If you’d still like to remove it from your account, you can follow these steps:
- Log in to your GBP Manager
- Select the duplicate profile from the list (make sure it is really the profile you want to remove)
- Click on “Actions” and select “Remove businesses”
- Click on “Remove”
How to Deal With Fake Google Business Profile Listings Created by Scammers?
If someone created a fake profile using your business information (e.g. name, logo, etc.) then you can report it by following the next steps:
- Search the fake profile on Google Maps
- Click on “Suggest an edit”
- Click on “Place is closed or not here”
- Select “Offensive, harmful or misleading”
- Make sure that you add images as proof
- Click on “Submit”
Additionally, fill in the following form to report the fake profile to Google and state that you are the affected business.
How to Avoid Duplicate Google Business Profiles?
It’s best to prevent duplicate listings before they even appear. Here are some tips to help you avoid duplicate GBPs:
- If you move or change your business name, do NOT create a new GBP.
- If you sell your business (or buy one), make sure to grant (or request) ownership of the existing GBP to the new owner.
- Before creating a new GBP (e.g., when you’re just starting to optimize your online presence), check to see if a listing already exists. Google sometimes automatically creates listings for businesses based on information found online.
- Educate your staff on how to use Google Business services to prevent them from accidentally creating a new GBP.
- A duplicate listing can happen quicker than you think. Google may automatically create, for example, a duplicate after an ownership request gets denied. Thus, communicate clearly with your employees about the correct way to obtain and request ownership.
What if My Business Has Been Wrongfully Marked as Duplicate?
Sometimes, your GBPs may be wrongfully merged even though they represent two separate businesses. This can occur if you have multiple locations close to each other or operate two distinct businesses at the same address.
If this happens, you can appeal Google’s decision by contacting Google Support regarding the duplicate status. Be prepared to prove that these are indeed separate businesses by providing visual evidence, such as photos of signs, logos, or other distinguishing features.
Tip from Diana: Once you’ve resolved the issue and your Google Business Profiles are verified and fully operational, be sure to clearly differentiate between the addresses. For instance, you could label them as "Store 1" and "Store 2" within the actual address to prevent future confusion and avoid similar issues from happening again.
Need Help With Your Google Business Profile?
If you’re already using Obenan’s local SEO tools, simply reach out to our support team, and we’ll assist you with your duplicate profile situation or any other concerns related to your Google Business Profile.
Not a client yet and still handling your online presence manually - or not at all? You’re missing out! Request a free demo of our tools and discover how to streamline and automate updates and optimizations while keeping your business details consistent across multiple platforms. Your journey to attracting more customers could start today - are you ready?
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How to Request Ownership and Manager Access to a Google Business Profile
In this article, you'll find a step-by-step guide on how to request ownership of a Google Business Profile and grant manager access to the people of your choice. Follow along to learn exactly what to do and where to click, complete with helpful visuals!
