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Hi Michael, Yes, Google does say "whenever possible", so this is one of those things where you could possibly decide that there isn't a huge risk in the redirecting numbers, but it would make me a bit uneasy. For one thing, there have been numerous documented incidents of Google calling businesses. If the switchboard receptionist answers "Happy Sailboats" or "Happy Sailboats Marina" instead of "Happy Sailboats Shipyard" this can actually trigger a red flag about the accuracy with which you're representing the business name/s on the Google My Business listings. So, just so you know, there is some risk whenever you don't stick to Google stated preferences to the letter. How big a risk? Hard to say. The risk-free way would be for the business to change its phone system if having 3 GMB listings is deemed important enough, so that each department answers its own phone directly. I'd also build a really strong landing page for each of the 3 departments and link the GMB listings to them. Or, in the end, the business may decide to simply marketing itself with a single GMB listing, which is also risk-free but could miss out on the opportunity of ranking for the wider variety of categories the department approach can cover.

Hi Chris, I want to be sure I'm understanding your business model. It sounds like your business is virtual (doesn't make in-person contact with customers) and might be along the lines of a directory or a lead-generation company. Am I close to getting that right? If so, then basically you are limited to go after organic rankings for the terms you want to rank for. Virtual businesses are not eligible for inclusion in Google's local results, so what you want to do is evaluate your ability to compete for spots in the organic results for the terms that are important to you and your customers. An example of this would be the review platform Yelp. Yelp specializes in a product: business reviews. They have been so successful at becoming known for their review product that when you search for a very wide variety of businesses in Google, Yelp pages often come up on page one of the organic results due to the authority this brand has built. Another example would be something like ZocDoc - a directory for medical professionals. If you search for 'doctor san diego' or 'doctor boston' or 'doctor burlington', chances are strong that you'll see results coming up from the ZocDoc directory, because they have become a perceived authority when it comes to finding a local doctor. So, your own brand needs to take a look at where you can build this type of authority, whether on a local or national level, and then create the types of content that can begin to earn organic rankings for relevant terms. Hope this helps, and please feel free to provide any further details if our community isn't quite understanding your exact business model.

Hi @OpenThinker, Welcome to Moz's Q&A forum! In order to get the most out of our forum, please take a moment to review our Q&A Etiquette and Community Guidelines. We've also pinned a discussion thread at the top of the forum's home page that links to these resources for your convenience. This thread is also a great place to pick up additional valuable tips for using the forum and ask any questions you may have about using the forum. Also, please be advised that anything you post in our forum is public. (In light of that, I have removed some potentially sensitive information from your original question.) Thanks so much! Christy

Hi There! I'm so sorry, but I have no experience with this product. Maybe others in our community will? In the meantime, just a word to the wise: modern Local SEO has moved away from the idea of building hundreds and hundreds of citations as a smart use of time/funding, as when you start talking numbers like that, you are likely talking about very low-quality directories that your customers will never see and that will have little or no effect on your local rankings. Rather, these days, a typical approach to citation management would look something like this: First, audit your existing citations by a) doing a lookup of your name/zip on a free tool like Moz Check Listing to discover where you have accurate, inconsistent, missing, incomplete and duplicate listings on the most important general local business data platforms, and, b) do direct searches in Google for your brand name and your industry/geography to see which platforms are coming up in the first 3-5 pages for your searches, again, to discover any missing or problem listings. This combination of efforts will turn up the platforms your consumers are seeing and that are most like having the greatest impact on your local rankings. Likely, were talking about 50 or so citations - not 500 of them, as you can see. Next, once you've identified all problematic listings from the above 2 steps, you have 3 choices: Correct everything manually, keeping track of all of these listings in a spreadsheet, including columns for the data they contain, their location, their status and any user/passwords you were obliged to create to set them up. Then, on a regular basis, you will want to manually monitor these listings for any changes that might occur (automation of bad data or third party edits). Pay someone to do everything in option 1 for you, including the ongoing monitoring of the listings. Use a citation management service. You might like to check out Moz Local if you've not done so before, as this is our product designed to manage your citations and monitor them on an ongoing basis for any changes. Moz Local covers the most important general platforms, and you might want to back this up with manually managing a handful of other citations if there are major industry-specific platforms in your industry (like Avvo for lawyers or ZocDoc for doctors). Using Moz Local tends to represent a major savings in effort on your part, and does contain that vital element of notifying you if your listing data changes (as well as other really cool features like review notifications). You might like to compare it to some of the other citation management services out there, like Whitespark or Yext. In any case, you should not have to worry about hundreds and hundreds of citation regardless of how you approach their management - it's just not going to move the needle. These days, you want to get those core citations accurate, be sure you've dealt with any rank-draining duplicate listings and that you're monitoring your listings for changes. Then, move onto other areas of marketing that require more creative investments: content development, earning and building links, managing your reviews, social participation, offline marketing, etc. Hope this helps!

It's always my pleasure! I appreciate the good question you asked.

Thank you for the thoughtful and thorough response, Miriam! I really appreciate it. I am looking forward to seeing the annual Local Search Ranking Factors 2017 study once that is released—I will keep an eye out for it! Thanks again!

Glad to answer such a great question as the one you've asked, Blue Corona. Really a good topic you've brought up here!

Hey There, Joy is correct: the primary concern here is that Google will not understand where you are located, leading to ranking problems. On the user side, the customer may be unable to access correct driving directions, and may end up not finding the business at all. Both of these things impact the business' main goals of being visible and experiencing transactions. So, definitely not advisable.

Ooh, getting complex! "USA is our main market, but it would have the URL .com/us/en/. Do you think that would be a problem" - that should be fine. "We're using /yy/xx/ (country/language), divided in folders. Does it impact SEO? Would you recommend use hyphen instead?" - it's fine the way it is; as long as country is first (so that you can use geo-targeting for each country level folder in Google Search Console) "In this case, if I'm browsing the home page in the USA (.com/us/en/) the canonical would reference the default home (.com)?" - Nope, and be careful here; the canonical tag should reference the correct URL for the current country/language version (in this case, .com/us/en/). You want each country to have/manage its own value. You could attempt to try and do some clever stuff by artificially canonising certain pages to specific countries; however, that'll impact the indexation of those pages in their respective countries, and you'll end up sending people to the wrong versions. "[...] If I visit .com/us/en/ from Australia I stay in the USA version, and get a notification asking me if I want to go to the Australian version. Does it make sense?" - Yup, perfect Your last point on hreflang; it may be that you have some configuration errors, but it may also be that Google believes that for a given query, for a given user, that it's better to serve them the incorrect geographic result (perhaps they're exhibiting strong purchasing behaviour, and the product is unavailable in their territory; or that an unavailable product page is resulting in poor user signals and harming that page's performance)? I'd definitely do some digging into your hreflang configuration to rule that out first, though!

To make matters worse I can't remove any listings because I can't login to Central Index because the whole process is being managed by Moz Local.  I think i'll also talk to support over this.

Hi Bob, Good luck with your presentation! I think you have an interesting opportunity residing and working in a small town. Like you, I live in a rural area beyond a larger, good-sized city. I find it interesting to study local SERPs in areas like this - they sometimes provide unique insights into Google's 'thinking' when there are fewer options/less data. In the coming months, who knows what you might learn from closely studying your local SERPs?

Hi Brett! I've actually been wondering this same thing for awhile now. From what I've found, there isn't a way to specifically manipulate anything on your website with anything (i.e. schema, etc.) that will help get you in this position of the knowledge graph. At the moment, it seems like it is mostly pulling companies that are ranking prominently in the area. That being said, I would focus on getting your website to be one of the most authoritative in the area to improve your chances.

Hi there, This is a great question. Recently I've found that Google is placing high value on photos on a business's GMB profile. Because of this, I suggest that you do not use one set of interior photos for all of the locations. While I don't think you will necessarily get penalized, it's probably best to follow the guidelines Google has in place In case they do penalize you later down the road -- and then you would have to go back and make adjustments after the fact. Even if it takes some time, I would focus on getting photos of each individual location for their profile.

Hi there, This is a great question. Recently I've found that Google is placing high value on photos on a business's GMB profile. Because of this, I suggest that you do not use one set of interior photos for all of the locations. While I don't think you will necessarily get penalized, it's probably best to follow the guidelines Google has in place In case they do penalize you later down the road -- and then you would have to go back and make adjustments after the fact. Even if it takes some time, I would focus on getting photos of each individual location for their profile.

Hello, First of all claim (with the same google "owner" account) the location. Then sign in to Google My Business. Click Duplicate locations at the top of the page, then click the location you'd like to remove. Review the location. Make sure the business information for the duplicate location is included in the location that will remain in your account. Make sure that the photo URLs, ad-specific fields, and store codes are up-to-date in the location that you are keeping. Click the back arrow in the top-left corner to return to your location list. Click Remove duplicate on the right side of the location you'd like to remove. Find more: https://support.google.com/business/topic/4669096?hl=en&ref_topic=6377390

Hi Taylor, When working on SEO in a small, local area, it's likely that (depending on the size/population), Google won't have enough data to generate a local pack. This proves to be both good and bad for you because 1) you don't need to fight for the space in the local pack, but 2) now you need to dominate the organic search engine results. In order to dominate these results, you need to focus both on on-site SEO AND off-site SEO. Your on-site SEO should focus on targeting the local area. What can you do to really localize the content? Build out local blogs about events in the community? Build out even more localized pages based on areas within the town? The options are endless. Here are some suggestions for successfully tackling off-site SEO: Link building Create linkable content – If you have relevant, authoritative content on your site, it’s more likely that other sites will want to link to it. Ask for links and be generous with your links – That’s right, just ask for them. Nicely, of course. When you come across other sites whose readers might benefit from your services or information, ask that site to link to yours. And you can also increase your link karma by linking to other sites whenever you can. Comment on blogs – This method can be tricky; some blogs don’t allow links in their comments, and you never want to come across as spammy. But if you have something relevant to say about a blog post on another site, commenting and adding a link to your site isn’t a bad idea. Social Channels Optimizing your “about” info on every site – Make sure your contact info is consistent and correct, and create a description that uses words your potential clients would search for to find you. Customize your social media site URLs—this is also called creating a “vanity URL.” For example: facebook.com/bluecorona. Creating high-quality posts – Pay attention to grammar, tone, and content. Make sure what you’re sharing is relevant to your target market. And use high-quality photos when you have them. Remember, every post is a reflection of your business. Always put your best foot forward. Measuring your results – How do you know if your social media strategy is working? Track your reach, conversions, and sales! Find out what works, what doesn’t, and never stop fine-tuning your strategy. Local Listings / Citations Citations are another critical part of offsite SEO. A citation is any mention of your business on the web. For example, if you are quoted in a local newspaper story online, and you are identified as the president of your company, that’s a citation. Even if the mention doesn’t include a link to your site, it’s still valuable. There are many ways to increase your citations. This is another ongoing strategy that you’ll have to devote some care and attention to, but it has a high return on investment! Hope this gets your started in the right direction! Let me know if you have additional questions.

Hi Cory, i see you solved this but I was going to recommend the Suggest an Edit button. I've found this to be the most successful when working with YellowPages. Simply add in the correct information and wait a few days for the edits to be made. If you don't see them after a week or so, fill out the edits again. Glad you were able to resolve this!

Hi Remko, Let's work through this scenario together. Let's say that I operate a lead-gen directory for auto dealerships in Texas. Like any business owner, I want to rank well, and my livelihood depends on the traffic I get and the conversions the businesses in my directory receive. So, in violation of Google's guidelines, I list myself in Google My Business, knowing that I'm not supposed to. What can happen then? Any random Google user looking for an auto dealership and encountering my directory in the local pack can feel frustrated by the waste of his time in calling me or driving to my business only to discover I'm not an auto dealership. In his frustration, he can report me to Google for spam. And, he certainly doesn't trust my directory after this experience, seeing that I've misled him. An auto dealership owner in Texas who has been pitched about joining my lead gen directory may look at the local pack and decide that, in essence, I'm stealing a spot in the local pack results that he or any other legitimate dealership can't occupy because I've taken it. Angry about this, he can report me to Google for spam. And, at the same time, he will no longer consider my lead gen directory a place he would want to be listed, because it's not adhering to guidelines. He doesn't feel he can trust such my business. So, I've just lost a customer for life. The SEO team working for an auto dealership in Texas sees I'm violating Google's Guidelines, and can report me for spam. A Local SEO anywhere in the country sees what I'm doing while they're doing their job, and can report me to Google for spam. And, at any time, Google can realize I'm spamming on their own, either as a result of their algorithm detecting that my business doesn't meet their guidelines or because this is detected manually by Google staff. The risks to me of any of the above 5 scenarios are that: Google will take down my listing, so my efforts at rankings will have been in vain and any marketing spend I put into this will be wasted. I now have a black mark against my business in Google's eyes for violating their rules. This could prejudice them against my whole business, and who knows what that might do to my organic rankings? So, these would be the risks I'd be facing. And they are big ones. Most businesses would not want to deal with these risks. What Would Be A Better Way? So, I revisit my marketing plan**,** because I realize I can't afford to risk angering consumers and losing their trust in my brand, auto dealership owners who might become customers of mine, or Google upon which I'm dependent for traffic. I realize that it's not fair to take local pack spots away from legitimate car dealerships. And yet, I need to survive, so what is open to me? I have two options: organic rankings and PPC. So, I'm running a lead-gen directory. In order to be successful, I have to prove to auto dealership owners that I can rank highly in the organic results for their core terms, so that I'm getting leads I can send to them. I have to acquire the organic SEO skills that will enable me to live up to this claim, meaning I've got to learn what it takes to earn those high organic rankings. So, this is where I turn all of my attention: earning organic rankings that I can legitimately have a claim to and without risking my business. Where I can't manage to get organic rankings yet due to high competition, I am going to have to invest in PPC, just like any other business. Hopefully, I can chip away at this over time and move up in the SERPs as my directory becomes of higher value in Google's eyes, but until then, I may have to fill in the blanks with PPC. What I've outlined here would be considered ethical marketing for my business, and respects the idea that I want to stay in business for the long haul. Unlike spam practices which mean the hammer can fall on all my work at any time, the practices my hypothetical directory has determined to take have the goal of building a brand that can be trusted by consumers, customers and Google for years to come. To me, there is no question that this is a much stronger approach to marketing.

Hi Matthew! My pleasure, and I'm so glad you found my answer helpful. It sounds like you have a game plan for some work ahead. Yes, it's possible that by not being #1, you may be missing some traffic, but it might not be as much as you think, given that you are in the top 3. In your shoes, I'd be counseling myself to focus a little less on rankings and a little more on broadening my company's visibility for secondary terms in the local-organic results. The size of your city (population about 100,000) convinces me that you could really cover the waterfront of things people in Tyler need with the right content strategy and harness some highly targeted/highly converting traffic. Rand, in particular, has done some amazing Whiteboard Fridays over the past year or so about content, keywords, etc. I hope you'll take full advantage of this section of the Moz Blog: https://moz.com/blog/category/whiteboard-friday Good luck!

CleverPhD, Well, BCMull didn't mention subfolders in the question, so I am unclear as to whether that is because they decided against that for some reason, or if they did not consider subfolders as an option to begin with. Based on the question only, I would vote for subdomains over independent domains. IMO, whether or not to use subfolders versus subdomains is a business and organizational decision, as well as an information architecture, design, and SEO decision. IOW, I see SEO as part of the larger tradeoffs made in any project. From a purely SEO perspective in terms of link equity, I agree that folders are the way to go and the link equity will bring up the entire brand and site for all dealers. But would folders make sense within the larger picture and their overall business and project goals? I don't know, as I don't know Bcmull's project details and requirements. Link equity is one consideration, but not the only one. -- Jewel