Google Local Listing Verification - Is there a way to skip this?

[MiriamEllis]

Hi Elvin,

This question actually has some tricky nuances to it, due to a recent change in Google's Places Quality Guidelines. The two categories you have mentioned (dry cleaning and laundry services) are so closely related and are being run out of the same location, so a couple of weeks ago, I would securely recommended the following:

1. One website

2. One Google+ Local listing

But, things have become less certain in this area, due to the guideline update.

Previously, the language in the guidelines read:

Businesses with multiple specializations, such as law firms and doctors, should not create multiple listings to cover all of their specialties. You may create one listing per practitioner, and one listing for the hospital or clinic at large.

Now, the language reads:

Departments within businesses, universities, hospitals, and government buildings may be listed separately. These departments must be publicly distinct as entities or groups within their parent organization, and ideally will have separate phone numbers and/or customer entrances.

It is up to you and me and every other local business owner to interpret what Google means by this change. I believe that what Google is attempting to resolve here is a situation such as that of a hospital which is now allowed to have a separate listing for the ER with a different phone number than that of their Radiology Department. Does this apply to your business? I am less secure, because there have historically been problems with Google's handling of similar businesses located within the same building. For example, even when 2 doctors have had different suite addresses within the same building, Google has sometimes conflated their 2 listings.

In the past, the old guideline language seemed to refer pretty clearing to situations like an HVAC guy who might abuse the system by creating 1 listing for his heater repair and a second listing for his air conditioning repair. Google clearly didn't want him to do this, and frankly, my gut feeling is that Google still doesn't want him to do this. I think the new language is really geared toward things like hospitals and colleges.

So, as I said, this is a bit tricky. I have some further questions for you:

1. Do you have 2 totally distinct business names for the business? In other words, is one business called Laundry To You and the other called Rosita's Dry Cleaning, or are the business names similar, like Rosita's Laundry Service and Rosita's Dry Cleaning?

2. Are there 2 different physical entrances to the building? In other words, do dry cleaning clients go through door 1 and laundry clients go through door 2? Or, are they both entering through the same door?

3. Have you always had 2 different local phone numbers for the 2 services or do they share a phone number?

4. Please thoroughly describe what the 2 services do as separate entities. How are the services different?

Please, provide as much detail as you can and I will do my best to continue hashing this out with you. My concern here is that the shared address may have always been causing you major NAP consistency issues, but I need to know more, and as I've said, the new guidelines are open to anyone's interpretation, in terms of applicability.

[MiriamEllis]

Hi Daniel,

This is really a separate question, but quickly, are the brick-and-mortar store and the virtual business the same business, or 2 different businesses?

If the same business, you should have no problem.

If 2 different businesses, then you do have a problem. Only 1 business should be located and publicized as being at the same address.

[DanielFreedman]

Thanks for the response.  It't a bit complicated. There are two businesses with a common owner.

The online business sells widgets and related services. Let's say it's called Acme Widget People. We have already built listings and citations for it.

The bricks and mortar business (with two locations) also sells widgets and related services. It's called Superior Ideal. The phone number is also different. It has no listings or citations yet. One of the locations has the same address as the online business but a diffferent name and phone number.

So here's how the NAPs look:

Online Business:

Acme Widget People

123 Main Street

Suite 102

Anytown, Texas

75362

888-753-9876

Bricks and Mortar Locations

Location #1

Superior Ideal

57 Elm Street

Another Town, Texas

85378

660-987-8976

Location #2

Superior Ideal

123 Main Street

Suite 102

Anytown, Texas

75362

518-765-8754

[chanel27]

Super reply Miriam,

1. Do you have 2 totally distinct business names for the business? In other words, is one business called Laundry To You and the other called Rosita's Dry Cleaning, or are the business names similar, like Rosita's Laundry Service and Rosita's Dry Cleaning?

They are the same company with 2 different website with related services.

2. Are there 2 different physical entrances to the building? In other words, do dry cleaning clients go through door 1 and laundry clients go through door 2? Or, are they both entering through the same door?

They can enter by the same door.

3. Have you always had 2 different local phone numbers for the 2 services or do they share a phone number?

They have 2 different numbers.

4. Please thoroughly describe what the 2 services do as separate entities. How are the services different?

To be honest, both business laundry and dry cleaning are closely related but the websites are different and it would be great to get them both listed on Google listing.

This 2 websites has loads of information on laundry and dry cleaning but it is certainly unfair to get 2 listing in Google place for our competitors but we always believed that whoever can deliver the best service and also content should be listed on top

I appreciate your help on this Miriam

[MiriamEllis]

Hi Elvin,

Thanks for providing such complete answers. This may not be what you're hoping to hear, but my best advice is to ditch the second website. You're running a single business with a variety of services under one roof, despite the separate phone numbers. I would advise you to have

1. One website that fully describes all the offerings of your company and prominently displays your address and one local phone number.

2. A single Google+ Local listing for the business that adheres to the guidelines in every way.

Having read your answers, I'm 99% certain that any other approach will be problematic for the business and could lead to penalties.

Invest in good copywriting for your website so that you've got great content covering all of your services rather than investing time in attempting to build out the services as if they belong to two different companies. That is my best advice.

[MiriamEllis]

Hi Daniel,

You write:

"The online business sells widgets and related services. Let's say it's called Acme Widget People. We have already built listings and citations for it."

If this is a virtual business (no face-to-face contact), then a Google+ Local listing and citations for its locale really should never have been built. Google wants face-to-face business only in their local index. So, if I'm understanding this correctly, something was built that should not have been.

I may be missing some of the nuances of this, but it sounds to me like a single business that sells widgets and services and has 2 physical locations. It sounds like multiple websites/multiple business names have complicated the issue. Without being able to review the case one-on-one with the business owner, my advice needs to be seen as general here.

If the business owner needs to maintain his virtual business separately from his brick-and-mortar locations then:

1. He should not be publishing an address or local phone number on the virtual business website.

2. The virtual business should not have a Google Places/Google+ Local listing and building citations for the NAP (name, address, phone number) is actually going to hurt rather than help him because:

3. What he should have Google Places listings and citation campaigns for is the 2 brick and mortar locations. But if Google is finding this other business (the virtual one) out there sharing the address or phone number, the ability to rank the physical businesses will be hampered severely.

Hope this makes sense, Daniel. You are right...the situation sounds complicated.

[DanielFreedman]

It **is **complicated. So thanks for your help.

Your understanding is basically correct, though there are even more twists and turns.

At this point, does it make sense to try to switch the name from the online to the offline business in the listings and citations.  Or would this muddy the waters even more?

[chanel27]

Appreciate your help!

[MiriamEllis]

Hi Daniel,

That's a question to consider carefully. If you change the business name on an existent Google+ Local page, you will likely lose all reviews accrued, etc. Google would probably prefer that you close the old page and start a new one. Your team might want to hire a Local SEO for a strategy session on this so you're making smart moves. Here's a good post from NGS marketing that's a Who's Who of Local SEOs. You might find someone who is a good match for the project on this list:

http://www.ngsmarketing.com/who-is-who-in-local-seo/

I know just about everyone on that green linked list, and any of them would be worthy of consideration. What I know for certain is that it is really easy to take the wrong steps in a situation like this in Local, so expert advice would be advisable in a scenario in which you're disclosing all pertinent details to the expert. Hope this advice helps!

[DanielFreedman]

Thanks for the help. Much appreciated.