Multi-Location Listing Best Practices for Home Office, In-the-Field Positions, and Business Centers

[Alaniz]

Hi fellow Mozzers!  Our marketing agency (based near SF) has partnered with 3 individuals in NYC, LA, and Seattle.  I would like reflect our expansion on our site and local listings, but want to make sure we're on the up and up, since it's not a traditional brick-and-mortar expansion.  Many people have used similar tactics in a black-hat way, so just want to make sure we don't get grouped in there.  Is pursuing local listings in advisable in this case?

In the Field/Home Offices - What is the best practice for listing a location in the field with home office - but no official B&M office?

Business Centers - How does Google treat business centers where we have a part-time presence?  (We legitimately use, can receive mail/phone calls, have an office share allocation, and host meetings in their boardroom.)

Local Numbers and Addresses - Will a local phone number forwarding to our main HQ work?  We'd prefer to filter all of our calls through our HQ since we have the infrastructure there.

Other Considerations - Other than setting up our address and phone numbers on our site and major listings, is there anything else that should be top priority or concern?

Thanks for your help here!  Andrew

[MiriamEllis]

Hi Andrew,

Smart questions! Honestly, there is some grey area here. This is what I know from years of following Google's guidelines (https://support.google.com/business/answer/3038177?hl=en

• Google wants any location you list to be staffed during stated business hours. If it's meeting-only, it may not qualify for a listing.

• Google wants the phone number to connect as directly as possible with the physical location. Google is not a fan of redirecting phone numbers.

• Whether you are a B&M or an SAB, Google expects any local business to make in-person contact with its customers. Recently, Google welcomed design and marketing firms back into the local packs, after many years of excluding them. Google has not made an official statement about the nuance of whether the business serves customers face-to-face or not determining their eligibility for inclusion, but I'm assuming you would need to make this kind of contact in order to qualify for a listing. If your services are virtual, then I can say with 99% certainty that you do not qualify.

I recommend that you read the guidelines very closely to see if you 'feel' like you legitimately qualify, or if listing these businesses could put your brand at risk.

The other thing I want to take a moment to mention is that if you are using an office belonging to another business, there is a risk of 2 things:

1. Merging with the main business at that location.

2. Possibly harming the rankings of whatever business is at that location.

In the end, you'll have to go with what seems right to you, and follow best practices for organic optimization of these branches (see: http://moz.com/blog/local-landing-pages-guide). Hope these thoughts are helpful!

[Alaniz]

Thanks, Mariam.  It's a legitimate expansion of our business that I'd like to take advantage of with local search - especially since the purpose of our satellite offices is to expand our range and put boots on the ground.  But it does make me nervous.

A lot of businesses game the system when they don't have a legitimate presence and I want to make sure that I don't end up getting blackballed for mistaken appearances.  It sounds like a lot of grey area, as you said, and I may just have to use my best judgement.

Do you think it would be less risky to create local landing pages and relevant local site content, but not pursue a google listing?  I'm wondering if that would be effective, or if the google listing is really necessary to make it work the way that I want it to.

Thanks for your thoughts.  Andrew

[MiriamEllis]

Hi Andrew -

Great follow up questions from you!

There is zero risk in creating local landing pages on your website for your new branches. It's a very good idea, but should be undertaken with the understanding that the end goal of this practice is organic rankings, not local pack rankings. Without a Google+ Local page for each location, you will not rank locally. But, you could potentially earn some organic visibility. You might like to check out: http://moz.com/blog/local-landing-pages-guide

End of the day - whether you also create Google+ Local pages is, as you say, up to your judgment, based on your take on how closely the new locations align with Google's guidelines.

Wishing you good luck!