Not all business locations showing for a brand search

[PeteW]

I've got a client with multiple business locations however when I type the company name into Google it's only displaying 2/3 of the branches in the local pack for that SERP.

The client's picked up on this and would like the third location to appear in the local pack when people search for their company name. I have a suspicion that it's because the third location (the one that isn't displaying) has an address that's exactly the same as several other businesses that are located in offices directly above or to the side of them.

My (very flakey) theory is that Google is perhaps uncertain about the exact location of this business given that there are several others with the same address but different business names, so the NAP consistency is being diluted and Google is simply leaving them out of the local pack due to the uncertainty over which business is in fact located at 2 West Street.

So my question is, has anyone else had any issues of not all business locations showing in the local pack for a brand name query and if so how did you solve it?

[VERBInteractive]

Hi Peter,

I'm going to assume that you have the Google My Business profiles all claimed and verified. If not that is your first step.

If so, for the third location that has the same address add the suite or office number to address line 2, this will help separate the listings from the others that share the same address. Try that and give it 48 hours to propagate on google maps and try your search again. Check out https://support.google.com/business/answer/2853879?hl=en for more details on the guidelines.

I hope that helps.

https://support.google.com/business/answer/2853879?hl=en

[MiriamEllis]

Hi Peter,

I'd like to be able to offer a comprehensive answer here, but without actually being able to audit the client's unique situation, we can only make guesses. What I can tell you is that, these days, Google is typically able to handle multiple businesses at the same address, provided the business is clearly unique, has a unique phone number, a unique landing page on the website and other factors like that. Here's a post on Search Engine Land about multi-location SEO problems: http://searchengineland.com/local-seo-multi-location-businesses-224732

Being very general here, your third location is likely not showing up for a branded search because:

1. There is a problem with the listing, like a shared phone number, a violation or NAP confusion.

2. The location isn't 'strong' enough in some way to be shown for the search.

3. Something odd has happened, like a merge.

My best advice here is that you get the client's permission to share their story over at the Google and Your Business Help forum, sharing complete details in hopes of getting a TC to take a look with you. But, I would only suggest you do this after you have ruled out some/all of the above so that you can tell the TCs your listing should be clean, strong and guideline-compliant.

Hope this helps.

[MiriamEllis]

Hey There VERBInteractive!

Just wanted to add a little proviso here to the advice you've been so nice to share with Peter. Adding a suite number should only be considered if a business legitimately has a suite number in the real business world, at which they receive postal mail. I believe this is what you meant, but in the past, Local SEOs have experimented with adding fictitious suite numbers in cases like Peter's. These days, no one I know is recommending this practice anymore. If the suite is real, do use it, but if fictitious, don't. Just wanted to clarify