Update business name across 150+ locations

[Jason.Capshaw]

We have 150+ locations.  The current names in GMB vary based on the branch.  They may include a branch number or city location in the title or some variation of the company name.

We'd like to update these to reflect our company wide branding and drop the branch #/location.  Any ideas on the impact of this change?

[MiriamEllis]

Hey Jason,

Unless those modifiers (city names) are part of the legal business names of the 150 businesses, then the Google My Business listings are actually in violation of Google's Guidelines (see: https://support.google.com/business/answer/3038177?hl=en).

So, cleaning them up would be all to the good in terms of avoiding possible red flags at Google!

But, I'll be totally honest here. Could removing city keywords from your business name fields negatively impact you? Yes, it's possible, in that Google is still a bit goofy about weighting some exact match keyword brands in their SERPs. They shouldn't be doing this, they may be better at this than formerly, but I think this is still a factor.

So, you might see some ranking drops, BUT, that being said, I'd still recommend cleaning up your name as I'd rather struggle positively toward high rankings than deal with Google forming a negative 'opinion' of my business for violating their guidelines.

As you work on cleaning up your NAP, one thing to note. You will have to leave city names on your Facebook Place listings. They are the odd man out in this regard, requiring that you add modifiers to the business titles of multi-location listings, which is the exact opposite of what Google wants. Go figure!

Hope this helps!

[BenjaminMorel]

Having a single brand at all your locations will definitely help people recognise you and avoid conusion - especially if you use your brand without any variations on signage at your location.

With the branch number, I'd say do what is right for the customer. Does the customer care about the branch number, for example because it's on their collection notiification? If not, drop it as it's not useful to them and may even lead to confusion. If they do, keep it.

With the city name I'd say the same thing. If yor store signage calls your branch "Widgets R Us London" then having the listing name and the store name match exactly will reassure people they've found the right place. If your signage and other collateral says "Widgets R Us" then drop it. Even if there are multiple locations in one town their addresses are displayed in the search results so there should be no confusion. Have a look at how supermarkets in major cities do it (I'm in the UK so I've just checked Sainsbury in London while writing this) and you'll see that even when they have several branches close together they don't put their locations in the name as the address and the location of the pin on the map is enough to guide people.

Some people wonder about the beneits of including the city name as it might help them appear higher in the local results. From what I've seen including the location in your listing name has very little impact. Your location relative to the point being searched for and the reviews you've received are much more powerful factors. So moving toward a completely coherent brand shouldn't have any negagtive impact on your branding.

[BlueCorona]

Hi Jason!

I agree 100% with what Miriam and Ben have said.

I would go through all your listings and take out the geo-modifiers if that is not actually part of the legal company name. This could be causing confusion for Google and negatively impacting your rankings—not something you want to do!

However, if Google has not caught on to this (if the company's name does not actually include the geos), and you change these, it could impact how you rank for local search results. By having the city in the company name, you increase your chances of showing up in the local pack.

This is a situation where you will need to track, test, tweak, repeat until you find the right process for your particular situation! Hope this helps.