Duplicate content

[setokin]

I am an attraction and I have just noticed that some of my vendors are using my address, and in some instances my mainline(phone), for their stores which are located on site.  What is your recommendation, or best practice for this scenario as I wish to prevent this from appearing as a duplicate listing.   thank you in advance.

[LoganRay]

This isn't going to count as duplicate content. Duplicate content is more of a concern if someone is stealing entire pieces of content from your site and posting it on theirs.

What's happening here is actually a good thing, you're getting extra visibility and people are referencing your phone number from their site. This is great! Don't do anything to deter additional phone calls from prospective customers!

[setokin]

Thank you Logan for your quick response and I apologize for not being clear.  My question pertains to NAP information in local search.  Some of our vendors are showing on the dashboard as duplicates as they are using our address and phone number.  Additionally, other units of the organization are also showing up as duplicates as well. Can you advise on best approach for these cases.  thank you in advance.

[brettmandoes]

If you have verified your NAP via Google My Business and it's accurate, then you have nothing to worry about. Google won't punish you because someone else is creating duplicate listings, and they won't factor in unverified information. Duplicate NAP information would be an issue if you were trying to rank multiple websites for the same location. In that scenario, only one would get the benefit from citations and an optimized GMB profile.

If you haven't create a Google My Business profile yet, go to google.com/business and get started. It will take some time, but in a few weeks you can have a fully verified and optimized profile. Just follow the steps they provide and call support when you get stuck. Additionally please feel free to ask questions here.

[MiriamEllis]

Hi Setokin!

I can see exactly why you are concerned. Let me ask some questions here, please. Is your scenario something like, you own a museum at 123 Main St. and inside of your museum, there is a restaurant, a cafe and a gift shop, all owned by different owners but also all located at 123 Main St? Is this your scenario, or would you describe it differently? Also, please clarify if these different entities have their own phone numbers or the phone number is the museum's (i.e. yours)?

The details really matter in a scenario like this. Please, provide as much info as you can. Thanks!

[MiriamEllis]

Hi Brett!

There is actually some reason for concern here. Let's get some more details from Setokin before we determine whether or not his scenario is problematic. The devil is in the details of these situations

[setokin]

Thank you. That is exactly my situation.  We are a cultural themed park in Hawaii.  We have a large marketplace at the entrance of the park with a restaurant, stores, food trucks and kiosks.  We own the restaurant and a few stores, however, the rest are operated by outside vendors/partners.  Each vendor should have their own contact, however, It looks like some vendors have chosen to list our direct line (park's call center) and address as their address and contact information.

Thank you in advance.

[MiriamEllis]

Hi Setokin,

Glad to know I hit close to the mark in understanding this. Here is my advice:

1. It is essential that no one else use the park's phone number. You will need to let each of the vendors know this. Each entity being listed on Google MUST have its own phone number, whether these are entities you own or entities your vendors own.

2. If all of these businesses are located at the same address (123 Palm Dr.) then I recommend reviewing the following Google guidelines:

• Containment information indicating that your business is located inside another business (whether or not the businesses are part of the same organisation).
  • Not acceptable: "Link ATM (in Tesco)", "Apple Store at Stanford Shopping Centre", "Benefit Brow Bar - John Lewis", "Kwik Fit Tyre & Battery (part of Kwik Fit)", "Costa Coffee (inside Tesco Extra)"
  • Acceptable: "Chase ATM", "Apple Store", "Benefit Brow Bar", "Kwik Fit Tyre & Battery", "Costa Coffee"

Also read Google's sections on Departments and Categories in the guidelines thoroughly to understand how each entity at your park should be listing itself and if it is, indeed, eligible for a GMB listing.

3. For those businesses that you deem eligible for a GMB listing, you are going to have to do a really masterful job with GMB category selection to avoid the effects of the Possum filter as much as possible. If you have 2 Mexican Restaurants in the park, for example, Google is unlikely to show both because of the shared category. So you may have to get creative here in choosing categories for those businesses you control and ALSO, look at the categories each vendor is using to be sure they aren't 'stealing' the main category that the park, itself, most definitely needs.

Wow! A lot to do here. In your shoes, I would honestly hire a really good Local SEO to work out this strategy with you, based on Google's guidelines, but if you need to DIY, I hope my pointers will prove an actionable starting point.

[setokin]

Thank you for the detailed response.  This is tremendously helpful.