How Do I Remove Address from Google Business Page?

[nbyloff]

Not very up to date in handling local listings, so here's my situation. I have an office that is not going out of business, but instead going virtual. So that physical address will no longer exist but the team is intact. So I am dealing with the Google Business Listing page for this office at https://business.google.com/

In the "Published on" section, it has Google Search, Google Maps, and Google+. I want to remove it from Maps and the address from this account. There's an address for this store, but editing it only seems to allow changing, but not removal.

There is also the option of "Mark as Permanently Closed", but surely that isn't the best option since that will leave a nasty red "PERMANENTLY CLOSED" in the results when searching.

What's the best course of action here?

[matt.nails]

Nathan,

You will be changing to a "service area business." Here are the directions for setting it up.

https://support.google.com/business/answer/3038163?co=GENIE.Platform%3DDesktop&hl=en

Beyond that, you may have to contact support.

Matt

[nbyloff]

Thanks for the response. Normally that would be perfect, except the expectation is to provide support nationally. It was never a local only business; that's just where their office is. I get the feeling that the listing might need to just be deleted, and start over with a brand page?

From what I can tell, you can't convert a business page to a brand page.

[matt.nails]

Ok, i understand what you are saying, now. You may still wanna try contacting support. I had an issue that they helped me resolve relatively quickly.

Good Luck,

Matt

[MiriamEllis]

Good question, Nathan!

If the business model is changing from local (defined as serving customers face-to-face at your location or at theirs) to virtual (no face-to-face contact with customers anywhere) then it will no longer be eligible for a Google My Business listing. If this is the case then, yes, you'll need to act on this, and unfortunately, as you are not simply moving to a new location, you are likely to end up with the red 'permanently closed' label on the listing. I recommend reading Joy Hawkin's article from 2016 on this issue in case you see any nuances that might apply to your situation:

http://searchengineland.com/google-fixing-permanently-closed-problem-242364

And, I would further recommend contacting Google's support to ask if they have any further advice for you, as your situation is not the run-of-the-mill moving locations scenario, but represents a complete change of business model.

[nbyloff]

Thank you for the link, I will give it a read and try Google support again.

[JoyHawkins]

Unfortunately like Miriam stated your business won't be eligible for a local listing anymore but since the office did exist there at some point, Google won't remove it and they will apply the "permanently closed" label to it. I'll check in with Google to see if there is anything else that can be done and let you know. This isn't the first time I've run into a scenario like this.

[MiriamEllis]

Nice of you to try to get advice from the horse's mouth on this one, Joy. Thank you. Very generous!

[nbyloff]

Thank you so much for that! We unfortunately got stuck in a situation where it was setup incorrectly as a local business from the beginning, but it was just lived with. But now the address is going away completely and it's become a situation that needs to be resolved. Hopefully without that big ugly "Permanently Closed" sign. It's bad for business in general.

Thank you!

[JoyHawkins]

In case they ask, what was the address exactly?  Was it a storefront, an office space where you worked, or just a residential address you used to list as a service area business?

[nbyloff]

An office space that's been given up now that the company is virtual. I was going to send you the address via PM, but it says your account doesn't accept them.

[JoyHawkins]

Nathan,

Weird - I have no idea where I would update my settings to allow PMs.  Maybe Miriam knows

[MiriamEllis]

Hi Joy!

Here's how you can change your PM settings:

1. Click on your avatar in the upper right hand corner of Moz.com (it could be your photo or just the first letter of your name)

2. Select "private messages" from the dropdown that will appear

3. Check the box for "accept private messages" and your done! Easy as pie

Our community manager would also recommend that you accept emails from Moz - they'll go to whatever email you've listed in your community profile. This can be helpful in communicating with other community members.

Hope this helps!

[nbyloff]

Thanks for the instructions. If you don't mind Joy, I'd send them to you there if you are still willing to help. Thanks!

[JoyHawkins]

Perfect. I updated my preferences.  I'll let you know when I hear back from Google on this.

[PureVisibility]

Very interested in hearing the process for what Google recommends when removing a virtual office listing. Thank you for being such a great thought leader in this space!

[JoyHawkins]

Hey Nathan,

Sorry this took so long. Our backlog is pretty long but Google got back to me yesterday to let me know they removed the listing all together

[nbyloff]

Wow, that's awesome Joy! Thank you so much for reaching out and helping! Nothing more infuriating to me than a half completed job, and you were pivotal in getting it done. Thank you so much!