Overcoming Nine Common Google My Business Challenges for Enhanced Local Search Visibility

Challenge #4: Duplicate Listings

The Troubles of Duplicate Listings in Local Search

Duplicate Google My Business (GMB) listings present a significant challenge for businesses aiming to rank in the local 3 Pack. These duplicates can lead to multiple issues:

• Removal Risks: Competitors or consumers may report duplicate listings as errors or violations, leading Google to remove your legitimate business listing.

   

• Traffic and Revenue Losses: Potential customers might be misdirected to an incorrect or inactive listing, causing confusion and loss of business.

   

• Diluted SEO Efforts: Duplicate listings can split your ranking strength and review equity, sometimes resulting in the incorrect listing ranking higher than your business listing.

   

• Widespread Duplication: Once a duplicate exists on Google, other platforms might also pick up the incorrect information, creating further duplicates and compounding the problem.

Preventive Measures and Regular Audits

Duplicates often arise not through malicious intent but through errors in automation or simple mistakes in data entry. For example, varying how a suite number is formatted can create a duplicate listing. Regular audits of your online presence and consistent citation practices are essential for catching and correcting these duplicates early on. These audits also help you avoid unintentionally creating new listings on platforms where your business is already listed.

Addressing Existing Duplicate Listings

When you identify a duplicate listing, deciding whether to merge or remove it depends on several factors:

• Unverified Duplicate: If the duplicate listing is unverified, you can claim and verify it. Once verified, you can merge it with the primary listing or remove it entirely.

   

• Verified Duplicate Without Control: If a duplicate listing is verified but not under your control, you must claim it. Google provides a process where you can claim the listing if the current verifier does not respond within a week. After gaining control, you can proceed to merge or delete the duplicate.

   

• Incorrect Address: If a duplicate lists an old or incorrect address, it’s crucial not to mark the listing permanently closed, as this can negatively impact your business’s online reputation. Instead, gain control of the listing, verify it if necessary, and update or remove it.

Practical Steps for Listing Management

1. Remove a Duplicate: Log into Google My Business, go to your “Account summary,” and select “Duplicate locations.” Choose the location to remove and select “Delete this listing.”

    

2. Merge Listings: If you control both listings and they share the same NAP (Name, Address, Phone Number), you can contact Google My Business support to request a merge. This process consolidates the rankings and reviews into a single listing, strengthening your local SEO.

Chaz’s Advice

Following the guidelines set out by Chaz Edward Digital Marketing is essential. If you encounter duplicates, systematically address each situation through verification, merging, or deletion. If necessary, reaching out directly to Google’s local support can provide additional assistance in resolving these issues effectively. Remember, maintaining a single, accurate listing is paramount for achieving and sustaining high visibility in local search results.

Challenge #5: No Brand/Website Visibility

The Importance of Brand Visibility in Search Results

Brand visibility is critical for any business aiming to rank in Google’s highly coveted 3 Pack. A simple test is to search your company name in Google; ideally, your business should dominate the first page of the search results. Problems arise when your business appears infrequently or not on this first page. This lack of visibility can lead to a decrease in customer trust and purchases, as potential clients might question the legitimacy or prominence of your business. Furthermore, from a local SEO perspective, this scenario often indicates “brand dilution,” where Google has not adequately associated your business’s digital documents with its search entity, which is crucial for improving your local prominence score.

Enhancing Brand Presence and Authority

Improving your brand visibility is one of the more straightforward paths to securing a spot in the 3 Pack. Here are several effective strategies:

1. Develop a Strong Website: Ensure you have a professionally designed, mobile-friendly website optimized for local search terms. Your website is the cornerstone of your digital presence, helping establish your business’s credibility and attract organic traffic.

    

2. Expand Your Online Footprint: Create and maintain profiles on key social media platforms like Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. These platforms offer additional channels to engage your audience and enhance online visibility.

    

3. Build and Manage Citations: Utilize citation tracking and building services to manage your presence across essential directories. Citations help ensure your business information is consistent across the web, vital for improving your local search rankings.

    

4. Leverage Press Releases: For businesses with newsworthy stories or offerings, issuing press releases can significantly boost visibility. Syndicating your news can lead to coverage in various media outlets, including potential features in Google News, thereby increasing your brand’s document count and prominence.

Chaz’s Pro Tip

To combat the issue of no brand visibility, it’s crucial to actively manage and enhance your digital footprint across all possible platforms. Each content or mention online acts as a document that Google uses to gauge your business’s relevance and authority. The more substantial and consistent your online presence, the higher your chances of being recognized by Google as a prominent local business, thus improving your GMB listing’s rank in search results. Ensure every digital interaction accurately reflects your brand and leverage every opportunity to increase your visibility.

Challenge #6: Same Phone Number Used Across Multiple Locations

Issues with Shared Contact Details in Local SEO

When multiple business locations use the same phone number on their Google My Business (GMB) listings, it not only confuses potential customers but also risks penalties or filtering by Google. This situation is comparable to the issues raised by using a virtual office address instead of a physical location, where Google may perceive the listing as potential spam, leading to its removal or demotion in search rankings. The underlying problem here is that shared phone numbers across multiple listings can dilute each location’s identity and specific local relevance, thereby decreasing the local SEO effectiveness.

Strategies for Differentiation and Effective Monitoring

To navigate these challenges effectively, businesses must adopt the following practices:

1. Unique Contact Information: Assign a unique phone number and, where possible, a unique physical address to each GMB listing. While it’s common to have a central phone number for business operations, each location should have its distinct contact number to avoid any confusion for customers and to adhere to Google’s local listing guidelines.
   
   
2. Localized Web Content: For businesses with multiple locations, create individual landing pages for each location on your website. These pages should contain location-specific information, including address, phone number, and relevant local content. These landing pages should then be linked directly from the corresponding GMB listing. This not only helps Google provide clear and distinct information but also improves user experience by directing users to the most relevant page.
   
   
3. Regular Monitoring and Updates: Implement a routine process to monitor and manage your business citations and listings. Regular audits are essential to catch discrepancies early and adjust them before they impact your local rankings. This includes verifying that each listing maintains its unique phone number and correct address, especially when setting up new locations or modifying existing ones.

Chaz Edward Digital Marketing’s Insight

By ensuring that each location maintains its unique identity through distinct phone numbers and addresses and linking to specific landing pages, you enhance each site’s local relevance. This approach helps achieve better rankings in the Google 3 Pack and provides a clearer, more direct communication channel for your customers. Regularly monitoring these elements as part of your overall local SEO strategy can significantly reduce the risk of penalties and improve the effectiveness of your listings across various locations.