Duplicate Google Business Profile: how to remove or merge it
Two listings for the same business split your reviews, confuse customers and make Google less sure which one to show. Duplicates are common, especially after a move, a rebrand or a change of phone number, and most can be cleaned up.
Why duplicates are a problem
When Google finds two listings that look like the same business, it does not know which one to trust. The result is usually that neither ranks as well as one strong listing would. Reviews are split between the two, customers may call an old number or drive to an old address, and in some cases duplicates can contribute to a profile being suspended.
How to find duplicates
- Search Google Maps for your business name, your phone number (with and without the area code) and your current and previous addresses.
- Search for old names if you have rebranded, and for the names of any owners or practitioners who might have their own listing.
- Check your Business Profile account. Sometimes the duplicate is a second profile you created yourself years ago and forgot about.
Where duplicates come from
- A move to a new address, with the old listing left open
- A rebrand, with the old name still listed
- A new phone number that does not match older listings
- Someone at your business creating a new profile because they could not get into the old one
- Google creating a listing automatically from directory data or user suggestions
- A former employee or marketing company creating a profile under their own account
How to remove or merge a duplicate
If both profiles are in your account
If you manage both, decide which one to keep: normally the verified one with the most reviews and history. Then report the other as a duplicate from Google Maps, using the steps below. Google reviews the request and merges the two, combining their reviews.
Avoid simply deleting the duplicate from your account if it has reviews. Deleting it loses its reviews, photos and posts.
If the duplicate is not in your account
- Open the duplicate on Google Maps.
- Choose "Suggest an edit" and then the option to close or remove the place.
- Select that it is a duplicate of another place, and pick your main listing when asked.
- Submit. Google reviews the suggestion, which can take a few days.
If you have had no response within about 72 hours, or the suggestion is not accepted, contact Google Business Profile support. Give them both listing links, explain which is correct, and say why the other exists, for example an old address. Support can also help if Google wrongly marks your real profile as a duplicate.
If someone else owns the duplicate
If a former employee, an old agency or anyone else owns a listing for your business, you can request ownership of it. See what to do when someone else owns your Google Business Profile. Once you own it, you can merge or remove it.
Stop duplicates coming back
Duplicates are often created by mismatched details elsewhere online. Make sure your business name, address and phone number match exactly across your website, Bing, Apple Maps, Yelp, Facebook, the BBB and the main directories in your industry. Fixing those is called citation clean up, and it is part of our citation building service.
When a duplicate is not a duplicate
Some second listings are allowed. A business with genuinely separate departments that serve customers separately, or a practice with individual practitioners, can sometimes have more than one. A service area business that wants one listing per city cannot. If you are unsure, ask on your free Maps audit and we will look at your situation.
Questions owners ask
Will I lose reviews when a duplicate is removed?
When Google merges a duplicate into your profile, Google says the reviews are combined, though replies to those reviews may be lost. If you delete a duplicate yourself, its reviews, photos and posts are lost, so report it as a duplicate instead.
Can I have two profiles for two parts of my business?
Only in specific cases, such as separate departments with their own entrances and phone lines, or distinct practitioners. Two profiles for the same business at the same address, or one per city you serve, break Google's guidelines.
Why does Google keep creating a duplicate?
Usually because your details differ somewhere online. An old address or phone number on a directory or your website can lead Google to create a listing for what it thinks is a different business. Fixing those details everywhere stops it coming back.
Find out who is getting your calls
The free Maps audit shows where you rank across your service area, which competitors are taking the calls you are missing, and exactly what it would take to become the first call. The findings are yours to keep.
Get your free Maps audit