Each location of your business needs its own Google Business Profile, with its own address, opening hours, phone number and review link. Google's guidelines allow one profile per location, and all your locations should use the same business name unless the name really differs from one location to another. If you have 10 or more locations of the same business, you may be able to verify them in bulk rather than one at a time.
One profile for each location
Google's guidelines say not to create more than one profile for each location of your business, whether in one account or several. Each location that customers visit, or that's staffed and serves customers during its stated hours, can have its own profile. A rented postal address or virtual office where the business doesn't actually operate isn't eligible.
The guidelines also say all locations of a chain should have the same name, unless the name used in the real world varies by location. So "Greenleaf Florists" in Bristol and Bath should both be "Greenleaf Florists", not "Greenleaf Florists Bristol" and "Greenleaf Florists Bath". Public-facing departments that operate as distinct parts of the business can have their own profile, with a different name and usually a different category.
Managing several profiles in one place
Google's Business Profile Manager is the tool for handling several profiles at once. It lists the locations you manage, so you can update details, read and reply to reviews, and check each profile's status without searching for each one.
- Business groups let an organisation share the management of its profiles between several people, rather than tying everything to one person's account.
- Owners and managers can be set for each profile. Managers can do most things owners can, but they can't add or remove people or remove the profile, which suits branch managers.
- Posts can be published to several profiles at once, which helps with offers or holiday hours that apply across the business. Our article on Google Business Profile posts has examples.
Adding and verifying new locations
Each new location needs adding and verifying. With a handful of locations, you'll usually verify each profile separately using whichever method Google offers for it, which is often a short video recorded at the premises.
Google offers bulk verification to businesses with 10 or more locations of the same business. You request it from the verifications section of Business Profile Manager, with a spreadsheet of all your locations, and Google reviews the account before confirming by email. Google's help pages say:
- Agencies managing several different businesses in one account can't bulk verify.
- Service-area businesses aren't eligible.
- Duplicate, suspended or disabled profiles don't count towards the 10.
- Google may still ask for video verification, and an authorised representative needs to be at the location.
Each location's own review link
Reviews belong to a single location. Each profile has its own review link, and a review left on one branch's profile stays there. If staff at your Bath shop use the Bristol link, Bath's customers end up reviewing the Bristol shop instead.
Find each location's link from its own profile and keep a list of which link belongs to which branch. Our guide on how to get your Google review link shows where to find it. If you use NFC review cards or a Google review stand at each till, each one needs to be programmed with that location's link and labelled before it goes out. Our guide to review cards for teams and multiple locations covers setting this up across branches.
Check each location's reviews once a month. If one branch is getting far fewer reviews than others with similar numbers of customers, it often means the asking has dropped off there.
Keeping locations up to date
- Give each location its own phone number and opening hours where they differ, and set special hours for bank holidays.
- Add photos of each branch rather than the same set on every profile, so customers can recognise the place they're going to.
- Reply to reviews on every profile, not just the busiest one.
- If a location closes, mark that profile as closed rather than leaving it showing old hours.
- If a location moves, update the address on its profile. Google may ask you to verify it again.
Common questions
Can I have one Google Business Profile for all my locations?
No. Google's guidelines are based on one profile per location, and each location needs its own address, hours and review link.
Can my locations have different names on Google?
Only if the name used in the real world differs by location. Otherwise Google's guidelines say all locations should have the same name.
How many locations do I need for bulk verification?
Google says 10 or more locations of the same business. Service-area businesses and agencies managing several businesses can't use it.
Can one review card work for all our locations?
No. Each card holds one review link, and each location has its own.