Multi-Location Google Business Profile Management Guide
Managing GBP for 2+ locations creates unique challenges: maintaining consistency, avoiding duplicate content, and scaling optimization efforts. This guide covers the strategies that actually work.
Organization Structure
Google offers two management structures for multi-location businesses:
| Feature | Individual Profiles | Business Group |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | 2-9 locations | 10+ locations |
| Bulk editing | Not available | Spreadsheet upload |
| User management | Per-location | Group-level + per-location |
| Verification | Per-location | Bulk verification possible |
| Setup complexity | Simple | Moderate |
| Reporting | Per-location only | Aggregated + per-location |
Setting Up a Business Group
For 10+ locations, create a Business Group (formerly Organization Account):
- Go to Google Business Profile Manager
- Click "Create group" or "Import businesses"
- Name your group (typically your brand name)
- Add locations individually or via bulk import spreadsheet
- Assign managers with appropriate access levels
What Should Be Unique Per Location
✅ Must Be Unique
- • Business name (if legally different)
- • Address
- • Phone number (local numbers preferred)
- • Business hours
- • Description mentioning local area
- • Photos of actual location
- • Website URL (location-specific pages)
- • Service area (if SAB)
📋 Can Be Shared
- • Primary category
- • Secondary categories
- • Attributes (unless location-specific)
- • Services/products catalog
- • Brand logo
- • General brand photos
Naming Convention Rules
Google's guidelines for multi-location naming are strict:
- Correct: "Smith Plumbing" (same name for all locations)
- Incorrect: "Smith Plumbing - Austin" or "Smith Plumbing Downtown"
- Exception: If the location has a legally distinct name (DBA), use it
- Departments: If a location has distinct departments (e.g., pharmacy inside a grocery store), each can have its own listing
⚠️ Warning
Adding city names or keywords to your business name violates Google's guidelines and can result in suspension across ALL your locations. The risk is not worth it.
Website Strategy for Multi-Location
Each location should link to a dedicated landing page on your website:
Recommended URL Structure
yoursite.com/locations/
yoursite.com/locations/austin-tx/
yoursite.com/locations/dallas-tx/
yoursite.com/locations/houston-tx/
Each location page should include:
- Unique content about that specific location (not copy-pasted)
- Location-specific NAP in schema and visible on page
- Embedded Google Map for that address
- Location-specific reviews or testimonials
- Photos of that actual location
- Driving directions from nearby landmarks
Review Management at Scale
Managing reviews across multiple locations requires a systematic approach:
- Centralized monitoring: Set up notifications for all locations in one inbox
- Response templates + customization: Use templates for efficiency but personalize each response with the customer's name and specifics
- Response time SLAs: Set an internal standard (e.g., all reviews responded to within 24 hours)
- Empower local managers: Train location managers to respond to reviews directly
- Track per-location scores: Create a dashboard comparing review metrics across locations
Common Multi-Location Mistakes
- Using a call center number for all locations — use local numbers to improve geo-relevance
- Identical descriptions across locations — Google may flag this as duplicate/low quality
- Using stock photos for all — real, unique photos per location perform significantly better
- Not posting for every location — posts are per-profile; each needs its own content
- Inconsistent NAP data across directories for different locations
Optimization Checklist Per Location
Run through this for each location to ensure consistent quality:
Audit Each Location Free
Run each location through our optimizer to get a score and specific improvement recommendations.
Analyze a Location Free →