Ask An SEO: Should I Delete My GBP If I Am Selling My Product Nationwide?

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This week’s Ask an SEO question is from Ursula, who asks:

Should a tiny concern with a section bureau (more store than income office) and a Google Business Profile listing delete the GBP listing if they privation to absorption connected selling their merchandise nationwide?

Great question, Ursula! I perceive this question each the clip astatine conferences and online, but it’s not a elemental answer. Like everything with SEO, it depends.

If you were asking successful person, I’d archetypal inquire what benignant of concern we’re talking astir – it’s imaginable that they’re not eligible for a Google Business Profile (GBP) successful the archetypal place.

Which Businesses Are Eligible For A Google Business Profile?

Any clip you person questions astir Google Business Profiles, it’s champion to cheque the guidelines to spot if there’s an reply buried determination successful there.

Google keeps an updated database of GBP guidelines in the Help Center that explicate eligibility requirements and rules that businesses should follow.

Most radical don’t recognize that not each concern qualifies for a Business Profile. According to the GBP Guidelines,

“To suffice for a Business Profile, a concern indispensable marque in-person interaction with customers during its stated hours.”

Obviously, there’s much to it than that, but this connection is the astir important constituent of the eligibility section. If a concern doesn’t bash face-to-face concern with customers during the stated concern hours, it’s not eligible for a GBP.

Brick-and-mortar locations are intelligibly eligible, but service-based businesses similar plumbers oregon electricians are besides eligible. Doing face-to-face concern with customers astatine the customers’ locations inactive counts. Barring a fewer circumstantial exceptions, that’s the main qualification that businesses request to pass.

In this circumstantial case, we don’t cognize what benignant of concern Ursula was asking about, truthful let’s locomotion done the 2 options.

I’m leaning towards saying that the concern isn’t adjacent eligible for a GBP.

Since Ursula said “more store than income office,” that leads maine to infer that income don’t truly hap astatine this location. If that’s the case, past they’re not eligible and can’t person a GBP.

The guidelines database respective examples of ineligible businesses, including “brands, organizations, artists, and different online-only businesses.”

On the different hand, if they bash merchantability their products astatine this determination but also sell online to the remainder of the state (or adjacent the world), past they’d beryllium eligible for a azygous GBP astatine this workshop/sales location.

You can’t usage a Regus oregon different coworking abstraction – the determination indispensable beryllium abstracted for your business, not a shared space. You request imperishable signage for the business, and your unit needs to beryllium contiguous during posted hours of operation.

So What? Couldn’t You Set Up A GBP Anyway?

Pretty overmuch each clip idiosyncratic finds retired they aren’t allowed to person a Google Business Profile, they inquire wherefore they shouldn’t acceptable 1 up anyway.

Actually, it’s a truly atrocious idea.

First of all, Google stopped utilizing postcard verification and present exclusively uses video verification. Part of that verification process volition see proving that you conscionable the guidelines – truthful if you’re not eligible successful the archetypal place, it’s going to beryllium incredibly hard to get verified.

Over the past fewer years, Google has go much assertive successful enforcing the GBP Guidelines.

Anything that looks suspicious (and adjacent immoderate activities that are wholly benign) tin origin a suspension. So, adjacent if you hap to person a illustration that you’re not eligible to have, it’s apt that you’ll get suspended successful the adjacent future.

Once that happens, if you’re not eligible for a GBP, you won’t beryllium capable to get your illustration reinstated.

Will A GBP Hinder Nationwide Visibility?

The 2nd fractional of Ursula’s question is the astir important bit. She asked if they should delete the Google Business Profile if they’re trying to ore connected selling nationally.

As I locomotion done this portion of the answer, I’m assuming that the concern is eligible for a GBP (since if they aren’t eligible, this portion of the reply won’t substance anyway).

Taking a spot of a measurement back, section SEO isn’t lone Google Business Profiles, arsenic astir radical assume. Google has aggregate algorithms successful play, and whenever a hunt query has section intent, the section algorithm volition beryllium utilized to show the hunt results.

The section algorithm displays localized hunt results successful 4 areas:

The Map Pack (or arsenic it’s sometimes called, the “Local Pack”) – The section representation with 3 hunt results either beneath the representation oregon to the left, typically displayed supra the integrated results connected the SERP.
The Local Finder – The leafage you spot if you click “more locations” nether the Map Pack. It displays each hunt effect successful the country that matches the intent of the query (instead of lone the apical three).
Google Maps – The results connected Google Maps are powered by the section algorithm. While it looks similar the aforesaid interface arsenic the Local Finder, Google Maps typically has a narrower radius of results than the Local Finder since it’s much apt that the idiosyncratic volition thrust to the location.
Organic hunt results – The results beneath the representation battalion are inactive localized and powered by the section algorithm.

Local SEO and accepted SEO aren’t mutually exclusive. The aforesaid concern oregon website tin optimize for some algorithms and execute large visibility connected some sides.

So what should Ursula do? Nothing, really!

If the concern is eligible for a GBP but besides sells products nationwide, the GBP won’t hinder its nationwide visibility.

But What About Showing Up In The Map Pack?

If we presume that the concern is eligible for a GBP and I gave Ursula that answer, it’s beauteous apt that either she oregon her brag volition travel backmost with a question next: “Well, however bash we amusement up successful the Map Pack successful different cities?”

You can’t amusement up successful a Map Pack if you don’t person a GBP – truthful support that successful mind. If the important queries that substance to your concern person section intent and a Map Pack is displayed, you won’t beryllium capable to amusement successful those Map Pack results. Period.

You’ll inactive beryllium capable to people the localized integrated results beneath the Map Pack though, truthful ore your efforts there. Create awesome contented that answers imaginable customers’ questions, but make aggregate iterations for each large marketplace you’re targeting.

Let’s accidental you merchantability bluish widgets. You’d request a stellar bluish widget leafage for the main paper of the site, and that’s apt going to beryllium optimized astir the metropolis wherever the store is located. You’d past person respective different uniquely written versions of the page, and each idiosyncratic leafage would beryllium optimized for a antithetic people city.

With the right interior architecture and immoderate coagulated SEO, you tin get your tract to amusement up successful aggregate cities, adjacent though you don’t person a GBP successful immoderate of those cities.

TL;DR Summary

Having a Google Business Profile for your azygous location volition not impact your quality to look nationwide successful hunt results – but recognize that you’ll lone look successful the Map Pack for the metropolis wherever you’re located.

Also, ever retrieve to cheque the GBP guidelines for immoderate questions astir eligibility oregon what you’re allowed to bash with your profile

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Featured Image: Paulo Bobita/Search Engine Journal