How to Remove a Duplicate Google My Business Listing

Finding a second, unauthorized profile for your business on Google can be alarming, but it's a fixable problem. This rogue listing confuses customers, splits your hard-earned reviews, and can damage your local search ranking. We’ll walk through exactly how to find and remove a duplicate Google Business Profile, step-by-step, whether you have access to it or not.

Why Duplicate Google Business Listings Are a Problem

You might be wondering if an extra listing is really that big of a deal. Unfortunately, it is. A duplicate profile doesn't just look messy, it can actively sabotage your efforts to attract local customers. Here's how:

• It Splits Your Reviews and SEO Authority: Imagine you have two identical storefronts on the same street, but they don't share inventory or staff. When a customer walks into the "wrong" one, the main store gets no credit. Duplicate listings work the same way. Every review, photo, or check-in left on the duplicate profile is a vote of confidence that doesn't get applied to your real profile. This dilutes your online authority, making it harder for Google's algorithm to trust and rank your primary listing.
• It Creates Customer Confusion: One of your top priorities is making it as easy as possible for customers to find you. A duplicate listing does the opposite. A customer might see the duplicate with an old address, a wrong phone number, or outdated hours. They might get directions to the wrong place, call a number that's no longer in service, or show up when you're closed - all leading to frustration and lost business.
• It Shows a Lack of Professionalism: A clean, well-managed online presence signals that you're an organized and professional business. Multiple, conflicting listings can look sloppy and make potential customers think your business is disorganized or, even worse, no longer in operation.
• You Lose Control of Your Brand Info: The duplicate listing might have incorrect information auto-populated by Google from old directories. Or, since you don't control it, a user could "suggest an edit" with harmful or wrong information that you have no way to fix. It’s a digital loose end that can misrepresent your brand without your knowledge.

How Do Duplicate Listings Happen in the First Place?

Most of the time, duplicates aren't created with bad intentions. They typically arise organically for a few common reasons:

• Google's Automation: Sometimes, Google's algorithm finds mentions of your business on other websites or directories and automatically creates a listing for it. If you already have a verified profile, this can result in a duplicate.
• Business Moves or Rebrands: A common mistake is creating a new profile when a business moves to a new location or changes its name. The correct action is to edit the existing profile. Creating a new one leaves the old one orphaned and floating around as a duplicate.
• Accidental Creation: A well-meaning employee or a new marketing team member might create a new profile without realizing one already exists. This often happens during staff transitions.
• Past Agencies: A digital marketing agency you worked with previously might have created a listing for you and failed to transfer ownership when your contract ended.

Regardless of how it happened, the solution is the same: find it and remove it. Let's get into the step-by-step process.

Step-by-Step Guide: How to Remove a Duplicate Listing

The process for removing a duplicate Google Business Profile depends heavily on one thing: whether or not you have access (ownership or management) to the duplicate profile in your Google account. We'll cover both scenarios.

Step 1: Find All Existing Listings for Your Business

You can't remove what you can't find. First, you need to do a thorough search to uncover all variations of your business profile. Open Google Maps and Google Search in separate tabs.

• Search your exact business name.
• Search common variations or abbreviations of your name.
• Search your business street address. Look for any other business pins at your location.
• Search your business phone number.

As you find profiles, make a note of their URLs. Identify which listing is your primary, correct, and verified profile - this is the one you want to keep. It usually has the most reviews, correct information, and recent updates. The others are the duplicates you need to remove.

Step 2: Follow the Right Removal Process for Your Situation

Now, based on what you found, select the scenario that matches your situation.

Scenario A: You Have Access to Both Listings

This is the easiest scenario. It means both your primary profile and the duplicate are visible within your Google Business Profile Manager dashboard. If this is the case, you have direct control and can simply remove the unwanted one.

1. Log into Google Business Profile Manager: Sign in to the Google account associated with the profiles.
2. Select the Duplicate Profile: If you manage multiple businesses or locations, make sure you're working with the duplicate listing. The name should appear at the top left of the dashboard. Be very careful here - you don't want to accidentally remove your main profile.
3. Go to "Business Profile Settings": In the left-hand navigation menu of the new dashboard view, click the three-dot menu icon next to your business name and select "Business Profile settings."
4. Remove the Profile: In the settings menu, click on "Remove Business Profile." You'll then get an option to "Remove profile content and managers." A pop-up will appear warning you that this action is permanent. Read it carefully, confirm you’ve selected the correct profile, and then click "Continue" to permanently delete the listing and its content.

That's it! Google will typically remove the profile within a short time. This action is irreversible, so triple-check you're deleting the duplicate, not your main profile.

Scenario B: You Do Not Have Access to the Duplicate Listing

This is the more common - and frustrating - situation. You've found a duplicate listing on Google Maps, but it doesn't appear in your dashboard. This means it was created by someone else or automatically by Google. You can't delete it directly, but you can report it to Google as a duplicate.

1. Find the Duplicate on Google Maps: Pull up the duplicate listing you want to remove on Google Maps.
2. Click "Suggest an edit": On the business profile card, you'll see a button or link that says "Suggest an edit." Click it.
3. Select "Close or remove": A new menu will appear. Here you need to select the option "Close or remove."
4. Choose the Reason: "Duplicate of another place": This is the most important step. Google will ask for the reason for removal. Select "Duplicate of another place" from the dropdown list.
5. Provide the Link to Your Correct Listing: Google will then display a map and ask you to identify the correct place this is a duplicate of. Search for your correct business profile, select it, and submit your suggestion. If it has trouble finding it, have the direct Google Maps URL of your correct profile handy to paste in.
6. Submit and Wait: After submitting, your request goes into a review queue. You should receive an email from Google thanking you for your contribution. Now, you’ll have to wait. The process can take anywhere from a few days to a couple of weeks.

What if Reporting It as a Duplicate Doesn't Work?

If you've waited two weeks and the duplicate listing is still live, it's time to contact Google Business Profile support directly. This process can be a little clunky, but it's the best way to escalate the issue.

1. Go to the Google Business Profile Help Center.
2. Scroll to the bottom and click the "Contact Us" button.
3. In the text box, type something like "remove duplicate listing" and click "Next."
4. Choose the option that best fits, like "Remove duplicate location." Go through the steps. Eventually, you should be given contact options, which often include email.
5. When you file your support ticket, be clear and concise. Explain that you flagged a duplicate of your business but it hasn't been removed. Provide the following information:
   • The name, address, and URL of your correct, verified profile.
   • The name, address, and URL of the duplicate profile you want to be removed.

A human support representative will review the case and should be able to either remove the duplicate or, in some cases, merge the two listings.

Merging vs. Removing: Sometimes Merging Is Better

In some cases, especially if the duplicate listing has legitimate reviews, Google Support might offer to merge the two profiles instead of deleting the duplicate. This is often an ideal outcome.

When profiles are merged, all the valuable assets (like customer reviews) from the duplicate profile are transferred to your primary profile. The duplicate then disappears. All that brand equity is consolidated into one place, strengthening your main profile. If you have to contact support, it's often a good idea to ask if merging is an option.

How to Prevent Duplicate Listings in the Future

Once you’ve cleaned up the mess, you can take a few simple steps to prevent it from happening again.

• Establish a Single Point of Contact: Make one person in your company the designated owner of your Google Business Profile. This ensures a consistent approach from the initial setup of your profile.
• Edit, Don't Create: If you move, rebrand, or change your phone number, always edit your existing Google Business Profile. Never create a new one.
• Communicate With Your Team and Agencies: Make sure any new hires or marketing agencies you work with are aware that a verified profile already exists and that they have the appropriate level of access (manager vs. owner) if they need it.

Final Thoughts

Cleaning up duplicate Google Business Profiles is a vital step in maintaining a professional and effective online presence. By finding the stray listings and systematically removing or merging them, you consolidate your SEO authority, eliminate customer confusion, and take back control of your brand's information.

Keeping your brand's public-facing profiles sharp and consistent is a constant effort, whether it's on Google or across social media. At Postbase, we built our platform to solve this exact problem for social - to give you a single place to see, schedule, and manage your content everywhere. Our goal is to unify your scattered presence into one clear strategy, saving you time and giving you confidence that your brand looks professional and consistent on every platform.

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