Why Duplicate Google Business Profiles Are Bad for Your Business
A lot of businesses end up with more than one Google Business Profile without realizing it.
Maybe you created your first profile years ago using a Gmail address like yourbusiness@gmail.com. Later, you started using a professional business email and created another profile.
Now both profiles are still out there.
Duplicate Google Business Profiles can cause problems with reviews, business information, ownership, and customer trust — especially if the older profile still shows an old city, address, phone number, or hours.
For a local business, that matters.
Someone may know you work in Lake Oswego, search for your business, and find an older profile that says Portland. Even if they recognize your name, they may hesitate because they're not sure which profile is current.
And that hesitation can be enough to lose the click, call, or visit. Or even worse — a positive Google Review from a client!
Why Duplicate Profiles Can Be a Problem:
Your reviews can be split between two profiles
One profile might have 40 reviews while another has 12.
Instead of building one strong review history, your customer feedback is now divided between two places.
Someone searching for your business may also find both profiles and wonder which one is current.
Your business information may be different
One profile may have your current website, phone number, services, and hours.
The older profile may still have information from several years ago.
Even though both profiles belong to the same business, your customers are now seeing two different versions of it.
An old profile can make customers question which information is correct
This becomes especially important if you've moved or rebranded with the same staff.
Maybe you originally created your business profile when you lived or worked in another city. Now your business is based where you live and work, but that older profile is still showing up in Google.
Someone knows you, searches for your business, and finds a profile that says the old city.
Now they have questions.
Is this the same business? Are these hours current? Is this the right phone number?
That's not the experience you want someone to have when they're ready to contact you.
For a local business, your city, hours, phone number, website, and other business information should make it easy for someone to recognize your business and know they've found the right place.
You may be updating the wrong profile
You may be actively adding photos, responding to reviews, updating services, and improving one profile while an older version is still appearing in Google Search or Maps.
Before investing more time into your profile, it's worth confirming that you're working with the correct one.
Which Google Business Profile Should You Keep?
Don't assume the newest profile is automatically the one you should keep.
An older profile may have years of reviews, photos, history, and other information associated with it. The newer profile may have your current business information but very little history.
Before making changes to duplicate Google Business Profiles, I look at both profiles and compare things like ownership, reviews, verification, business information, and the history associated with each one.
The goal is to understand what you have before deciding what should happen to either profile.
Don't Just Mark the Old Profile Permanently Closed
This can be tempting!
You find the old profile, see the outdated city or address, and think: I'll just mark this one permanently closed.
But if it's an older version of the same business that's still operating, that's not necessarily the right solution. That older one might have rich data connected to it.
Before making a public-facing change like marking a business closed, figure out why the second profile exists and what's attached to it.
You don't want to accidentally tell Google — or your customers — that your business has closed when it hasn't.
The Older Email Account Is Often the Key
If you find a second profile, one of the first things I look for is which Google account owns it.
Often, the duplicate is connected to an older Gmail address that the business still controls — it just isn't used anymore.
For example:
Current business email: alex@yourbusiness.com
Older Google account: yourbusiness@gmail.com
You may need to log into that older Google account before you can see the profile, ownership settings, or other information connected to it.
If you don't remember which email address was originally used, that's something I can often help identify when I'm working with you.
Before Contacting Google, Check Who Owns Both Profiles
Before I contact Google about duplicate profiles, I want to understand who owns both of them.
If the older profile is connected to an old businessname@gmail.com account, we'll first try to regain access to that account.
Then I typically want to add your current business email address as an owner on the older profile.
That gives you access through the account you actually use today. It can also be helpful when we're working with Google Support to resolve the duplicate.
It's a small step, but an important one.
You Should Check for Duplicate Google Business Profiles If You Have...
Moved your business to another city or location
Switched from a Gmail address to a business email
Changed your business name
Rebranded
Had someone else set up your Google Business Profile years ago
Found reviews that aren't showing on your current profile
Had customers tell you they're finding an old address, phone number, or other information
If any of those sound familiar, it's worth doing a quick search for your business and seeing what Google actually shows.
Don't Create a Third Profile
If you find an old profile but can't access it, don't solve the problem by creating another one.
That can make the situation harder to resolve.
Instead, find out which Google account controls the existing profile and work from there.
Found Duplicate Google Business Profiles? Figure Out Ownership First.
The first step isn't deleting anything. It's figuring out which profiles exist, who owns them, and which Google accounts they're connected to.
From there, you can determine the right next step without putting your reviews, business history, or current profile at risk.
Not sure which email address your older Google Business Profile is under?
I can help identify the older account, review who currently owns each profile, and get your current business email added in the right place before we work with Google on the duplicate.
