If your business is not visible in the right locations online, you are practically not even existing in the eyes of your customers. Whether you're a healthcare provider, a retail store, or an outlet of a larger franchise, if every branch of your business is not showing up in local Google searches, you're missing out on greater opportunities.
Let’s say your healthcare centre has multiple clinics in Salt Lake, Park Street, and Gariahat. You’ve done a great job so far through word-of-mouth; however, whenever someone searches for “dermatologist near me” in Gariahat online, only your Salt Lake clinic shows up. That’s not an ideal situation for you or your customers.
Your local customer should be able to find your business online, including all of your local branches.
This is why setting up and optimizing your Google Business Profile (GBP) for multiple locations is crucial. And if done right, it can turn out to be your most powerful (and free!) marketing tool.
In this guide, we will thoroughly explain how to set up, manage, and optimize your GBP for multiple locations, with proven strategies and real-life examples from strategies implemented by the top local SEO company in Kolkata.
Moreover, not all customers will use the Google search engine in the same way. A local customer who is just around a particular area for some time may search for something like a "coffee shop near me" or a "hardware store in New Town". They will want to see results that recommend businesses near their current location. That's why we can't just create one generic profile and call it a day. You're losing out on customers if you do that.
Location-specific Google Business Profiles act like a public digital billboard for every specific location shouting, "Hey, we exist here too!". When you optimize your profile for multiple locations, it sends signals to Google that your business is open in other locations too, helping your business show up in those crucial "near me" local searches and map results.
Without optimizing your profile for multiple locations, you're telling Google and other customers that your business doesn't exist in other locations. We have seen many businesses increase their local visibility by up to 70% after they set up their business profile on Google for multiple locations. So, why is this important? This is important because Google helps businesses that provide accurate business information rank better on maps and search results, and helps them to gain more visibility since those businesses match the user's search intent.
Here's a real-life example of our client Bosky Interior's multi-location GBP. With GBP for multiple locations, it helped local customers to reach out to the branch that's closer to them, leading to an increase in foot traffic across all branches of their company! More visibility = more foot traffic = more revenue!
Recommended: Google Business Profile Common Mistakes to Avoid
Managing multiple locations isn't just about adding multiple locations to your Google business listing. The key differences include:
But here’s the thing: Managing one profile is simple. Managing profiles for multiple locations? That’s where most businesses start to struggle.
It’s not just about listing multiple locations on Google Business Profile. It’s about making every location stand out in its local area.
Having the right multi-location optimization strategy pays off big time for local businesses. First, you need to dominate in local SEO for multiple locations across different neighborhoods, cities, or regions. Your customers should be able to find exactly what they were looking for from your business without any frustration.
As a top local SEO expert in Kolkata, we helped local businesses boost foot traffic by 35% through proper multi-location optimization. This helped their customers easily find accurate information on local branches near their current location, making them more likely to visit.
Another major benefit is the goldmine of local data that you'll receive. After you optimize your Google My Business profile for different locations, you gain insights into the performance of each and every location. Which chain gets the most website clicks? Which outlet are your customers contacting more frequently? This data helps you make smarter and better business decisions.
Plus, businesses with multiple locations can create location-specific promotions that would attract more local customers in a specific area. A promotion that turns out to be a flop in one location might reap greater benefits in the other location.
Managing multiple locations for your business isn't all sunshine and rainbows. Let's discuss some of the most common challenges that businesses face:
As the leading digital marketing company in Kolkata, we've worked with businesses struggling to manage just 5 locations and others even juggling 500+. These challenges scale with the size of the business, but the fundamental solution remains the same: organization, consistency, and location-specific strategies win the day.
Read Also: How to Show My Business in Google Maps or Google Business Profile
If you want to ensure that your business runs well across all branches, you need to make sure that your GBP in multiple locations is optimized. Read the following steps to learn how to optimize your GBP for multiple locations:
Google doesn’t allow one GBP listing to represent multiple branches.
You must create a separate Google Business Profile for each physical location.
Example:
If your brand has 3 stores in Kolkata:
Each should have its own listing with:
📌 Pro Tip: Use consistent naming conventions (Brand + Location) across all listings to help Google recognize and group them under one brand.
Google needs to verify all locations of your business to check the legitimacy of information.
How to verify:
Don’t skip this step because unverified profiles don’t show up in Maps or the local pack.
For each listing, ensure your Google My Business listings have accurate information about your business, including:
📌 Important: Avoid keyword stuffing in your business name because it can lead to the suspension of your Google My Business account.
This is one of the most overlooked but powerful GBP SEO strategies.
Each GBP listing should link to a unique landing page on your site that’s tailored for that branch.
Example:
www.clinicname.com/locations/salt-lake
www.clinicname.com/locations/gariahat
Include on-page SEO like:
This tells Google: “This business is for the local customers here.”
Google helps profiles that feel authentic and are more active to rank better in local search results.
Upload:
📌 Listings with genuine and high-quality photos that are regularly updated get 2x more engagement than profiles that simply exist and have no photos.
Each branch should build a strong reputation in its local area.
Ask customers of each location to leave reviews mentioning:
Respond to every review professionally, even if it's a negative review. This helps to build more trust and improve your business's local relevance.
📌 Want more reviews? Send links via SMS or WhatsApp after you deliver a service. Tools like Google’s review link generator can help.
Yes, you can post updates, offers, events, and news to each GBP listing individually.
It’s a powerful way to:
📌 Posts stay visible for 7 days (except offers). Posting every week is a good strategy to enhance your GBP's visibility.
If you enable messaging across all your locations, make sure that each branch has someone to respond to the messages.
Missed or delayed replies may lead to loss of trust and credibility, especially in service-based industries.
You can set up automated replies or integrate it with WhatsApp Business, if preferred.
Google shows you analytics for each location, such as:
Use this data to improve:
If you have more than 10 branches, you can apply for GBP Bulk Verification.
It allows to have a centralized management system using:
Use Google’s Business Locations dashboard for bulk verification:
This helps brands scale fast without manually applying for verification of each location.
Business: A women’s health clinic with 5 locations in Kolkata
Challenges: They had just one GBP listing linking to the main branch. Only 1 branch showed up on Maps, others didn’t rank. This is why they reached out to the top service provider of SEO Services in Kolkata.
What We Did:
Results:
Read More: How Does Google Business Profile Work for Local Businesses?
Managing multiple Google Business Profiles effectively requires a strategic approach that begins with proper planning and structure. Throughout this guide, we've explored the importance of multi-location GBP, how to create distinctive profiles for each business location, and optimize it for local customers. We've also discussed review management for multiple branches, location-specific posting strategies, and performance analysis across different locations.
We encourage you to implement these optimization techniques gradually, measuring results as you go. Remember that multi-location GBP optimization is an ongoing process that requires consistent effort and adaptation. By utilizing the advanced tools and techniques we've shared above, you can build a strong local presence across all your business locations while maintaining a consistent brand presence. Start optimizing your Google Business Profiles today to increase visibility, attract more customers, and drive growth at every location of your business.
Google rewards businesses that are visible, verified, and helpful for local customers. If your business has more than one location, take advantage of the features available on GBP.
More visibility = More customers = More growth.
Don’t let one profile do the work of five. Start optimizing the GBP for all your locations today.
As the leading Local SEO company in Kolkata, we specialize in optimizing Google Business Profiles for multi-location businesses. We’ve helped 450+ clients across India boost their visibility, generate leads, and attract local customers.
Looking for GBP SEO experts in Kolkata? Let’s talk today.
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