Google's guidelines on rebranding business profiles can be complex. While keeping the old profile might seem convenient, it can lead to customer confusion and potential profile suspension. It's crucial to choose the right strategy for every case.
Large organizations may sometimes rebrand their smaller stores under a larger brand name. This transition often raises questions about how to manage the change, as the location and store details remain the same, but the name and design of the store are updated.
Businesses typically prefer to keep their existing profiles, since these profiles already have reviews and greater visibility on Google and other search engines. However, Google's official guidelines state that if a store changes its name entirely, the old brand's profile should be marked as permanently closed, and a new profile should be created for the new brand. Minor changes to the name do not require a new profile, but they may lead to a manual re-verification of the existing profile.
Let’s review this topic from the customers' perspective. Imagine you are a loyal customer of a specific phone company and need to visit their store. You open Google Maps to check if the nearest store is open, but instead of finding the correct store, you come across the profile of a different store. This situation can lead to confusion for the customer. If they see that the phone company's store is marked as permanently closed, they might just decide to look for another store instead.
It is advisable to thoughtfully evaluate the best strategy for rebranding the store. Keep in mind that not adhering to Google’s official guidelines may lead to the suspension of your profile, and Google may refuse to update the profile name even after a manual verification. In such cases, the only option is to comply with Google’s official guidelines.
Apple Business Connect, Bing, Facebook, and others do not provide a technical option to rebrand profiles.