Overview Of Contents
- Why Delete A Google My Business Listing?
- Business Closure
- Rebranding or Change of Location
- Inaccurate Information
- Step-By-Step Guide To Removing Your GMB Listing
- Sign In To Your Google My Business Account
- Locate The Business Listing
- Access The Listing Settings
- Choose A Removal Option
- Confirm The Removal
- Verification
- Wait For Removal
- Faster Ways To Remove A Google Business Profile
- Important Considerations
- Conclusion
- Help With Deleting Your GMB Listing
As a leading SEO agency, we often get asked by our clients how to remove their business profile from Google maps or search. It may be that you have a duplicate listing that you want to remove, or maybe a branch has closed.
Annoyingly, there is officially no quick way to delete a Google My Business (GMB) listing – in Google’s own guide on this topic, they state: “Your Business Profile may appear on Search and Maps for users who search for it, but it will clearly show that your business is closed.”
This is often not what you want – your business is probably still trading, and it is only the 1 branch or the 1 duplicate listing you want to remove – having it still appear on Google maps and search stating that your business is permanently closed could turn away potential customers.
At UClimb, we have developed a quicker way to get your business profile completely removed from all Google Maps and search within a few minutes, which we will share below, along with the more conventional recommended ways to remove them.
Why Delete A Google My Business Listing?
Keeping your online information accurate is important for businesses of all sizes. Google My Business (GMB) is a powerful tool that allows you to control how your business appears on Google Maps and also in the search results.
While sometimes you can just revamp your listing to meet your current needs, there are instances when you might want to delete a Google My Business listing altogether, whether due to business closures, relocation, or other reasons.
Before we delve into the deletion process, let’s briefly discuss why you might want to remove a GMB listing.
Business Closure
If you’re permanently closing your doors, it’s essential you remove your GMB listing to prevent any confusion among potential customers.
Rebranding or Change of Location
When your business undergoes significant changes, such as a rebrand or change of address, you might want to delete the existing GMB listing and create a new one to accurately reflect the changes.
Inaccurate Information
If the information on the GMB listing is inaccurate and cannot be corrected, deleting the listing might be the best option.
Step-By-Step Guide To Removing Your GMB Listing
Step 1: Sign In To Your Google My Business Account
Go to the Google My Business website and sign in using the Google account associated with your company.
Step 2: Locate The Business Listing
After signing in, you’ll see a dashboard with all the business listings associated with your account. Locate and select the listing you want to delete.
Step 3: Access The Listing Settings
Once you’ve selected the correct listing, look for the ‘Info’ tab in the left-hand menu and click on it.
Scroll down to the bottom of the ‘Info’ page to find the ‘Close or remove this listing’ option and click on it.
Step 4: Choose A Removal Option
A new window will appear with two options: ‘Mark as permanently closed’ and ‘Remove listing’. Choose the appropriate option based on your situation. If the business is permanently closed, select ‘Mark as permanently closed’.
If you’re choosing to remove the listing, you’ll need to provide a reason for the removal. Select the most relevant reason from the dropdown menu.
Step 5: Confirm The Removal
After selecting the appropriate option and reason, you’ll be asked to confirm your decision. Read through the information carefully and click ‘Remove Listing’ to proceed.
Step 6: Verification (if applicable)
Depending on your situation, you might need to go through a verification process to confirm your ownership of the business. Follow the on-screen instructions if prompted.
Step 7: Wait For Removal
Once you’ve completed the necessary steps, your request to remove the GMB listing will be submitted. Google will review your request, and the listing will be deleted accordingly.
Faster Ways To Remove A Google Business Profile
- First change your business name to say “Google Please Delete This Listing” – this is in case one of the below changes doesn’t work instantly; it at least won’t show up as your company.
- Next, change your address to the address of a place where your business couldn’t possibly be located – e.g. put in the address for 10 Downing Street or Buckingham Palace or Harrods for example.
- Change the link that’s supposed to point to your own website to point to a website promoting items like weapons or gambling.
- Change your business classification to Drug Testing
Any one of the above changes is likely to lead to an instant suspension of your profile, if it doesn’t, try 1 or 2 of the others as well. Normally, within a few minutes, the unwanted listing no longer appears on either Google Maps or Google Search results.
We have had some occasions where older established listings (which have presumably built up a lot of trust over the years) don’t get automatically suspended, and instead, the changes you try to make just go into ‘pending review’ indefinitely. In these instances, more time-consuming manual steps may be needed, e.g. submitting a video to the team at Google to verify your changes (if this one crops up, just be really straightforward on the video and explain exactly what you want i.e. tell them that the listing shouldn’t exist, you couldn’t see how to remove it, so you made a change to trigger the option of sending in a verification video, please can they now remove the listing instead of verifying it).
If you do not own your business listing, first follow these steps to claim your listing, after that, you will be able to make the kind of changes outlined above. If you are unable to claim your business for any reason, do give our team a call, and we may be able to reach out to Google Support for you, and inform them that your address is incorrect or that it is a duplicate, etc, which usually then leads to a suspension of the unwanted listing.
Important Considerations
When following the conventional methods, it might take some time for Google to process your request and remove the listing – it’s just how it works, and there isn’t a way to speed up the process, unless you are able to trigger a suspension of your profile as outlined above.
Even the resourceful team at Moz state in their in-depth guide on how to delete GMB listings that some desired outcomes “unfortunately, can’t be accomplished”.
If you experience any issues or are unable to delete the listing, you can contact Google My Business support for assistance, or our experienced team can handle this for you if you contact us.
Remember that once a GMB listing is deleted, it cannot be recovered. Make sure this is the right decision for your business.
Conclusion
Deleting a Google My Business listing involves several steps to ensure a smooth and accurate removal process. By following this step-by-step guide, you’ll be able to effectively remove the listing, whether due to a business closure, relocation, or other reasons. Keeping your online information up to date provides accurate information to potential customers, and helps to maintain a positive online reputation.
Help With Deleting Your GMB Listing
If this all sounds a little daunting to you, and you’re just not too sure where to get started, don’t worry. Our team are on hand to work through it with you or sort it on your behalf while you enjoy an extra cup of coffee.
