Google Business Profiles FAQs
Google Business Profiles (formerly Google My Business) help your business appear on Google Search and Maps, making it easier for customers to find your location, hours, reviews, and key details. This category answers common questions about setting up and optimising your Google Business Profile, managing listings, improving visibility, and leveraging features that drive local engagement and traffic.
Partially. By default, each branch’s Google Business Profile is separate, and reviews, ratings, and responses are managed at the branch level. However, corporate administrators can claim and verify ownership of individual branch profiles. Once verified, they can manage the listings, respond to reviews, and request removal of content if necessary. Corporate policies should define who has administrative access and control for each location.
No. Google does not allow reviews to be turned off. For regulated industries and sensitive branches the safest approach is to actively monitor reviews and respond using confidentiality-safe templates that comply with legal and ethical requirements.
Generally, corporate headquarters may appear in search results for brand searches, but they usually do not show reviews or Maps listings unless they are customer-facing. Branch GBPs dominate local searches and Maps visibility.
No. Google does not allow disabling reviews. Even if a Google Business Profile is deleted or unverified, community-generated listings may appear and people can leave reviews.
Yes. Anyone can create a Google Business Profile for your business if it doesn’t already exist. If someone claims your business, legal recourse may be necessary to resolve it.
No. Google does not create a GBP automatically. You must create it manually or claim an existing unverified/unclaimed profile. Sometimes Google auto-generates a listing based on public information, but it may not be accurate or managed by you.
While you cannot fully stop auto-generated listings, consistent management, claiming all locations, and monitoring local directories reduces the chance of duplicate or unauthorized profiles. Ongoing review and compliance checks help maintain brand control.
This requires ongoing management: controlling public data sources, monitoring directories, and submitting removal or suppression requests to Google. It’s a continuous process.
If you see options like “Suggest an edit” or “Own this business?” on a listing, the Google Business Profile is unclaimed.
Reviews contribute to the local reputation of each branch. While corporate headquarters can implement policies or branding strategies, Google shows reviews per location, not as a combined corporate score. Customers may see each branch differently depending on local experiences.
Deleting a Google Business Profile removes administrative control, but a new listing can still be generated by Google from public data or by a third party. Organic website traffic remains unaffected, but local search visibility and Google Maps discovery will decline.
The branch profile can be marked as permanently closed or updated with the new location. This ensures Google Maps and search results remain accurate. Corporate administrators should update records to prevent old listings from generating confusion or unwanted reviews.
Your website is entirely separate from your Google Business Profile. Google reviews and Google Maps listings come from the Google Business Profile. Having a website does not automatically create a Google Business Profile.
Each branch or franchise location maintains its own profile to display relevant reviews, contact information, opening hours, and location on Google Maps. This ensures customers can find, visit, and interact with each specific branch.Each branch or franchise location maintains its own profile to display relevant reviews, contact information, opening hours, and location on Google Maps. This ensures customers can find, visit, and interact with each specific branch.
The corporate headquarters or parent company usually does not have a public Google Business Profile because it typically does not serve customers directly. GBPs are designed for locations where customers can visit or interact. The corporate entity mainly exists for verification, internal management, and legal purposes, not for direct customer engagement.
Not necessarily. Reviews could still appear on a regenerated or new Google Business Profile. Active monitoring and follow-up with Google is required to prevent new listings from accumulating reviews.