How to remove business from Google (with some helpful tips)
Looking to remove business from Google quickly and efficiently? Look no further. In this guide, we show you how to manage your listing with ease.
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Listing your business on Google is a great way for people to find your business and leave reviews.
It also allows you to appear in Google Maps with your business location and the best part about it is, it’s free!
Appearing on Google Maps is a great way for local SEO (search engine optimisation). Your business will show up if its description contains relevant keywords and if it's in the location that a user searches for. This is especially important for small businesses.
There may be a few reasons why you’re looking to remove your business from Google and luckily for you, removing multiple listings from Google couldn’t be easier.
In this helpful guide, we let you know how you can update your verified listing and remove it from Google.
Remove your business listing or mark it as closed
Even if you’re never going to be operating this business again, you might want it to stay available as a listing so that people are aware it’s closed.
This works especially well for a popular tourist destination, say a local restaurant has fans from all over the world, they will be able to find out if you’ve closed through Google.
Not only that, you can mark your business as temporarily closed (perhaps you’re a small business owner and you and your staff are finally getting a holiday). It’s on this feature where you can set your business’s operating hours, too.
Business accounts make it easier to manage your business online, so if you have an unwanted listing or notice a spam listing, then there's a quick option to 'delete account'.
Start on Google Chrome, click the three dot menu icon in the top right corner to open a new page.
Then, go into your Google Business dashboard and click on the Information tab for all three options:
- Click Mark as temporarily closed
- Click Mark as permanently closed
- Click Remove listing
Your listing will then be marked in accordance with what you have selected. The listing marked as removed may still appear in the Google index, though.
What happens to my business listing - is it permanently deleted?
After you remove your business listing from Google, it may still show through Google Search or Google Maps. Unfortunately, there isn’t a way to delete your business entirely from Google’s index.
Once you put it out there, there’s a chance someone may see it.
Deleting your business profile does mean that you will no longer be able to manage the business so it can save a headache.
If you did have a change of heart or perhaps a new investment that has allowed you to keep your business open (this happened a lot during the global pandemic), then you can actually manage the profile again but it will need to be reverified.
Changing the profiles in your business account
If you've noticed there are duplicate listings or you need to transfer ownership (maybe it's not your business anymore), then editing your business listing is easy.
To streamline your business account, it's a good idea to have a few profile roles meaning that other people within your business can manage it online. You can have two types of roles on the business account, owners and managers.
Owners
You can have multiple owners on your Google business account, but just the one Primary owner. With this you can:
- Add and delete users
- Remove business profiles
- Edit all URLs
- Edit business information (services, location settings, phone number)
- Respond to reviews
Managers
Managers can almost do the same as the Owners of the business account, except 'Add and delete users' and 'Remove business profiles'.
Once you've created a business profile it can take up to 7 days to manage the features of the profile.
But, if you want to transfer ownership to an existing user, it does this automatically.
You can transfer ownership by clicking on the profile that you want to edit:
- On the left side, click Users
- Choose the user that you want to become the Primary owner
- Click the box to the right of their name
- Select Primary owner
- Choose Transfer then Done
As a business app, it's straightforward to use and has all the free perks of editing your listing as and when you need to.
It's also good to have fun with your business listings - you want them to stand out among your competitors. No one wants to be seen as the same business that you find everywhere.
Make sure your description in the Google listing is told in your own words and perfectly captures what your business is great at, and why people should choose you.
You can drive more business with simple edits such as great imagery and copy.
Have more than one business listing? You can close them all in one go!
If you have another business that you would like to remove from Google then it’s easy to remove all of them at the same time.
Removing multiple business listings works the same way as above, simply go to your Google business dashboard and select the business profiles that you want to remove.
On the right-hand side, you will see Actions then Remove businesses then Remove.
In a matter of moments, you will have removed all your business listings from Google.
Should I include my address in my business listing?
Removing the business address from Google is something that many people want to do, especially if they run their business from home.
Depending on the type of business you run, you might not need to show your address on your business listing. However, if you own a restaurant or have a doctor’s surgery, you’ll want people to find you so you should make your address known.
Adding or editing your address
- Sign into your Google account and find your Business Profile
- Open your Business Profile and click Edit then Business information
- Choose the Location tab
- You’ll see Location and areas then Edit
- Simply add in the address information
- Or you can adjust your pin location by moving the map so that it points to the exact location of your business listing
Removing your address
- Sign in to your Google account and find your Business Profile
- From the menu, choose Info and find the Address section
- Then click Edit
- There’s a section that states Clear address where you can clear all information
- Click Apply to save these changes
Do I need to delete my business listing?
Deleting your business listing may not be necessary, especially if your business is still active. Google is a great place for a business to sit as many people use it when they’re searching for places nearby.
If you are needing to delete the listing due to bad reviews (and due to the fact that you cannot delete reviews unless they go against Google’s guidelines) then there are ways to improve this.
Negative reviews should not stop you from benefiting from a free listing on Google.
You’ll want to make sure you can counteract bad reviews with good ones, so don’t be afraid to ask for reviews from your best customers.
How to respond to reviews (good or bad)
It might feel a bit scary at first to respond to reviews, especially as you know that everyone will be able to see your reply.
It’s actually a great way to sell your business, regardless if the review didn’t paint your business in the best light.
If you’re responsive and grateful for a good review, then customers will remember that. If you’re gracious and offer to resolve an issue that a bad review discusses, then you could ultimately change that review into a glowing one!
Whilst a business cannot edit or delete reviews, a user can edit the one they have left.
Keep that in mind when you're battling with reviews of your business - it is something you want to keep track of and master your responses.
Did you write your business's description? Give it some personality
Maybe some people are frustrated as your business keeps showing for them, when it shouldn’t.
This might be something to do with how you’ve described your business, how Google has described your business (it’s always best for the business to use their own words) or the address was wrong which you will now know how to edit!
Make sure you use keywords that best represent your business so it shows up in the search. For example, if you own a café you might want to mention that you have 'outdoor seating' and 'organic coffee beans' to stand out from the other cafes.
Include a unique selling point for example, 'funky coffee house' to distinguish yourself from a chain of cafes.
Can I contact Google if I need support?
The answer is ‘yes’, you can contact Google if you need support with anything Google related such as removing your business listing or editing the details of said listing.
It’s a bit of a hassle, though.
You can either:
- Log in to your Google account
- Go to support.google.com
- There’s a search bar where you can type your issue or click on one of the icons that best represents that issue that you’re seeking help to resolve
There’s a selection of automated questions and responses so let’s just hope that your answer is there!
If it’s not, then you can reach out to the community who may have encountered the same problem as you:
- Go on the support.google.com website
- Choose an icon the represents your issue
- Then, you will see on the next page on the top left the word Community
- There is a Featured posts section, and you will see underneath this: Ask now to pose a question to the community
That’s the biggest issue with a powerful platform like Google - it’s so big that you won’t find a human to discuss your issue with unless you go to the Community where other users are.
How do I delete my business from Google Maps?
Whilst you can remove a listing, your business might still show up on Google Maps.
As long as your address is updated (and doesn’t show your personal information like your home address unless relevant) then you should take advantage of this free marketing tool.
Google Maps helps optimise the search for your business and it’s at the top of the search page.
Take back the ownership of this - you’ve already listed the business, so now let’s make it stand out with positive reviews and an accurate description.
Final thoughts
Managing a business is tricky, and getting your head around online business management is half the battle. Listing your business on Google is a great way to gain traffic not just through the search engine, but through Google Maps too.
Local SEO is something that all businesses, small and large, should be striving for and Google makes it that much easier for us with free business accounts. It would be rude not to take advantage of it!
Removing your business listing might seem like an easy solution, but there are ways to maximise your success online. And, Google can be tricky terrain to navigate, so check out our other guides like this one to help you on your way.
Whether it’s how your business is described online, poor reviews or incorrect information, you can take back some of the control over how your business is presented.
At Cloutly, we manage all of your reviews in one place taking some of the stress away from managing your own business.
Even if you're faced with negative reviews, we can show you how to turn it into a positive marketing tool no matter how bad the feedback is. Read our guide on how to respond to negative or fake reviews here.
If you want to improve your reputation on Google before you commit to removing your business, find out how Cloutly can help.
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