Move Google Business Profile address: a guide for moving practices

To move your Google Business Profile address when your dental practice relocates, edit the location on your existing profile rather than creating a new one, then re-verify at the new premises. Google says that if you move your business after it is verified, you must verify your business again. Handled in that order, you keep the same profile with its reviews and history. Handled badly, you can end up with two listings, a suspended profile or weeks of patients being sent to an empty building.

The short answer: edit, do not recreate

Your Google Business Profile is the most valuable listing your practice has. It carries your reviews, photos and the visibility you have built up over years. When you move, the aim is to move that profile, not to start again.

• Same practice, new address: edit the address on your existing profile and re-verify.
• Do not create a second profile for the new site. Google's guidelines say do not create more than one page for each location of your business.
• New name as well as new address? Check the rebranding rule below before you change anything.

How to change your business address on Google Maps

Google's help page on managing your business address sets out the steps:

1. Open your Business Profile while signed in to an account that owns or manages it.
2. Select Edit profile, then Location.
3. Next to Business location, select Edit and enter the new address.
4. If needed, drag the map pin to the exact entrance of the new premises.
5. Select Save.

Google says changes usually take about 10 minutes to show, but can take up to 30 days, and that edits are reviewed before they go live. Then expect a re-verification request.

Timing the move: when to change the address

Change the address on the day you start seeing patients at the new premises, not before and not weeks after.

The main reason is verification. Google picks the verification method itself, and its verification guide says that for video verification you should show your location through outside signs, nearby businesses or a street sign, your equipment, and proof you manage the premises, such as keys. Google says verification reviews can take up to five working days. A new building without signage, or one that is still being fitted out, makes that harder.

Before moving day:

• Get the signage up at the new premises.
• Check who owns the profile. Make sure at least two trusted people in the practice have owner access, not just a former manager or an agency.
• Keep your phone number if you possibly can. One fewer thing changing makes the move cleaner for patients and for every listing.
• Prepare new photos of the new building, reception and surgeries, ready to upload.

Before the move, tell patients on the profile

In the weeks before, use your profile description and posts, along with your website and recall messages, to tell patients where you are going and when. That way, people who read your listing before their next appointment are not caught out.

Will I lose my Google reviews if I move?

Not if you edit the existing profile and keep the same name. Google's page on moving reviews says that if you move to a new address and keep the same business name, Google transfers your reviews automatically. It also says that if you created a new profile by mistake because of a move, you can contact Google to transfer the reviews from the old one. That is the strongest reason not to open a fresh profile at the new address.

What does change is everything that depended on the old location: photos of the old building, which should be replaced, and your position in local results, because the place your practice sits on the map has changed.

What happens to your local rankings after a move

Google says local results are mainly based on relevance, distance and popularity. A move changes the distance part for every searcher. Patients who were close to the old premises are now further away, and different streets and villages are now close to you.

For a short move within the same town, the effect may be small. For a move across town or to a different town, expect your map visibility to shift. You will likely gain ground near the new site and lose it near the old one. That is why it helps to measure visibility from many points around your catchment rather than from one postcode, as our guide to rank grids and real patient locations explains. Practice Radar's rank grid and weekly position checks show how that picture settles in the weeks after a move.

If your practice name changes too

Many moves come with a new name, especially after a change of ownership. Google's guidelines are specific. A profile may be eligible for rebranding without a new profile if it is a minor name change, where the proper nouns and services in the name stay the same and the business category does not change. If the name change goes further than that, Google says it is considered a new business: you must mark the existing profile as closed and create a new one.

That rule can cost a practice its reviews, so think about it before choosing a new name. Keeping the core of the existing name, and changing only the address, keeps the profile and everything attached to it.

Other places your new address must go

Google is only one listing. Patients and search engines also see your address in many other places, and old details left anywhere cause confusion.

Old directory listings are the hardest part, because many were created years ago and nobody remembers the logins. List them before the move, and work through them in the first weeks after it. Our guide to local SEO for dentists covers why consistent details matter.

CQC: register the new location before you move

In England, your Google listing is the easy part. CQC lists your locations as a condition of registration, and its guidance on making changes to your registration says that to move a location to a different address you must apply to remove and add locations, for both the provider and manager registrations, sending the applications together. CQC says the application must be granted before you implement the change. Build that into your timetable well ahead of moving day. Practices in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland should check with their own regulator.

If you hold an NHS contract, speak to your commissioner early as well.

How do I move a Google Business Profile to another account?

This question often comes up alongside a move, particularly when a new owner or manager takes over. You do not move the profile itself. You add the new person as an owner and, if needed, transfer primary ownership. Google says you add people under People and access in your Business Profile settings, choosing Owner or Manager. A profile needs at least one other owner or manager before primary ownership can be transferred, and new owners and managers must wait seven days before they can use some features, including transferring primary ownership.

How can I add a second address to my Google Business Profile?

You cannot add a second address to one profile. If you are opening a second site rather than moving, each location that sees patients needs its own profile, verified at that address. If you are moving, there should be one profile at the new address and nothing left open at the old one.

How do I correct an incorrect address on Google?

If you manage the profile, edit it as described above. If Google is showing a listing for your practice that you do not manage, for example an old duplicate at your previous address, claim it if you can, or use Suggest an edit in Google Maps to report that it has moved or closed. Do not leave it, because it will keep sending patients to the wrong place.

A moving checklist for your Google listing

1. Check profile ownership. At least two practice owners, no former staff as sole owner.
2. Decide whether the name changes, and check Google's rebranding rule.
3. Apply to CQC to move the location, if you are in England.
4. Tell patients through your profile, website and reminders.
5. Put up signage at the new premises.
6. On the first day at the new site, edit the address and set the map pin.
7. Complete re-verification as soon as Google asks.
8. Replace photos with the new premises.
9. Update your website, NHS profile, Bing, Apple Maps, social profiles and directories.
10. Search for your practice on Google Maps a week later and check for any duplicate at the old address.
11. Watch your local visibility for the next few months, around both the old and new sites.