You can’t merge two Google Business Profiles from your dashboard, because there is no merge button. To combine two public listings for the same business, open the extra one in Google Maps, choose Suggest an edit, then Place closed or not here, then Duplicate of another place, and Google reviews the request.
That route is only right when both listings are on Maps and really are the same business. If the second profile is one you created by mistake inside your own account, Google’s duplicate profiles help page says to remove it instead. And if the two listings are two genuine businesses, a merge is the wrong fix entirely. Work out which case you have before you touch anything.
Before you start
Have these ready, or the request is likely to stall:
- A signed-in Google Account. Google’s Maps help says you need to be signed in before you suggest changes to a place.
- Both listings found. Search Google Maps in a private window for the business name, the phone number and the street address separately. Old numbers and old addresses turn up copies a name search misses. Our Google Business Profile audit uses the same three searches.
- A decision on which one stays. Keep the verified profile you manage. If neither is verified, keep the one with the correct name, address and phone, and claim it first from Maps with Claim this business, then Manage now.
- Correct facts on the keeper. Google says that for a merge to work, the profiles “must represent the same business and should have the same info.” Fix the name, address, phone and hours on the profile you’re keeping using our guide to editing a Business Profile, and let those edits publish before you report the copy.
How to merge two Google Business Profiles
- Open the listing you want to get rid of. In Google Maps, search for it or select it on the map. Make sure it is the copy, not your keeper. Compare the review count and phone number with your dashboard.
- Select Suggest an edit on the listing.
- Choose Place closed or not here. This opens the status options. Google’s help also lists this option as “Place is closed or not here” on some pages, so look for either wording.
- Pick Duplicate of another place, then Submit. This is the merge request. Google’s steps for marking a place as a duplicate end here, and it says “all merge requests are subject to review.”
- Track the request. In the Google Maps app, tap Contribute, then View your profile, then scroll to Edits. Google’s Maps edits help shows each one as Pending, Accepted or Not accepted.
- Search again once it’s accepted. Repeat the name, phone and address searches from your prep. Check that the reviews from the old listing now show on yours, and that no third copy is hiding behind an old number.
Step 4 only works if Google can see the two listings are one business. If the copy has a different phone number, a different suite number or a name with “LLC” added, those mismatches give the reviewer a reason to keep both. Google’s Maps help also warns that you “cannot cancel or recall submitted edits”, so if you report the wrong listing, wait for the result and then submit a corrected edit.
When the copy is in your own account
If both profiles show up in your Business Profile Manager, you don’t need Google to merge anything. Google says a duplicate you created by mistake can be removed without affecting your verified listing. The steps, from Google’s removal help page:
- Open the copy’s Business Profile while signed in to the account that manages it.
- Select More, then Business Profile settings.
- Select Remove Business Profile, then Remove profile content and managers.
- Select Continue, then Remove, then Done.
Two limits catch people out. Only primary owners can do this, and new owners and managers must wait 7 days before they can remove a profile. Our guide to deleting a Business Profile covers the other ways out, and what each one leaves behind on Maps.
Removing a profile from your account is not the same as taking the listing off Maps. Google warns that removal “doesn’t guarantee that the business won’t show up on Maps and Search.” If the copy still appears publicly afterward and it has reviews you want to keep, report it as a duplicate in Maps with the six steps above, so its reviews can be combined with your keeper.
When someone else owns the duplicate
A verified copy owned by a former employee, an old agency or a previous owner can’t be removed or merged by you directly. Request access first. Google’s ownership request steps start at business.google.com/add: enter the name and address, choose the business and select Request access. The current owner has 3 days to respond. If they approve, remove the copy from inside the account. If they don’t reply, you may get the option to claim it, though Google says that option “isn’t always available.”
For a service-area business with no storefront, the request form doesn’t apply. Google says to contact support and choose Transfer ownership of listing as the issue. Once you’re in, the owner and manager guide shows how to make sure the right people keep access to the one profile left.
What happens to reviews, photos and replies
This is where most people hesitate, and the answer depends on the route.
Google states that when two profiles are merged, “their reviews are combined, but replies to reviews may be lost.” For a removal, Google says owner content is “permanently removed” while “user-generated content and review remains.” So if the copy holds reviews, a merge is the route that brings them to your keeper. Removal alone leaves them on a listing you no longer control.
What can go wrong
The request comes back Not accepted. Usually the listings don’t match closely enough, or Google can’t confirm they’re one business. Make the copy’s details match where you can (you can suggest edits to a place’s name, phone or address in Maps), wait for those edits, then send a new duplicate report. If it still fails, ask in the Business Profile Community or contact support through the Business Profile help form.
You removed the wrong profile. Google calls removal permanent: the content “can’t be recovered or managed”, and you’d have to re-verify to manage the business again. Check the review count and the profile ID before step 3 of the removal. Our Business Profile ID guide shows where to find it.
Google merged two businesses that are really separate. Two distinct businesses at one address can each have a profile if they have different names and visibly different signage. If they were wrongly merged, Google says to contact support and appeal the duplicate status. If both serve customers at the same location, expect to send evidence of permanent signage showing both businesses.
The “duplicate” is a practitioner profile. Google’s guidelines let doctors, dentists, lawyers, financial planners and insurance or real estate agents have their own profile if they’re public-facing and can be reached at the location. When several practitioners work there, the organization gets its own separate profile too. A solo practitioner at a branded location should share one profile named like “Allstate: Joe Miller”. Reporting a valid practitioner profile as a duplicate is the wrong fix.
You moved, and now you have two. Google says not to create a new profile when a business relocates. Update the address on the existing one instead. If an old listing at the old address is still live, the Maps option Moved to a new location lets you point it at the right place.
You made one profile per service. Google doesn’t allow separate profiles for each service a business offers. List the services on the one profile and report or remove the extras. A duplicate is also one of the common reasons a profile stops showing up on Google, so fixing it is often what brings a hidden listing back.
FAQ
Do I keep my reviews when I merge Google Business Profiles?
Yes, if Google accepts a duplicate report from Maps. Google says the reviews from both profiles are combined, but owner replies to those reviews may be lost.
How long does a Google Business Profile merge take?
Google doesn’t publish a timeline. Its Maps help says edits are reviewed and “it can take some time” for changes to show, so check the Edits list in the Maps app until the status changes from Pending.
Can I merge two Google accounts that manage the same profile?
You don’t need to. Add the second account as an owner or manager of the profile, or transfer primary ownership to it, then remove the account you no longer use from the profile.
One business, one listing, then check it stays that way
Once the merge is accepted, the work isn’t quite finished. Duplicates tend to come back from the same sources: an old phone number on a directory, a staff member creating a profile from their own account, or a well-meaning agency setting up “a fresh one.” Write down the profile ID you kept, and add the name, phone and address searches to a quarterly check. If our citation audit turns up an old number, fix it at the source, so Google has nothing left to build a second listing from.
