Decide which profile to keep, usually the verified one with your reviews. If you manage the duplicate, remove it from Business Profile settings. If you don't, request access to it or suggest a merge on Google Maps. Google's rule is one profile per location, with narrow exceptions for practitioners and departments.
Common kinds of duplicate
Google says profiles are marked as duplicates when a verified profile already exists for the same business, when several profiles share one address, or when one business has separate profiles for different services. They usually look like this:
- The same business twice: an old listing someone else created, plus the one you verified.
- A moved business: Google says that when you relocate you should update the existing profile with the new address, not create a new one. A second profile for the new address is a duplicate.
- Practitioner and practice: Google says a practitioner who is the only public-facing practitioner at a branded practice should share one profile with it. Where several practitioners work at one location, the practice needs a profile separate from theirs.
Find every copy
- Search Google Maps for your business name and for your address, and note every profile that appears.
- Sign in to each Google account your business has used and open Business Profile Manager to see which profiles you manage.
- Pick the profile to keep: normally the verified one with your reviews and history.
- Note which duplicates you manage and which belong to someone else.
Search: "Sharma Dental Baner" on Maps shows two listings. Listing A: verified, 84 reviews, managed from the clinic's Gmail. Keep it. Listing B: unverified, 3 reviews, created years ago by a former receptionist. The clinic does not manage it. Action: request access to B from the clinic's account and remove it once you manage it. If access is refused, suggest a merge on Maps. Replies on B may be lost in a merge, so copy any worth keeping first.
Remove a duplicate you manage
Google says that if you created a duplicate by mistake, you can remove it without affecting your verified listing. Only the primary owner can remove a profile.
- Sign in and open the duplicate, not the profile you are keeping.
- Select More, then Business Profile settings.
- Select Remove Business Profile, then Remove profile content and managers.
- Select Continue, then Remove, then Done.
A duplicate you don't manage
If someone else owns the duplicate, request access from them first, then remove it once you manage it.
To merge two profiles for the same business, Google says to report a suggestion on Google Maps. Google reviews every merge request. When profiles merge, their reviews are combined, but replies to reviews may be lost.
Common problems
- Will removing the duplicate delete my reviews?
- Not on the profile you keep. Google says removing a duplicate you created by mistake doesn't affect your verified listing. Removal deletes owner content on the removed profile only.
- We moved. Should I create a new profile?
- No. Google says to update the existing profile with the new address instead.
- Can a practitioner have a profile separate from the practice?
- It depends. Google says a solo practitioner at a branded practice should share the practice's profile. Where several practitioners work at one location, the practice and the practitioners have separate profiles.
- Will Google definitely merge them?
- There is no guarantee. Google says all merge requests are subject to review.
Next steps
Getting access to a duplicate someone else claimed has its own process. If the duplicate came from a move, update the address on the profile you keep.
Spot a second copy of your business early
With Reach
A duplicate usually shows up as a second listing under your own name. Search Visibility in Reach checks your tracked searches every week and lists the businesses ranking around you, so a copy of your listing is easier to spot before customers find it.