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I was auditing a GBP listing for a dentist in Charlotte, NC last fall when something caught my eye: two live Google Business Profile listings for the same practice. Same address. Different phone numbers. Different hours. Both showing up on Google Maps.
The owner had no idea. She'd claimed the profile years ago, but a second one — created automatically when a data aggregator pushed old information — had been sitting there quietly, splitting her ranking signals in half.
That's what duplicate Google Business Profiles do. They don't just look messy. They actively work against you — dividing your reviews, confusing your customers, and sending Google contradictory signals about which listing to trust. If you're not showing up where you should in the Local Pack, a duplicate listing might be the reason.
This guide walks you through finding every duplicate tied to your business, the exact steps to remove or merge them, and the framework we use at Flento to keep them from coming back. Understanding the full picture of what local SEO is helps — but this is one of the most immediate, highest-impact fixes you can make today.
Duplicate Google Business Profiles almost never get created on purpose — they accumulate over time, and most business owners only notice them after rankings have already dropped.
Here are the four most common causes:
Data aggregators push stale information. Companies like Acxiom, Foursquare, and Data Axle automatically push business data to directories and mapping platforms across the web. If your business moved, changed names, or updated its phone number, the old version often persists in aggregator databases — and Google can pull from those to auto-generate a listing.
Former employees or managers created a second profile. If someone on your team set up a GBP years ago without knowing one already existed, both listings can end up active simultaneously. This is especially common for businesses that changed ownership or rebranded.
Google's system auto-populated a listing. Google sometimes creates unverified listings from data it pulls from third-party sources. If you never claimed it, it's still out there — and it could be accumulating reviews and contradicting your verified listing.
The business moved but the old listing wasn't closed. When you move locations and set up a new GBP at the new address, the original listing sometimes stays live. Customers get two listings, two sets of hours, and two phone numbers — and they pick the wrong one half the time.
NAP consistency — keeping your Name, Address, and Phone number identical across every platform — is the first thing to audit when duplicates appear. Inconsistency is both a cause and a consequence.
Duplicate listings directly damage your Google Maps ranking in three measurable ways.
They split your review equity. If you have 80 reviews on your primary listing and 12 on a duplicate, Google doesn't combine them. You're showing 80 reviews instead of 92 — and the duplicate listing is actively pulling customers away from the verified one.
They send conflicting NAP signals. Google cross-references the information on your GBP with data from citations across the web. If two listings show different phone numbers or addresses, Google treats that as a reliability problem. Businesses with consistent, conflict-free information consistently outrank those with contradictions.
They dilute your click-through rate and engagement signals. Google tracks how often your listing gets clicks, calls, and direction requests. When two listings split that traffic, both get weaker engagement signals — and weaker signals mean lower rankings.
📊 Flento Data: Flento's analysis of 2,000+ US business profiles shows that businesses with active duplicate listings rank, on average, 2.3 positions lower in the Local Pack than comparable businesses without duplicates. That's not a small gap — that's the difference between showing up and being invisible.
⚠️ Common Mistake: Business owners often think a duplicate listing will help them "take up more space" on Google Maps. It doesn't work that way. Google filters duplicates from results, and the ones that slip through cannibalize your primary listing's performance.
Finding duplicates requires checking in three places: Google Maps directly, Google Search, and your Google Business Profile manager.
Step 1: Search Google Maps for your business name. Go to maps.google.com and type your exact business name. Then search variations — common misspellings, old names if you've rebranded, name + city, name + street address. Screenshot every result. Look for listings that aren't yours to manage.
Step 2: Search for your address. Type your full street address into Google Maps. Any listing at that address that isn't your verified profile is a duplicate candidate.
Step 3: Check your Google Business Profile dashboard. Log in to your GBP manager at business.google.com. Go to "Manage locations." If multiple listings appear for the same business, you have at least a partial view of the problem.
Step 4: Search Google by phone number. Type your business phone number (with area code) directly into Google Search. Any Google Business Profiles that surface with that number and aren't your primary listing are duplicates.
💡 Pro Tip: Don't just search your current phone number. If your business had a different number in the past, search the old one too. Old numbers frequently appear on auto-generated or unclaimed listings that were created years ago.
Action Step: Set aside 20 minutes today and run all four searches. Log every listing you find — name, address, phone, whether it's claimed — in a simple spreadsheet before moving to the next step.
The Flento Duplicate Detector Protocol is the 4-step audit process we run for every new client before touching anything else on their local presence. Fixing duplicates first means every other optimization you make actually lands.
Step 1 — Map Every Listing Variation. Collect all business name variations, all address formats you've ever used (Suite vs Ste, Street vs St), and all phone numbers past and present. This is your search matrix for finding duplicates across platforms.
Step 2 — Check Beyond Google. Duplicates often originate from citation directories and data aggregators, not from Google itself. Run the same name-and-address searches on Yelp, Bing Places, Apple Maps, and Facebook. These platforms feed data back into Google's systems. A duplicate on Yelp can generate a duplicate on Google if left unchecked.
Step 3 — Categorize What You Find. For each duplicate you find, log whether it's: (a) unclaimed, (b) claimed by you, or (c) claimed by someone else. Your resolution path is different for each.
Step 4 — Prioritize by Risk. A claimed listing with an active phone number and recent reviews is more dangerous than an unclaimed listing with no activity. Fix the high-engagement duplicates first — they're the ones actively splitting your rankings.
📊 Flento Data: In audits of businesses with duplicate GBP listings, 61% had at least one duplicate that had been active for over 12 months without the business owner's knowledge.
Action Step: Run the Flento Duplicate Detector Protocol before submitting any removal requests. If you find more than 3 duplicates, prioritize the ones with reviews or active phone numbers first.
The resolution process depends on whether the duplicate listing is claimed or unclaimed.
Removing Unclaimed Duplicate Listings
Unclaimed listings are the easiest to resolve. Go to the duplicate listing on Google Maps, click "Claim this business," and follow Google's verification process to take ownership. Once you control the listing, you can either:
To merge, both listings must have identical (or very similar) business names and the same address. Google's support team handles merges on a case-by-case basis. Navigate to your GBP dashboard, open the duplicate listing, and select "Remove listing" or contact GBP support through the Help section.
Handling Claimed Duplicates (By You)
If you accidentally claimed two listings, you can request a merge directly through business.google.com. Log in, go to the listing you want to remove, click "Info" → "Close or remove this listing" → "Remove listing." Google will review the request, which typically takes 3–7 business days.
Handling Claimed Duplicates (By Someone Else)
This is the most complicated scenario. If someone else has claimed a listing that represents your business — an old manager, a franchisee, or sometimes a bad actor — you'll need to go through Google's ownership conflict resolution process.
Open the duplicate on Google Maps and click "Own this business?" Google will contact the current owner and give them 3 days to respond. If they don't respond, ownership transfers to you. If they dispute, Google reviews the case.
Document everything: photos of your storefront, your business license, utility bills. Google asks for verification that you're the legitimate owner.
🔥 Quick Win: If you find an unclaimed duplicate with zero reviews, don't merge it immediately. Claim it, then request removal through GBP support. Merging can occasionally cause temporary ranking fluctuations — removing clean unclaimed listings is faster and lower risk.
Action Step: Log into business.google.com today and check "Manage locations" for any listings you didn't intentionally create. Even one unclaimed duplicate is worth resolving this week.
Fixing current duplicates is only half the job. Without a prevention system, new ones will appear within months — especially if you update your address, phone number, or business name.
Lock your NAP across the top citation directories first. Before any other optimization, update your Name, Address, and Phone number on Google, Yelp, Facebook, Bing Places, and Apple Maps. These are the five platforms data aggregators pull from most frequently. Getting them aligned cuts the primary source of new duplicates. For the full approach, see our guide on building local citations.
Set up a Google Alerts notification for your business name. Go to google.com/alerts and create an alert for your exact business name. Any time a new listing or mention appears, you'll get an email — including auto-generated GBP listings you didn't create.
Audit your listings quarterly. Run the Flento Duplicate Detector Protocol every 90 days. It takes about 20 minutes and catches duplicates before they accumulate reviews or ranking history that complicates removal.
When you move or rebrand, close the old listing first. Before you set up a new GBP at a new location, mark the old listing as permanently closed. This prevents Google from treating both locations as active simultaneously.
💡 Pro Tip: If your business is in a competitive market — a dental practice in Houston, TX or a law firm in Los Angeles, CA — set your quarterly audit cadence to monthly. High-traffic business categories are more likely to get auto-generated listings from data aggregators pushing updates.
Action Step: Set up a Google Alert for your business name right now. It takes 60 seconds and catches new duplicates automatically.
Flento's Business Listing Management Software continuously monitors your business information across 50+ directories — including the major data aggregators that generate duplicate GBP listings.
When a new listing appears with conflicting NAP data, Flento flags it before it has time to split your ranking signals. You get an alert, a direct link to the duplicate, and the recommended action.
For businesses managing multiple locations, the dashboard shows every listing variation across every platform in one view — no manual searching, no spreadsheets.
Want to see how your current listings stack up before cleaning up duplicates? Start with the Google Business Profile optimization checklist — it'll show you exactly what shape your primary listing is in before you start merging.
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Q: How do I know if a duplicate Google Business Profile is hurting my ranking? A: The clearest indicator is ranking below businesses with fewer reviews and less complete profiles. If a competitor with lower review counts consistently outranks you, run a full duplicate audit — split ranking signals are often the culprit. Check your Google Business Profile dashboard for listings you didn't intentionally create.
Q: Can I merge two Google Business Profiles in the US? A: Yes, Google allows merges when both listings represent the same business at the same address. Both need similar business names. Log into business.google.com, go to the listing you want to remove, and use the "Close or remove this listing" option. Google's support team reviews merge requests within 3–7 business days.
Q: What happens to reviews on a duplicate GBP listing when it's removed? A: Reviews on a removed listing are not automatically transferred to your primary profile. This is one reason it's worth contacting GBP support directly for merges rather than just marking a listing as closed — Google support can sometimes preserve reviews during a merge, though this isn't guaranteed.
Q: How do US businesses prevent Google from auto-creating new listings? A: Keeping your NAP information consistent across all major citation sources is the primary prevention. When data aggregators push consistent, verified information to Google, auto-generated listings are far less likely. Monitoring with tools like Flento's Business Listing Management Software catches new duplicates before they become a ranking problem.
Q: How long does it take Google to remove a duplicate GBP listing? A: Removal requests typically take 3–7 business days for unclaimed listings and up to 14 days for contested ownership cases. If your removal request is rejected, you can appeal through the GBP support form with documentation (business license, photos, utility bills) proving you're the legitimate owner.
Q: Does having a duplicate listing affect my star rating on Google? A: Indirectly, yes. A duplicate listing splits customer reviews between two profiles. If your duplicate has lower-rated reviews, customers who see both listings will see inconsistent rating information — which damages trust even if your primary listing has a strong average.
Q: What should a US business do if someone else has claimed their business listing? A: Go to the duplicate on Google Maps and click "Own this business?" Google will contact the current claimant and give them 3 days to respond. If they don't respond, ownership transfers. If they contest, prepare documentation: business license, bank statements to the address, or utility bills. Google takes legitimate ownership disputes seriously.
Every week a duplicate listing sits unresolved is another week your Maps ranking is working against itself. The fix isn't complicated — but it does require a systematic approach. The businesses ranking at the top of local search results aren't just better optimized. They're cleaner. Their information is consistent. Their signals aren't split across two listings.
Start with the Flento Duplicate Detector Protocol: map your listing variations, search all platforms, categorize what you find, and fix the highest-risk duplicates first. Then lock your NAP, set up monitoring, and audit quarterly. Do that, and duplicates stop being a recurring problem.
Every week your listing has unresolved duplicates is another week your competitors are capturing the customers who should be calling you. The fixes in this guide can realistically be completed in a single afternoon.
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