Duplicate GBP listings split your ranking signals and confuse customers, and most business owners don't realize they have them until rankings drop. Here's the exact process to find every duplicate, merge or remove it, and prevent new ones from appearing.
Google estimates that at any given time, roughly 11% of local business profiles in Google Maps have at least one duplicate listing. For businesses that have been operating for 5+ years, changed addresses, or used third-party services to create listings, the number is closer to 25%.
Duplicate Google Business Profiles aren't a minor nuisance. An active duplicate splits your review history, creates NAP conflicts that suppress your primary profile's ranking, and in some cases can outrank your real profile for your own business name search.
This guide covers how to find duplicates, how to determine the right removal path for each type, and how to prevent new ones from appearing.
Understanding Duplicates
Finding and Fixing
Prevention
Duplicate listings happen for several reasons, and understanding the cause determines the fix path.
Old address listings: When a business moves, the old address listing often persists in Google's database. If customers or data aggregators continue referencing the old address, the old listing can remain active indefinitely, even years after the move.
Multiple staff members creating listings: Different employees or managers, unfamiliar with each other's work, create separate GBP listings for the same business. This is common in larger organizations or franchises.
Third-party listing services: SEO agencies, marketing companies, or automated listing tools sometimes create new GBP listings rather than claiming existing ones, resulting in two active profiles for the same business.
Data aggregators: Data aggregators (Data Axle, Neustar Localeze, etc.) sometimes generate GBP listing suggestions from their databases. Google may create an unverified placeholder listing based on aggregator data that doesn't match your primary profile.
Name changes: When a business changes its name, some directory systems create a new listing for the new name rather than updating the existing one. Both the old-name and new-name listings can become active.
Franchise or chain expansion: When franchise networks or multi-location businesses expand, new locations sometimes get associated with the wrong address or get duplicated when the same manager creates multiple profiles.
NAP conflict: If your primary GBP shows one address and a duplicate shows another, Google sees conflicting location signals. The result is lower confidence in your business identity, which reduces your local prominence score.
Review splitting: Reviews may distribute between your primary and duplicate listings. A business with 100 reviews split across two listings appears to have 50 reviews to any profile visitor, less social proof, lower conversion, and weaker review signals for ranking.
Traffic splitting: Customers who find your duplicate listing may call the duplicate's phone number (which may be wrong), get incorrect hours, or try to visit an old address. This creates a poor customer experience and may result in negative reviews on your primary profile.
Potential suspension: Google's quality system flags profiles with apparent duplicates. A business with two active, verified profiles at the same address may trigger automated review, increasing suspension risk for both profiles.
📊 Flento Data: Businesses that remove duplicate listings see an average ranking improvement of 3.1 positions in the Local Pack within 45 days of cleanup, primarily because removing the duplicate consolidates review signals and eliminates NAP conflicts that were suppressing the primary profile.
Type 1, Duplicate you own (verified or managed): You have management access to both the duplicate and your primary listing. This is the easiest to fix.
Type 2, Duplicate you don't own (unverified or managed by someone else): The duplicate exists but you don't have access to it. Requires a formal removal request to Google.
Type 3, Old location listing: A listing for your previous address that's still active in Google Maps. May be verified under your account (easy fix) or unverified (requires removal request).
The removal process is different for each type, and using the wrong process wastes time.
Method 1, Google Maps search by name: Search your exact business name in Google Maps. Look for multiple results. If two or more pins appear for your business name, you have a duplicate.
Method 2, Google Maps search by phone: Search your business phone number in Google Maps. Any result that isn't your primary profile is a duplicate or citation conflict.
Method 3, Google Maps search by address: Search your business address in Google Maps. Multiple business pins at the same address are a red flag, though note that some addresses legitimately house multiple separate businesses.
Method 4, GBP dashboard check: Log into your GBP dashboard (business.google.com). If you see multiple listings for the same business (or a listing you don't recognize that you're listed as a manager for), those are duplicates you own.
Method 5, Third-party audit tools: Citation audit tools (Flento, BrightLocal) scan for duplicate listings across Google and other directories as part of their citation health check. These catch duplicates that manual searching misses.
🛠️ Action Step: Search your business name in Google Maps right now. Read every result carefully, including any results that appear without a map pin or without a verified checkmark. Screenshot everything you find before taking any action.
If you manage multiple GBP profiles for the same physical location, the recommended approach is requesting a merge, which consolidates the review history into your primary profile.
To request a merge:
To simply delete (if the duplicate has no reviews):
⚠️ Common Mistake: Deleting a duplicate that has significant reviews without first requesting a merge. Reviews associated with a deleted listing typically cannot be recovered. If the duplicate has 10+ reviews, always request a merge rather than a deletion.
If a duplicate listing exists that you didn't create and don't manage, you can't delete it directly. Your options:
Option 1, "Suggest an edit" to close the listing: Find the duplicate in Google Maps. Click "Suggest an edit." Select "Close or remove this place." Choose "This place doesn't exist" or "This place is permanently closed" as appropriate. Google reviews these suggestions, approval typically takes 1-2 weeks.
Option 2, Claim and then remove: If the duplicate is an unverified listing (no checkmark on the profile), you may be able to claim it through the standard GBP verification process. Once claimed, you can update it to redirect to your primary listing or remove it entirely.
Option 3, Contact GBP Support: If the suggest-an-edit route doesn't produce results, contact GBP Support directly through your primary listing's dashboard. Provide links to both your primary and the duplicate listing, and explain the duplicate situation. Human review teams can remove duplicate listings that automated systems miss.
When you've moved, your old address listing may still appear in Google Maps. How to handle it:
If you still own the old listing: Update it to "Permanently closed" status. In GBP dashboard, go to the old listing → Edit profile → Close or remove this location → "Permanently closed." This removes the listing from active Maps results while preserving the history.
If you don't own the old listing: Use the "Suggest an edit" → "This business has moved" option in Google Maps. Add your new address information. Google will review the move suggestion and may either update the listing to your new address or close the old one.
Important: Do not simply add your new address to the old listing as a way of "moving" the reviews. Google's terms of service treat a listing's location as fixed. Moving an existing listing to a new address rather than creating a new verified listing at the new address can result in both listings being flagged.
💡 Pro Tip: If you've recently moved, create a new GBP listing at your new address and go through full verification. Once your new listing is verified and active, then request closure of the old listing. This sequence produces the cleanest result, your new address listing has full verification authority from the start.
Claim every listing before creating a new one. Before creating a new GBP profile, search Google Maps for your business name and address. If an unverified listing already exists, claim it rather than creating a new one.
Use a single Google account for all GBP management. Multiple people managing GBP under different Google accounts creates the conditions for accidental duplicate creation. Designate one primary account as the GBP owner and add additional managers under that account.
Audit data aggregators quarterly. Data aggregators sometimes generate new GBP listing suggestions from outdated data. Monitor for new unverified listings using citation audit tools or quarterly manual searches.
Update listings immediately when you move. Don't let an old address listing sit active after a business move. Update your primary listing to your new address and request closure of the old listing within 30 days of your move.
Brief any third-party agencies on your existing listing. If you hire a marketing agency to manage your GBP, give them your existing listing's profile ID before they start. The most common cause of duplicates from agencies is creating a new listing rather than claiming the existing one.
Flento's Business Listing Management Software includes duplicate detection as part of its citation audit, scanning for multiple active listings for your business and flagging them for review. When duplicates are found, Flento's dashboard guides you through the removal process.
For ongoing monitoring, Flento alerts you when new listings appear for your business name or address, catching accidental duplicates before they affect your ranking.
✅ Done? See how Flento detects and monitors for duplicate business listings automatically → Start free →
What is a duplicate Google Business Profile? A duplicate Google Business Profile is a second active listing for the same physical business location in Google Maps. Duplicates occur when a business appears twice at the same address, with the same or similar name, creating two competing profiles that split reviews, confuse customers, and suppress the primary listing's local ranking.
How do I remove a duplicate Google Business Profile I don't manage? For listings you don't manage, use the "Suggest an edit" feature in Google Maps: find the duplicate, click "Suggest an edit," select "Close or remove this place," and choose the appropriate reason. If this doesn't produce a removal within 2 weeks, contact Google Business Profile Support through your primary listing's dashboard with links to both the duplicate and your primary listing.
Will Google merge reviews from a duplicate listing to my primary? When Google processes a merge request (not a deletion), review history from the duplicate is typically transferred to the primary listing. This is why requesting a merge rather than deleting a duplicate with reviews is important. However, not all merges result in review transfer, contact GBP Support to specifically request review consolidation as part of your merge request.
Can I have two GBP listings for the same business with different addresses? Yes, but only if those addresses represent genuinely distinct business locations. A restaurant with two locations legitimately has two GBP profiles. A business that has one physical location but creates two profiles at slightly different address formats (one with "Suite 100" and one without) is creating a duplicate violation. Each unique, physical business location gets exactly one GBP profile.
How long does it take Google to remove a duplicate listing? The "Suggest an edit" closure route typically takes 7-14 business days for Google to process. GBP Support contact for duplicates typically takes 7-21 business days for human review. Claiming an unverified duplicate and then removing it can take 2-4 weeks depending on the verification method required. Start the process early, duplicate listings don't resolve quickly.
Do duplicate listings cause GBP suspension? Not automatically, but they increase suspension risk. Google's quality system flags profiles with apparent duplicates for additional scrutiny. A business with two active, verified profiles for the same address may trigger a policy review. Resolving duplicates proactively is lower risk than waiting for Google to notice them.
