How to Fix and Manage Multiple Google Business Profiles (Without Losing Your Mind)

A practical guide for regional organisations managing services across multiple locations.

Why Do Organisations End Up With Multiple Google Business Profiles?

This is a situation we see regularly with organisations across Albury Wodonga, Wagga, and throughout the border region.

An organisation might have several locations. Maybe it’s a community health provider with offices in multiple towns. Maybe it’s an employment services provider with branches across the Riverina. Or a disability support organisation serving a wide region from a few locations.

Over time, Google Business Profiles get created for those locations.

Sometimes a staff member sets one up. Sometimes Google automatically creates a listing based on information it finds online. And sometimes, a profile was created years ago, and nobody remembers who did it.

Eventually, things start to look messy.

You might have duplicate listings, old phone numbers, locations that have moved, or profiles that nobody in the organisation can access anymore because the original creator has left.

And here’s the problem: Google is using all that information right now to decide how your organisation appears in search results, AI Overviews, and in the answers ChatGPT gives when someone asks about services in your area.

Why Multiple Profiles Can Hurt Your Visibility on Google

Having multiple profiles isn’t automatically a problem. But when the information across those profiles is inconsistent, it can affect how Google trusts your organisation.

How Inconsistent Contact Details Confuse Google

Google looks for consistency when deciding which organisations to show in local search results.

It checks if your name, address, and phone number match across the internet. If Google finds different versions of these details in different places, it becomes less confident about which one is correct.

For a single-location business, this is usually easy to fix. But for organisations with multiple locations, it becomes more complicated.

Different profiles might show:

• slightly different organisation names
• outdated phone numbers
• old addresses
• overlapping service areas

Even small differences can weaken the signals Google relies on to understand your organisation.

How Inconsistent Contact Details Confuse Google

Duplicate profiles are another common problem.  When two profiles exist for the same location, Google has to decide which one to show.

Sometimes it picks the wrong one. Sometimes neither appears clearly in search results.

Reviews can also become split across duplicate profiles. One listing might have 30 genuine reviews while another has three.

Instead of showing your full reputation, Google sees two weaker profiles. For organisations operating across several towns, this can quietly reduce visibility without anyone realising it.

Why AI Search Makes These Problems Even Bigger

In the past, Google mainly relied on one source when displaying information. Now things work differently.

Google’s AI Overviews and tools like ChatGPT gather information from multiple places, including:

• your website
• your Google Business Profiles
• online directories
• customer reviews

If those sources show conflicting information, AI tools can produce confusing or incomplete answers. That confusion often becomes the first impression people see when searching for services in your area.

What Are the Most Common Google Business Profile Problems for Multi-Location Organisations?

After reviewing many regional organisations’ online presence, these issues come up again and again.

Orphaned Profies (that no one has access to)

Sometimes, a Google Business Profile was created using a personal email address from a staff member who has since left the organisation.

The profile still exists, but no one on the current team can update it or respond to reviews. That means incorrect information could stay visible indefinitely.

Auto-Generated Listings

Google sometimes creates business listings automatically using information it finds online. If your organisation appears in a directory or third-party website, Google might generate a profile based on that data.

These listings often contain:

• incomplete information
• incorrect addresses
• no photos
• outdated contact details

Overlapping Service Areas

When multiple profiles cover the same service area, Google has to decide which one to show.

If your Albury and Wodonga locations both claim to serve exactly the same region, Google may struggle to determine which listing is most relevant.

Clear service area definitions help Google understand where each location operates.

Inconsistent Categories and Services

Each profile includes categories that describe what your organisation does. If one location has detailed service categories while another has only the basics, Google receives mixed signals about what your organisation actually offers.

Having clear and consistent categories helps Google show your profile in the right searches.

Neglected Reviews Across Locations

Most organisations pay attention to their main office profile. But satellite locations are often forgotten. This means reviews can sit unanswered for months.

For someone searching specifically in that town, that location profile might be the first thing they see. And if it looks inactive or neglected, it can affect trust.

How to Audit All Your Google Business Profiles

Before fixing anything, it’s important to understand exactly what profiles exist.

Here’s a simple process.

Step 1: Find Every Profile for Your Organisation

Search Google for your organisation’s name. Then search for your organisation name plus each location you operate in.

Also, search using any variations of your name, including older versions or abbreviations. Check Google Maps as well.

Sometimes profiles appear on Maps that don’t show up in normal search results.

Step 2: Check Who Has Access to Each Profile

Log in to Google Business Profile Manager and see which listings your organisation can access.

If you find profiles that nobody can manage, you may need to claim ownership or request access from Google.

Step 3: Review the Details on Every Profile

Check the following information for each location:

• Organisation name
• Address
• Phone number
• Website link
• Opening hours
• Service categories
• Service areas
• Business description
• Photos
• Reviews and responses

Step 4: Compare Your Profiles With Your Website

Make sure your contact details match exactly between:

• your Google Business Profile
• your website
• online directories

Even small differences can confuse search engines.

Step 5: Document Everything

Create a simple spreadsheet listing every profile you find. Include columns for each piece of information and note if each listing is correct, outdated, duplicated, or missing.

This will serve as your action plan and your ongoing management reference.

How to Fix Multiple Google Business Profiles

Once you understand what exists, you can start cleaning things up by doing the following:

Claim or Recover Lost Profiles

If a profile exists but nobody in your organisation can access it, you can request ownership through Google.

Google will attempt to contact the current owner. If they don’t respond, access can often be transferred. For auto-generated listings, you can usually claim them directly.

Remove Duplicate Listings

Duplicate listings need to be handled carefully. Before removing one, check if it has reviews you want to keep.

You can report duplicates through Google’s edit suggestions or support channels. If both listings belong to your organisation, one can be marked as permanently closed.

Keep Your Contact Details Consistent

Choose one standard format for your organisation’s name, address, and phone number for each location. Then use that exact format everywhere.

Update your Google profiles first, followed by your website and any online directories.

Set Clear Service Areas

For organisations serving a wider region, service areas help Google understand where you operate.

Define realistic regions around each location rather than selecting overly broad areas. This helps your profiles appear in the most relevant searches.

Optimise Each Profile

Many organisations copy the same content across all their profiles. But Google prefers profiles that clearly represent each location.

Each profile should include:

• a location-specific description
• photos of the actual premises or team
• accurate categories for that location
• a link to the relevant page on your website

These details help Google understand that each listing represents a real, active location.

How to Manage Multiple Profiles Long Term

Fixing the problem once is only the first step. Keeping profiles updated over time is what builds visibility. Here’s how to achieve that:

Create a Simple Monthly Profile Check

Review each profile at least once a month. This should include:

• Responding to new reviews
• Adding a few new photos
• Publishing occasional updates
• Checking business hours and contact details

Assign Clear Responsibility Inside Your Organisation

Someone needs to own this process. For some organisations, that means one person managing all locations.

For others, local teams respond to reviews while marketing oversees the profiles. The key is making sure it’s clearly someone’s responsibility.

Use a Simple Framework for Responding to Reviews

Responses should feel human, not scripted. For positive reviews, thank the person and acknowledge their experience.

For negative reviews, respond professionally, acknowledge concerns, and offer to continue the conversation privately if needed.

Always remember that potential clients, referrers, and funders often read these responses.

Monitor Duplicates and Auto-Generated Listings

Google doesn’t stop creating auto-generated listings just because you’ve cleaned things up once. 

Set a quarterly reminder to search for your organisation across all your locations and check for any new profiles that have appeared.

Why Your Website and Google Profiles Need to Work Together

Google doesn’t see your website and profiles as separate things. They work together to build trust.

Multi-Location Websites Need Dedicated Location Pages

If your organisation operates in multiple locations, your website should have a page for each one. Each page should include:

• matching contact details
• a description of services at that location
• a Google Map
• information about the local team or community work

Each Google profile should link directly to its matching location page.

Structured Website Information Helps Google Understand Your Organisation

Websites can include special structured information that helps search engines understand details like location, services, and hours.

This helps Google and AI tools display your organisation more accurately in search results.

Managing multiple Google Business Profiles can feel like a lot of work. And when teams are busy running services, it’s easy for it to slip down the priority list.

But the data tells a clear story.

Your Google profiles influence nearly a third of your local search visibility. Reviews influence another large portion. Together, they determine whether people in your community find your organisation when they need help.

For regional organisations serving multiple locations, getting this right isn’t optional.

It’s the foundation of being visible online.

Want Help Getting Your Google Profiles Sorted?

If your organisation operates across multiple locations and you’re not sure what your Google presence currently looks like, it may be worth taking a closer look.

At Digital Marketer Bee, we help regional organisations across Albury Wodonga, Wagga, and the wider border region clean up their Google Business Profiles, improve local visibility, and make sure the right information shows up when people search.

If you’d like a clear view of what’s working and what needs fixing, reach out to the team for a quick review of your Google presence. 

Sometimes a few small changes can make a surprisingly big difference in how easily people find you.