Managing Google Profiles for Multiple Locations
One profile per site, one business group for all of them: how to set up a second or third venue properly and manage ten or more locations in bulk
The second venue has been running for three months. Reviews now arrive in two places, opening hours live in two places, and when the kitchen in the first building was rebuilt over the summer, nobody updated the second profile, because nobody owned it.
Two locations are not twice the work of one. They are more, as long as the structure is missing, and considerably less once it exists.
The basic rule: one profile per location
Google requires a Business Profile for the actual location, with its own address and year-round permanent signage on site. Running two venues under one profile to save effort is therefore a policy violation and risks suspension, which is covered in our article on a suspended Google Business Profile.
The same applies to the opposite mistake: two profiles for one venue, usually because someone created a second one at some point. Duplicate profiles split the reviews and weaken both.
The structure: a business group, not private accounts
From the second location onwards, one step saves a lot of trouble later. Google provides the business group, previously called a business account. Profiles then belong to the group rather than to one individual’s private Google account.
Google recommends a dedicated account using an email address on your business domain, and a working one at that, since support will use it to reach you.
Why this matters tends to become clear too late: if the profiles hang off the marketing assistant’s private account and that person leaves, access leaves with them. Through the group you grant permissions instead, without handing out credentials, and withdraw them just as easily.
(Source: Google: Bulk location management overview)
Ten locations and up: bulk management
Google provides bulk management for businesses with at least ten locations. All of them can then be added, verified and managed together.
The process, as Google describes it:
- Create a dedicated Google account on your business domain
- Create a business group and gather all locations in it
- Record the location data in a spreadsheet and upload it
- Fix the errors the dashboard flags, only then does it publish
- Request bulk verification through a form
- Maintain it afterwards in the dashboard or via a revised spreadsheet
Below ten locations you add and verify profiles individually. That is no disadvantage, just more clicking, once.
What has to match across locations, and what does not
| Detail | Across all locations |
|---|---|
| Name | The same, exactly as on the sign. A place name only if it genuinely belongs to the name |
| Address and phone | Specific to each location, and written identically everywhere |
| Primary category | The same, as long as the concept is the same |
| Secondary categories | May differ where the offering differs, breakfast at one site only for instance |
| Description | Do not copy word for word, or the profiles read as duplicates |
| Photos | Specific to each location, no stock shots from the other venue |
| Opening hours | Per location, public holidays included |
How name, address and phone are written has to line up across every platform, otherwise you create exactly the uncertainty that costs visibility. More on that in our article on NAP consistency. Which category fits what is covered in our article on the Google Business category.
Reviews across several locations
Reviews belong to a profile, not to a brand. That has two consequences people regularly underestimate.
The weakest location does not drag the brand down, but it does cost local guests. Someone searching in Linz sees the Linz reviews. A 4.7 average in Graz helps nobody there. Locations therefore need attention individually, not an average across all of them.
Replies must not sound like head office. The same reply text under reviews in three cities stands out, certainly once someone opens two profiles side by side. The tone can be consistent, the content has to fit the location and the visit.
The three most common mistakes
One QR code for every location. Then every venue collects reviews on one profile. Each location needs its own code from its own profile, see our article on the QR code for Google reviews.
Identical descriptions and photos. Saves ten minutes and looks like a chain that does not know its own venues.
Nobody owns it. That is the real reason profiles go stale. One location, one responsible person, one fixed slot a month is entirely enough.
The bottom line
Multiple locations rarely fail because of Google, they fail on missing ownership. One profile per venue, all of them in a business group, permissions instead of shared passwords, and from ten locations the route via spreadsheet and bulk verification. SupaPresence covers exactly this case with multi-location management, including replies that sound like the venue rather than head office. Join the pilot for free.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a separate Google profile for every location?
Yes. Google requires a profile for the actual location, with its own address and permanent signage on site. One profile covering two venues is a policy violation and risks suspension.
How do I manage several profiles without losing track?
Through a business group, previously called a business account. The profiles then belong to the group rather than to one person’s private account, and you can grant access to several people without sharing credentials.
When does bulk management become worthwhile?
Google provides it for businesses with at least ten locations. There you can upload locations by spreadsheet and verify them together. Below that you add and verify profiles individually.
Can the name differ per location?
The name should be the same everywhere, exactly as it appears on the sign. A town or district belongs in the name only if it genuinely is part of the name, not as a workaround to tell locations apart.
Should I reply the same way across all locations?
No. Identical reply texts across locations read like a chain and devalue the reply. The tone can be consistent, the content has to match that location and that particular visit.