Can you transfer Google My Business reviews to a new Google Maps listing?

When can you transfer Google reviews to a new account? When is it better to give up on this idea? Are Google My Business reviews transferred automatically? In all cases? Or maybe it's best to disable customer reviews on the listing and finally stop worrying about what others think of my company?

Not everything at once. Take a moment to read calmly. Everything will become clear soon.

Adding a company profile to Google My Business involves managing user reviews

Let's clarify one thing right away. Google Maps does not allow you to disable reviews on your profile. When you add a listing to Google My Business, you are exposing your brand to evaluation. Leaving your products and services at the mercy of Internet users is not a good idea. Without an effective management plan, you will quickly start looking for ways to remove negative reviews. And you can achieve this goal only in specific cases. Mainly when the content of the comments violates Google's guidelines.

So you come up with the idea of starting over. And that's where the difficulties begin.

Every Google My Business listing requires verification

You create a new listing. Google creates a problem. You cannot create a second account for the same brand at the same address. What will happen if you change the address to a fictional one? You will get stuck at the verification stage.

Verification can be done via email, phone, or postcard. Seeing the first two options, you breathe a sigh of relief. Unfortunately, this feeling may not last long. Not every company has access to remote verification methods. This means that if your business has a physical address, there is a good chance that it can only be verified using a code received by traditional mail.

For this reason, it is not a good way to remove negative reviews. Bending the rules of Google Maps by providing false information will not bring you any benefit.

Does every change in the company require a change in the Google listing?

But what if you are changing the listing because something has actually changed in your company? First, check if you really need to do it at all.

You don't need to create a new listing if you are making organizational changes in your business. The displayed website address, opening hours, current phone number - these are just additional data about the same brand. Interestingly, even a change of ownership does not require a change in the listing. Your Google My Business account is usually linked to your company's Google account. And such an account should be transferred to the new owner of the business.

New Google My Business listing. When can you transfer old customer reviews to it?

If the company does not change its name but changes its address, reviews from the old listing are usually transferred to the new one automatically. However, there are some exceptions to this rule. Companies strongly associated with a location, such as hotels, natural attractions, or golf courses, cannot take advantage of this convenience.

Location-based businesses. What happens when they change their address?

In such a case, the entire process of acquiring reviews will have to start over. If you believe that your company provides services under exactly the same conditions in the new location, you can contact Google support. Unfortunately, chat and phone support are only available during certain hours. And you will have to wait a while for the email submission to be verified. There is also no guarantee that it will be approved.

When will Google Maps reviews not be transferred to a new account?

When you run your business in multiple locations, even a minor name change will not cause any confusion in Google My Business reviews. The account will still be recognized as belonging to the same business. However, if you have only one address, changing the company name on the old account may be seen by Google as an entirely new business. Similarly, Google treats significant changes in naming, regardless of the size of the company.

This carries some risk. In this case, Google reviews may be deleted. Therefore, transferring them to a new account will be impossible.

Your Google My Business listing affects your position in search results

That's why, instead of dealing with adding new accounts and getting frustrated with the technical aspects of transferring reviews, it's better to take care of what you already have. By using the Rating Captain tool, you can quickly determine what your customers complain about most often. You will get positive reviews. You will manage them from a convenient user panel.

Better positioning in search results, and as a result, more frequent display of your page by potential customers, is a natural consequence of effective actions. Instead of reinventing your listing, take advantage of ready-made services.