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How to Close or Remove a Google Business Profile
TL;DR on how to remove a GBP
- To remove your Google Business Profile (GBP), you can mark it as temporarily closed, permanently closed, or delete it entirely, depending on your situation.
- Marking a business as “permanently closed” keeps the profile visible on Search and Maps but indicates the business is no longer operating.
- To completely delete a GBP listing, owners must go through the Google Business Profile dashboard, but this action is permanent and removes all associated content like posts, photos, and website data.
- Temporarily closed businesses remain on Maps and Search, allowing reviews to accumulate while showing customers that the business is not open, but be cautious about future opening dates to avoid visibility issues.
- Deciding whether to close or delete a GBP listing depends on factors like rebranding, relocation, or permanent closure; seek advice from experts if unsure.
If you want to remove your Google Business Profile (GBP) so it is no longer visible in Search and Map results, you have a few options. For seasonal or temporary closures, you can mark your profile temporarily closed, letting customers know you’ll be back at a future date. For permanent closures, you can mark the profile permanently closed or request to have it permanently removed from Maps so it is no longer visible.
Reasons to Remove a Google Business Profile
There are several reasons why people are looking to remove their business listings. Depending on which scenario, you fall into, you should make sure to follow the correct instructions below.
- Your business is permanently closing. This is the most common
- A business profile was created for a business that doesn’t exist or is not eligible for a listing, the profiles can also be completely removed.
- Your business is seasonal or temporarily closed. There is an option to mark a business profile temporarily closed. This allows the profile to remain active on search and maps and receive new reviews but shows customers that the business is not currently open to customers.
How to Mark a listing as Permanently Closed
Note: If you mark a business as permanently closed, your Business Profile may still appear on Search and Maps for users who search for it. It clearly shows that your business is closed.
Permanently Closed listings are difficult for users to find. Google purposely hides them since they aren’t overly valuable to users. Often the only way to trigger them on Google search is to type in the name exactly or a combination of the name + the address if it’s for an old location.
To mark a listing as permanently closed:
- Go to your Business Profile
- Select “Edit Profile”
- Near the top, select the “Hours” tab
- Next to “Hours,” click edit, then choose “permanently closed”
- Save
How to Completely Delete a Google Listing
Disclaimer – THIS PROCESS IS PERMANENT. DO NOT REMOVE A GOOGLE LISTING UNLESS YOU’RE SURE YOU WANT YOUR ENTIRE LISTING REMOVED FROM GOOGLE.
If you are looking to actually delete a GBP listing, you can do this from the Google Business Profile dashboard, including the Google Business Profile agency dashboard if you manage locations on behalf of clients.There are a few things to keep in mind:
- Any posts, photos, or videos added by profile owners or managers will be permanently removed.
- If your website was created with Google Business Profile, it will be permanently
removed. - Removed profile content can’t be recovered or managed.
- Only owners and primary owners can remove a Google Business Profile
To remove your listing, go to your profile, and click on the three dots in the upper right corner, and click on Business Profile Settings. Select Remove Business Profile, and click on Remove Profile Content and Managers.
Select Continue, and Remove, then click Done.
After removing your profile content and managers, you must unselect “mark your business as permanently closed”
Marking a Google Business Profile Temporarily Closed
Temporarily closing a listing is a fairly simple process. If you’re wondering how to remove temporarily closed on Google Maps, you can follow these steps to adjust your business’s status.
In the Google Business Profile dashboard, click on the “Edit Profile” icon:
Then, click the edit button beside the hours section and you should see an option to mark the listing as temporarily closed:
Pro Tip:
Do not use the opening date feature if your business is temporarily closed. If you set the opening date to a date in the future, it will cause your listing and reviews to become invisible on Google Search and Google Maps.
Determining Which Type of GBP Closure is Best For Your Business
Closing a Google Business listing can be a strategic decision for various reasons, including rebranding, relocating, or discontinuing operations. Ultimately, the decision to remove a Google Business profile depends on individual circumstances and the specific goals and needs of the business in question.
Not sure what to do? We can help! Visit localsearchforum.com and share with the community or go to the Google Business Profile Help Community to speak with a Google Business Profile Product Expert to determine the best course of action.
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While the “Remove Profile Content and Managers.” technique is likely to lead to a profile deletion, it is not guaranteed. It can also lead to the profile still being right there on the map, but unverified, requiring manual suggestions to actually get rid of it.
While the “Remove Profile Content and Managers.” technique is likely to lead to a profile deletion, it is not guaranteed. It can also lead to the profile still being right there on the map, but unverified, requiring manual suggestions to actually get rid of it.
A very helpful article – especially mentioning the third party tool aspect 🙂
In the video, a mention of using the API to assess third-party tools connected to accounts was going to be somewhere in the article., is that in a different article Joy?
I must have forgot lol.
You can see what apps currently have access to change your account here. Look for things listed under the third-party apps section that say they have access to manage business listings.
Thanks Joy 🙂
Many of my clients want to delete their GBP and start fresh because there are issues, suspensions, etc. Is this ever a good idea?
Yes, there are some scenarios where starting over is a better option when it comes to a suspension. We also are coming out with a video/article talking about how removing a listing can sometimes be a better idea for an SAB that is moving.
A very helpful article – especially mentioning the third party tool aspect 🙂
In the video, a mention of using the API to assess third-party tools connected to accounts was going to be somewhere in the article., is that in a different article Joy?
I must have forgot lol.
You can see what apps currently have access to change your account here. Look for things listed under the third-party apps section that say they have access to manage business listings.
Thanks Joy 🙂
Many of my clients want to delete their GBP and start fresh because there are issues, suspensions, etc. Is this ever a good idea?
Yes, there are some scenarios where starting over is a better option when it comes to a suspension. We also are coming out with a video/article talking about how removing a listing can sometimes be a better idea for an SAB that is moving.