How to delete a Google Business Profile, or close it

How do you delete a Google Business Profile?

Sign in to the Google Account that manages the profile, then remove it from Business Profile settings. Only a primary owner can do this. If you became an owner or manager in the last seven days, you have to wait until that week is over.

These are the steps on Google's help page for removing a Business Profile from your Google Account:

1. Go to your Business Profile while signed in to the right Google Account.
2. Select More, then Business Profile settings.
3. Select Remove Business Profile, then Remove profile content and managers.
4. If the business has shut, turn on 'Mark your business as permanently closed'.
5. Select Continue, then Remove, then Done.

If you look after several locations, use Business Profile Manager instead. Select the profiles, then choose Actions, Remove businesses and Remove. If that shows an error, remove each profile one at a time.

Read the next section before you press Remove. Deleting is permanent, and it does less than most owners expect.

What happens to your reviews and photos when you delete it?

Your own content goes, but customer reviews stay. Posts, photos, videos and review replies added by owners and managers are removed for good. Reviews and other content from customers remain. Removal affects every owner and manager, and the content cannot be recovered.

The bigger surprise is that the business may still show on Search and Maps. Google says removing all ownership and content does not mean the business will stop appearing. It can stay visible unless it is not eligible to be on Google, for example because it never existed.

So deleting mostly removes your control. The listing can carry on without anyone to answer reviews or correct the opening hours. To manage it again later, you would have to verify the profile from scratch.

If you are worried about reviews rather than the profile itself, deleting is the wrong tool. Our reputation management service helps you answer reviews calmly and ask happy customers for more. Want to keep the profile and get more from it? Our local search engine optimisation (SEO) service sets up and checks your listing.

Should you mark the business as closed instead?

Yes, if the business has stopped trading. Marking it permanently closed tells customers the truth straight away. Google may still show the profile to people who search for it by name, but it clearly says the business is closed. That is better than a live listing that sends people to a locked door.

Google's page on marking your business as closed gives these steps:

1. Go to your Business Profile.
2. Select Edit profile, then Hours.
3. In the 'Opening hours' section, next to 'Hours', select Edit.
4. Choose Permanently closed or Temporarily closed.
5. Select Save.

Pick the closure that matches the facts. Use Temporarily closed when you will be shut for more than seven days, for the off-season or for an unknown period. For seven days or less, set special hours instead. While you are temporarily closed, Google can rank you below open businesses for broad searches.

If you also delete the profile, you can turn on 'Mark your business as permanently closed' during removal. Google says a closed profile will slowly drop out of search results and then be removed completely.

What if your business is moving to a new address?

Do not delete the profile or create a new one. Google's guidance for a relocated business is to update the address on the profile you already have. That keeps your reviews, photos and history attached to the business customers know.

To change the address, go to your Business Profile and select Edit profile, then Location. Next to 'Business location', select Edit, enter the new address and select Save. Google says most changes show within about 10 minutes, but some take up to 30 days.

If customers never visit you, because you travel to them, you can hide the address. Turn off 'Show business address to customers' and list the areas you serve instead.

One warning from Google's reopening guidance: if a profile was marked permanently closed because of a move or a name change, do not reopen it. Create and verify a new profile, then contact Google if you want your reviews moved across.

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How do you remove a duplicate Google Business Profile?

Google allows one profile per business, and duplicates do not show. If you made a second profile by mistake, remove it from your Google Account with the steps above. Removing the duplicate does not affect your verified listing, so check you have picked the right one first.

If two public listings for the same business appear on Google Maps, you cannot delete the one you do not manage. Google's page on resolving duplicate profiles says to report a suggestion on Google Maps and ask for a merge. Google reviews every merge request.

• When two profiles merge, their reviews are combined.
• Your replies to those reviews may be lost in the merge.
• The two profiles need to describe the same business with the same details.

Some duplicates are really a setup mistake. If you offer several services, list them as services on one profile rather than making a profile for each one.

How do you remove yourself or someone else from a profile?

You can leave a profile without deleting it. Go to More, Business Profile settings, then People and access. Select yourself, then Stop managing and Confirm. A primary owner must transfer primary ownership to someone else before they can leave.

To remove another person, an owner selects that user in People and access, then Remove person. Managers cannot remove users. Google's page on managing owners and managers explains each role and what it can change.

• The person you remove gets an email from Google.
• Their past review replies and posts stay on the profile.
• New owners and managers wait seven days before they can delete a profile, remove people or transfer primary ownership.

This is the right choice when a former partner, employee or agency still has access. You keep the listing and its reviews, and only the access changes.

What should you do with the profile when you sell the business?

Transfer primary ownership to the buyer instead of deleting the profile. Google says that handing over primary ownership keeps your business information, including reviews. The buyer takes over a working listing straight away, and customers see no gap.

The buyer first needs to be an owner or manager on the profile. Then the current primary owner goes to People and access, selects the buyer, selects Edit next to 'Access', chooses Primary owner and selects Save. After that, the seller can remove themselves.

A worked example

Here is an illustrative case, not a real firm. Priya runs a café in Leeds and agrees to sell it to Tom. If she deletes the profile, her photos and replies vanish and the café's listing is left with nobody managing it.

Instead, Priya invites Tom to the profile as an owner. Once he has accepted, she makes him the primary owner, then removes herself. Tom keeps the reviews and can update the hours in his first week of trading.

Read our guide to getting your business on Google if a new owner is setting up from scratch.

Which option fits your situation?

Many owners who want to delete a profile are better served by one of these. Start with the one that matches what has happened to the business.

• The business has closed for good: mark it permanently closed.
• You are shut for a while: mark it temporarily closed or set special hours.
• You have moved: update the address on the same profile.
• You made a second profile by mistake: remove that duplicate from your account.
• You sold the business: transfer primary ownership to the buyer.
• You no longer work there: stop managing the profile.
• You want no listing and no control at all: remove the profile.

Buzzozo helps small businesses keep their Google listing and website saying the same thing. We can check your profile before you make a change you cannot undo.

If you are starting again under a new name or at a new address, a clear website helps customers find the right business. Compare the plans and prices, or start your free 14-day trial. No card needed.

If you are unsure which listing you manage, start with what a Google Business Profile is. If the business is still trading but its listing has disappeared, check why a Google Business Profile is not showing before deleting anything.

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