Why is it so hard to claim a Google My Business page? Medical clinics often struggle to claim and maintain their Google My Business (GMB) pages. The same is true for doctors, lawyers, real estate agents and others. The problem is that many of these businesses share the same or similar addresses, and often even the same phone number – the very things that Google uses to identify a unique business. Local listings for medical businesses and facilities are complicated because there are many different players, with different names, all associated to the same or similar addresses.
Why does Google think another businesses is at my address?
Google defines a business by name, address and phone number. It doesn’t do a very good job when these overlap multiple businesses. Sometimes it will only allow one business for a given address, irrespective of suite numbers, names and phone numbers. Sometimes it awards the location to the first business to claim their Google My Business page. Sometimes it throws them all in a black box and randomly pulls out the parts and invents whimsical fantasy businesses.
For example, Dr. Kelly Brackett works in the Harbor Oncology Clinic at Rampart General Hospital.
This can result in multiple potential Google listings:
- Rampart General Hospital, 1000 West Carson Street, Los Angeles, CA 90502
- Harbor Oncology, 1000 West Carson St., Suite 301, Los Angeles, CA 90502
- Dr. Kelly Brackett, Oncologist, 1000 W. Carson Street, ste. 301, Los Angeles, CA 90502
Don’t forget, Dr. Joe Early. He works with Dr. Brackett at the oncology clinic. For some reason he calls it The Oncology Clinic at Harbor. He has a Google listing too.
Prior to Harbor Oncology moving in, Suite 301 housed the Rampart Neurology clinic, run by Dr. Mike Morton. A few years ago Dr. Morton moved next door to Suite 302, but people often get confused. Even the post office still delivers his mail to suite 301. Dr. Morton has been trying to sort out his listing for three years.
We now have 1 hospital, 2 clinics and 3 doctors, all at 1000 West Carson Street in Los Angeles. Two docs and the Oncology clinic share the same phone number, but they refer to the clinic by different names. They don’t actually work for the clinic, so technically there are 3 separate businesses (2 docs and the clinic) who lay claim to the same address and phone number, but with different names. Lastly, Dr. Morton’s neurology clinic moved only one suite over, so his new address is virtually identical to their old address.
Did you follow that?
Oh wait, isn’t there an oncology department at the med school across the street? And didn’t that office intern we had a few years back do something with the Google? What’s the password?
How does a medical clinic claim their Google My Business page?
It can be very difficult to sort out the many players, claim ownership of a legitimate listing, and disavow inaccurate, inappropriate or duplicate listings. You might need to call for help.
Tune in next week for the exciting conclusion to Google My Business EMERGENCY!
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Located in Denver, Colorado, Two Octobers is a boutique digital marketing agency. Forget about buzzwords, we solve problems. Give us a call to learn more about Google My Business and Local Search Optimization.
