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If you need to change address on Google Business Profile because your business has moved, edit the profile you already have. Open your Business Profile, select Edit profile, then Location, select Edit next to “Business location”, enter the new address and save. Keep the same profile so your reviews stay with it, and plan for a second verification, because Google’s help page says that if you move your business to a new address after it’s verified, you must verify your business again.
If you work from home or a yard and go out to customers, there is one extra step: turn off “Show business address to customers” and list the towns you serve instead. Google’s guidelines say a service-area business should hide its address, and a mailbox, virtual office or shared desk doesn’t count as a business location at all, so both are worth settling before you touch the profile.
Will I lose my Google reviews if I change my address?
No, as long as you edit the address on your existing profile. Reviews belong to the Business Profile, so when the same profile gets a new address, its reviews, photos and history come with it.
You lose them when you create a fresh profile for the new address. That profile starts with no reviews, and if the old one is still live you now have two profiles for one business. Google’s guidelines say there should only be one profile per business, because duplicates cause problems with how your information displays on Google Maps and Search. The old profile can also keep sending calls and directions to an address you’ve left.
Should I edit my profile or create a new one for the new location?
Edit the existing profile whenever it’s the same business, with the same owner, name and phone number, operating from a new place. Create a new profile only when you’re adding a location you’ll run alongside the first one. This table covers the moves trades and local practices usually face.
| Your situation | What to do on Google | What to watch |
|---|---|---|
| Same building, new unit or suite | Edit the address and put the unit in address line 2 | Usually a quick edit, but Google still reviews it |
| Shop or office moves across town | Edit the address on the existing profile | Expect to verify again; have signage up before you change it |
| Moving to a different town or city | Edit the address and rebuild your service area around the new base | Rankings shift toward the new area; keep the service area within about 2 hours’ drive |
| Leaving premises to work from home, going out to customers | Edit the address, turn off “Show business address to customers”, add service areas | Your home address stays private; never leave it showing |
| Moving from home into a unit that customers visit, with signage and staff | Edit the address and turn the address display on; keep service areas if you still travel | The unit must be staffed in the hours you list |
| Opening a second location and keeping the first | New profile for the new location only | Each location needs its own staff; a service business also needs separate service areas |
| Old business closed, a different business opens | Mark the old profile permanently closed, create a new one | Reviews don’t carry over, because it’s a different business |
| “Moving” to a mailbox, virtual office or hot desk | Don’t use it as your address | Google says these aren’t eligible; this is a common suspension trigger |
Running several sites changes the picture, so if you’re expanding rather than relocating, our guide to local SEO for multiple locations covers how to set each one up.
How do I change my address on Google Business Profile step by step?
Sign in with the Google account that manages the profile, then follow Google’s menu path below. It’s the same on a computer and in the Google Maps app.
- Search Google for your business name, or open the Google Maps app and tap Business at the bottom right.
- Select Edit profile, then Location.
- Next to “Business location”, select Edit.
- Enter the full new address. If Google can’t find it, re-enter the parts highlighted in red, or select Adjust and drag the pin onto your building.
- If customers don’t come to you, turn off “Show business address to customers”.
- Next to “Service area”, select Edit and list the cities or postcodes you now cover. Google allows up to 20, and says the overall area shouldn’t be more than about 2 hours’ drive from your base.
- Select Save.
Google reviews every edit before it goes live. Its help page says changes usually take about 10 minutes and can take up to 30 days, and service area edits can take up to 48 hours to appear once approved. While an edit is under review it shows as Pending; afterwards it’s either Accepted or Not approved, and you can check the status from Google’s edit status page.
Why do I have to verify my business again after moving?
Because a verification proves you operate at a particular place, and a new address is a new claim. Google says that a business which moves after it’s verified must verify again, and it decides which verification methods you’re offered. You can’t pick.
The method you get shapes how you should time the move:
- Live video call. Google asks you to show your current location (outside signs, nearby businesses or a street sign), your equipment or branded materials, and proof you manage the business, such as your keys or an employee-only area. Calls only run during your listed business hours. So get the sign up and the tools on site before you edit the address.
- Postcard. Google says most codes arrive within 14 days and expire after 30. While you wait, don’t edit your business name, address or category, because the code you were sent stops working. Don’t request a second code either; that cancels the first.
- Phone, text or email. The phone option needs someone to answer the business number, since automated phone menus can’t receive the code.
If verification stalls, our page on why a business isn’t showing on Google Maps covers profiles stuck in review.
Why was my Google Business Profile suspended after changing address?
Usually because the new address, or the way it’s displayed, breaks one of Google’s address rules, and the edit made Google look at the profile again. “Google business profile suspended after changing address” is one of Google’s own search suggestions, so plenty of owners are searching for it.
The rules people trip over, from Google’s guidelines and its help page on editing a profile:
- A rented mailing address you don’t work from (a virtual office) isn’t eligible for a Business Profile, and neither are P.O. boxes or remote mailboxes.
- An office in a co-working space only counts if it has clear signage, receives customers in business hours and is staffed by your own people.
- A service-area business should hide its address. Google’s example is a plumber working from a residential address, who should clear that address from the profile.
- If you change your business name after verification, you might need to verify again, and the name has to match your real signage. Doing the name, category and address in one go gives Google three changes to check at once.
One thread in Google’s help community shows how this plays out. An occupational therapist who works in clients’ homes moved to a new area and updated the address, and the profile was suspended straight away. The appeal was rejected for deceptive content, and only afterwards did they switch to a service-area profile with the address removed. Google’s guidelines asked for that address to be hidden from the start, because the business serves clients in their homes. If you’re already suspended, our guide to getting a suspended Google Business Profile back walks through the appeal.
Will moving affect my ranking on Google Maps?
Yes, often noticeably. Google says local results are mainly based on relevance, distance and popularity, and distance means how far each business is from the person searching. Move five miles east and you’ll tend to show more to searchers near the new address and less to those near the old one.
Your reviews stay with the profile, so the reputation you’ve built carries over. What changes is where you’re close to customers. If you’ve moved away from your best area, a tight service area and service pages on your website for the towns you still cover will help, and our guide to ranking higher on Google Maps explains how to check where you show up from different points on the map.
Worked example: an electrician moving from home to a rented unit
The business below is invented to show the order of work. A two-van electrician runs the business from home and moves into a small rented unit 15 miles away, with a sign on the door. Customers still never visit; the unit holds stock and the vans.
- Before the move: Order the sign, brand the vans and check the unit has a proper street address Google can find. Don’t change the name or category this month.
- Move week: Update the website first, including the contact page, footer and any LocalBusiness structured data on the site. Google’s documentation lists the address as a required property for that markup, so an old address there contradicts the new one.
- Edit the profile: Edit profile, Location, Edit next to “Business location”, enter the unit address. Because customers don’t visit, “Show business address to customers” stays off. Rebuild the service area around the unit: the towns the vans actually reach, up to 20, inside about 2 hours’ drive.
- Verify: If Google offers a live video call, do it during listed hours at the unit: film the sign, the street sign at the corner, the stock and a van, then open up with your key.
- After approval: Update Bing Places, Apple Business Connect, Facebook, trade association listings and anywhere else you typed the old address by hand. Check the edit status page until the change shows as Accepted.
Common mistakes when moving a Google Business Profile
- Making a new profile “for the new place”. You lose the reviews and end up with a duplicate. Edit the existing one instead.
- Editing before you’ve moved. Google asks for your actual, real-world location, and a video call will ask you to show it. Change the address once you’re operating there.
- Leaving a home address showing. If customers don’t come to you, turn the address display off.
- Changing everything at once. Change the address first, let it be accepted, then deal with the name or category if you need to.
- Using Suggest an edit on your own listing. That’s for profiles you don’t manage. Owners should sign in and edit directly, so the change goes through as an owner edit.
If you’d rather not risk a suspension in the middle of a move, our local SEO team handles address changes, verification and the directory clean-up for trades and local practices, and keeps watch on your Maps rankings while the new address settles in.
FAQ
Can you have two addresses on Google Business Profile?
Not on one profile. Each profile has one address, and a service-area business gets one profile for the whole area it serves. You can have a separate profile for each location only if each has its own staff, and for service businesses its own service area.
How do I correct an incorrect address on Google?
If it’s your profile, sign in and edit it under Edit profile, then Location. If it’s a business you don’t own or manage, Google’s help page says you can suggest an edit from the listing on Maps instead.
Can I keep my Google reviews if I change my business name?
Yes, if you change the name on the existing profile, because the reviews stay attached to it. Google says a name change after verification might mean verifying again, and the new name has to match your real signage and branding.
How long does it take for a new address to show on Google?
Google says edits usually go live in about 10 minutes but can take up to 30 days, and service area changes can take up to 48 hours after approval. If Google asks you to verify again, finish that first, because Google only shows verified profiles on Search and Maps.
What happens to my old address on Google Maps?
When you edit the address on your existing profile, the listing moves to the new address, so there’s nothing left at the old one to close. Only mark a profile as permanently closed if the business itself has closed; Google says a closed profile may still appear for people who search for it, labelled as closed.
Sources: 1. Edit your Business Profile (Google Business Profile Help). 2. Manage your business address (Google Business Profile Help). 3. Understand what happens to your Business Profile edits (Google Business Profile Help). 4. Guidelines for representing your business on Google (Google Business Profile Help). 5. Manage your service areas for service-area and hybrid businesses (Google Business Profile Help). 6. Verify your business on Google (Google Business Profile Help). 7. Tips to improve your local ranking on Google (Google Business Profile Help). 8. Mark your business as closed (Google Business Profile Help). 9. Local business structured data (Google Search Central).
