Managing a single Google Business Profile (GBP) is straightforward enough. But once you scale to five, fifteen, or fifty locations, things get messy fast. If you have found yourself logging in and out of different accounts, or worse, discovered that your Downtown location has different holiday hours than your Uptown branch, you know the struggle.
Inconsistent information doesn’t just annoy customers; it actively hurts your rankings in Google’s Local Map Pack. When Google sees conflicting data about your business across the web, it loses trust in your brand’s authority, and your visibility plummets.
So, how do you fix the chaos? Let’s dive into the best strategies for managing a multi-location brand without losing your mind.
1. How do I manage all my locations from a single dashboard instead of logging into separate accounts?
The most efficient way to manage multiple locations is to create a Business Group (formerly known as a Location Group) within your Google Business Profile Manager. This allows you to share management responsibilities with multiple team members and organize your stores under one “umbrella” account.
Google designed Business Groups specifically for agencies and multi-location brands to prevent the security risks associated with sharing passwords. By using a Business Group, you can:
- Grant specific access levels (Owner or Manager) to regional managers for only the stores they oversee.
- Perform bulk actions across all locations.
- Keep your personal Google account separate from the business assets.
Source: Google Business Profile Help: Create a Business Group
2. Is there a way to update hours or address info for 50 locations at once?
Yes, you should use Bulk Management via Spreadsheet. Rather than clicking into every single profile to change “Closing at 5 PM” to “Closing at 6 PM,” you can download your entire list of locations into a CSV or Excel file, make the edits in the rows, and re-upload it.
According to Google, “Bulk Upload” is the gold standard for businesses with 10 or more locations. This method ensures “Data Integrity”—meaning you don’t have to worry about typos or human error that often happens when manually entering data dozens of times.
For businesses with hundreds of locations, many experts recommend using an API-based tool (like Yext, Birdeye, or BrightLocal). These tools sync with Google’s API to push updates instantly across all platforms (Google, Bing, Apple Maps, etc.) simultaneously, ensuring 100% NAP (Name, Address, Phone) consistency.
Source: Google Business Profile Help: Upload locations in bulk
Source: Search Engine Journal: Local SEO Guide for Multi-Location Businesses
3. How do I handle customer reviews for every location without getting overwhelmed?
The best approach is a “Hybrid Management” model. You should use a centralized reputation management platform to monitor all incoming reviews in one feed, but empower local managers to respond to the location-specific feedback they understand best.
Reviews are a top-three ranking factor for local SEO. A study by BrightLocal found that 88% of consumers would be “likely” or “highly likely” to use a business that responds to all its online reviews.
If you try to respond to every review for 20 locations from your corporate office, your responses will likely sound robotic and canned. By using software that aggregates reviews, you can set up alerts so that the moment a 1-star review hits the “East Side” location, the local manager is notified to fix the issue, while the corporate team monitors the overall sentiment.
Source: BrightLocal: Local Consumer Review Survey
Source: Harvard Business Review: The Impact of Customer Reviews on Business Performance
4. What’s the secret to making all my locations rank higher in the “Map Pack”?
The secret is not just “accuracy”—it’s Local Justifications and Local Content. You need to post “Google Updates” (formerly Google Posts) that are specific to each neighborhood, rather than just posting the same corporate graphic to every profile.
Google’s algorithm looks for “relevance” and “prominence.” If your Chicago location is posting about a local neighborhood festival while your New York location is posting about a Broadway promotion, Google recognizes those profiles as highly relevant to those specific geographic areas.
Data from Whitespark shows that businesses that regularly update their profiles with fresh photos and posts see a significant increase in “actions” (clicks to call or requests for directions). Specifically, “Justifications”—those little snippets of text Google pulls from your reviews or posts to prove you have what the user is looking for—can drastically improve click-through rates.
Source: Whitespark: Top Local Search Ranking Factors
Source: Google Business Profile: About Google Posts
5. How do I stop random people (or competitors) from changing my business info?
You must “Lock Down” your listings by using a Listing Sync service, and regularly monitor the “Suggested Edits” tab in your dashboard. Google allows users to suggest edits to your hours or phone number, and if you don’t reject them, they can become permanent.
The “Suggest an edit” feature is a crowdsourcing tool, but it is frequently abused. In a survey by Sterling Sky, it was found that “user-suggested edits” are one of the biggest causes of data decay for multi-location brands.
Using a tool like Yext or Semrush Local creates a “Dual-Sync” environment. These tools essentially “overwrite” any unauthorized changes every few hours, ensuring that if a competitor tries to mark your store as “Permanently Closed,” the software will automatically switch it back to “Open.”
Source: Sterling Sky: How Google Handles User Suggested Edits
Source: Yext: The Cost of Inaccurate Business Listings
6. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Should I use the same phone number for every location?
No. You should use a Local Phone Number for each specific profile. Using a 1-800 number for every location confuses Google’s local algorithm and makes you look like a faceless corporation rather than a local staple.
Evidence: Moz: Local SEO Best Practices for Phone Numbers
Do I need a separate website page for every store?
Yes! Each Google Business Profile should link to a unique “Location Landing Page” on your website (e.g., yourbusiness.com/locations/atlanta). The location landing page should contain the specific address, map embed, and local reviews for that store. Evidence: Search Engine Land: Why Location Pages are Critical for SEO
How often should I upload photos to each location?
At least once a week. Profiles with more than 100 photos receive 520% more directions requests than the average business.
Evidence: BrightLocal: Google Business Profile Insights Study
Summary Checklist for Multi-Location Success:
- Consolidate: Get all locations into one Business Group.
- Audit: Use a spreadsheet to ensure NAP (Name, Address, Phone) is identical across the web.
- Automate: Invest in a tool (like Yext or Birdeye) if you have more than 10 locations.
- Localize: Create unique “Google Posts” and “Location Pages” for every city you serve.
- Respond: Set a goal to respond to all reviews within 24–48 hours.
Managing multiple locations doesn’t have to be a full-time job of manual data entry. By leveraging Google’s bulk tools and focusing on local relevance, you can ensure that whether a customer is looking for you in Seattle or Savannah, they find the most accurate information and a five-star reputation.