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Google Is Fixing The “Permanently Closed” Problem For Local Businesses

Columnist Joy Hawkins discusses how you can fix issues with old business locations being marked "Permanently closed" -- and what Google may be doing to address the issue.

Joy Hawkins on February 26, 2016 at 1:00 pm

I’ve heard many complaints in the last couple years from business owners who have issues with their listings showing up as “Permanently Closed” in the search results on Google.

Usually, it happens to businesses who have relocated, and their customers are seeing their old location with a big, ugly, red “Permanently closed” label instead of seeing the new location’s address.

In the last couple of months, I’ve noticed that Google My Business support is doing something different to solve these issues. Unknown to many, there is actually a “Moved” feature on Google Maps that solves this issue.

Why Is This A Problem?

When a business moves, Google instructs them to just update the address in their Google My Business dashboard. This is always the best option for a business when they move because it will keep all their followers, reviews and photos intact.

However, businesses often have duplicate listings and don’t realize it — and those listings don’t get updated. Also, businesses who don’t claim their listings via Google My Business would end up with a listing marked closed, since the Map Maker rules say to close a listing when a business moves.

How To Fix It

I needed to find an example for this article, and it took me less than two minutes to find one, since this is a pretty widespread issue. I searched for “State Farm Dallas TX,” and one of the first ones marked “permanently closed” was an insurance agent who had relocated his office.

[Read the full article on Search Engine Land.]

Opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily Marketing Land. Staff authors are listed here.

About The Author

Joy Hawkins

Joy Hawkins is a Local SEO expert who is a Google My Business Top Contributor. She regularly contributes to many online communities in the Local SEO world, including the Google My Business forum (Top Contributor), the Local Search Forum (Top Contributor), and the Local University Forum (Moderator). She is also a contributor to the Moz Local Search Ranking Factors survey. Joy is the owner of Sterling Sky in Canada and is the author of the Expert's Guide to Local SEO, which is an advanced training manual for people wanting a detailed look at what it takes to succeed in the Local SEO space.