Check the profile evidence
Record each public profile URL, business name, address or service-area display, telephone number and your relationship to the business. Check whether one listing represents a genuinely distinct eligible operation. Keep ownership evidence in the authorized account; do not post documents or credentials in a public worksheet. Review current Google business-representation guidance before requesting a change.
A worked example
Fictional example: an old profile shows a former telephone number and the same established business identity, while the current profile shows the correct number. A nearby operator has a similar name but separate ownership. The first pair deserves a documented duplicate review; the third listing should not be reported as a duplicate merely because it competes for the same searches.
Choose the next action
Use the official support or edit process appropriate to the observed status, with accurate supporting facts. Avoid creating a third profile as a workaround. Do not assume deleting something from your own account removes it from public Maps or resolves the underlying identity issue. Record the request, date and response rather than promising the owner an instant merge or review transfer.
Check whether it worked
Check public information and authorized account status after the process responds. Preserve the original URLs and any case reference so unresolved changes can be followed. Confirm that the intended profile still routes to the correct website and number. If the confusion comes from an incorrect business name on another directory, use the listing-correction workflow instead.
Owner verification checklist
- Profile A and B public URLs. Record the evidence and mark any missing answer as unknown.
- Same-business evidence. Record the evidence and mark any missing answer as unknown.
- Ownership or access uncertainty. Record the evidence and mark any missing answer as unknown.
- Official action requested and date. Record the evidence and mark any missing answer as unknown.
- Response and public information check. Record the evidence and mark any missing answer as unknown.
Put it to work
A record you can use
- Profile A and B public URLs
- Same-business evidence
- Ownership or access uncertainty
- Official action requested and date
- Response and public information check
Plain text. No email required. Store completed records in your approved business systems.
Next useful step
Need help applying this to your marketing? A strategy call starts with your business and the evidence you have.
Talk through your next step →For a general editorial question, email Chris. Please leave out customer details. Questions are private, and no response time is promised.