Businesses enhance the user experience and increase their online presence through Google My Business. However, at times, a business may not wish to be found on Google Business any longer. In other words, they would want to remove business from Google. Hence, they would want to get themselves permanently removed from Google’s Business listings.
This could be due to various reasons, such as closing down or rebranding. In such instances, enterprises must follow the necessary steps to request a removal of business profiles. This will ensure that their information is no longer visible to users.
Small businesses without a dedicated tech team must handle their online appearance themselves. This can be a challenging task because, without technical expertise, they may not be familiar with the procedures and requirements. Therefore, for some, removing their information from Google can be a time-consuming and frustrating process.
If you are a novice, this article will provide a step-by-step guide on how to remove business from Google.
Things To Consider Before You Remove Business From Google
Before you remove business from Google, there are certain things that you must be aware of. After the removal of your business profile information, there are other variables you should look into. Removing your business may have an effect on these variables as well. Most of which will be non-reversible. So before proceeding with this, it is advisable to go through the points, carefully review them, and make appropriate preparations.
Why Is This Important?
Businesses don’t understand how the various Google platforms are interdependent. Sometimes, a company may not want to remove its business profile from the entire Google search results. They only want to remove their business information from one platform.
What they don’t realize is the impact it may have on other platforms or other variables within that platform. This can lead to a loss of visibility, credibility, and potential customers. It is crucial to understand this to avoid any negative reviews for your business.
9 Points To Consider
Here are the points to consider before you remove business from Google:
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Removing your business from the Google Business listing will affect your online presence on Google Maps and search results.
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If your business is no longer on Google, it will impact your online reputation. Client reviews, ratings, and information about your business will disappear. Potential customers rely on this information, and if they can’t find it, this will lead to a loss of credibility.
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Removing your business will have an impact on your website’s search traffic.
- Some other Google platforms that might change due to this removal are Google Voice for customer communication, Google Drive, etc.
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You will lose your Google Analytics data, which provides valuable insights into your website’s performance and user behavior.
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You may face disruption from services provided by third-party applications integrated with your Google account.
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Some Google platforms offer the option to restore deleted accounts. See how long the grace period is by looking at your business profile.
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If your business has fake reviews, you should only focus on removing fake Google reviews and protecting your online reputation.
- Sometimes negative reviews may cause you to remove company information from business listings. Instead of doing that, a better solution is to learn how to deal with such bad reviews.
If you don’t want to delete your business profile from every Google platform, consider alternative strategies.
How To Remove a Business From Google
The phrase “remove business from Google” may be confusing to non-technical users. After hearing this, many assume that the expression “remove business from Google” means the business shouldn’t show up anywhere online.
While this is true, many believe it involves the following points:
- Taking your website down
- Removing all social media presence
- Deleting business photos
Here are the steps you must follow if you want to know how to remove a business from Google successfully.
How To Remove Business from Google My Business
Removing your business from Google is much more than taking down the obvious presence. It primarily involves taking the company information listed on Google My Business.
The first thing you need to do is log in to your Google My Business account. Once you have accessed this platform, you need to locate your business listing. You can search for the name or click on “Manage Locations or Businesses” in the left hand column. After opening the page, browse through your list of managed businesses.
Once you have found your business listing, click on it to open the details page. There is an action button at the top. Click on that, and you will discover three ways to remove your business.
- Temporarily Closed
- Permanently Closed
- Remove Business
Temporarily closed means that your business is temporarily not operating but will reopen in the future. Choosing this option will inform users that your business is currently closed but will resume operations at a later date.
Permanently closed means that your business has permanently ceased operations and will not reopen. Selecting this option will inform users that your business is no longer available. You can reopen it in the future.
Lastly, choosing “Remove Business” will completely remove your business profile from Google, making it inaccessible to users.
A popup will appear confirming the request removal. Read the message carefully, as it explains the effect this action will have on other platforms. For example, if you select “Remove Business”, it will also delete your company information from search results and Google Maps. Depending on the removal option selected, it may not be possible to restore your listing.
If you wish to recover your data somewhere in the future, go with the “Temporarily Closed” option.
This is how you can remove business from Google.
How To Remove Business From Google Maps
Selecting the “Remove Business” option will also remove it from Google Maps. However, sometimes, your business address may still appear on Google Maps. To fix this, you have to delete it separately. If you want to know how to remove business from Google Maps, here is what you must do:
After removing your business from Google My Business, navigate to Google Maps and search for your company. If the address shows up, click on the business listing to open the details. Scroll down until you see the “Suggest Edit” button and select the “Close or Remove” option. From there, you can choose the appropriate reason for request removal and submit the request to Google. The obvious choices are:
- Doesn’t Exist
- Temporarily Close
- Permanently Closed
The “Doesn’t Exist” option is for a company that no longer operates at the listed address. It can also be for a company if it never existed in the first place and is still showing up.
The “Permanently Closed” option is if your business has permanently shut down but still has a presence on Google Maps.
“Temporarily closed” will not remove business from Google and will notify customers that they will reopen in the near future.
The change will not occur instantaneously. It may take some time for the changes to show up on Google Maps. This is because the platform needs to verify and update the information. Google suggests checking back after 24 hours.
Please note. Even though this is the process, it is not a guarantee that it will work 100% of the time.
What Are Google Photos?
Google offers Google Photos, a cloud-based sharing and storage service. It is for personal use. However, businesses have taken advantage of this cloud-based storage and utilized it to manage and organize their business photos. It stores photos, so a company may want to get rid of these when they remove business from Google.
Here are some ways businesses might use Google Photos:
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Marketing:
Businesses can use Google Photos to create a centralized photo library for their marketing materials, product images, and event photos. This makes it easier for employees to access and use these visuals for various purposes.
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Teamwork:
Google Photos allows businesses to collaborate on photo albums. This makes it convenient for teams working remotely to share and edit images together. This fosters better communication and efficiency in visual content creation.
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Documentation:
Businesses can keep a collection of their photos as archives, which can be helpful when preparing a visual presentation. These archives also serve as a valuable resource for documenting past events, projects, and achievements. They provide a visual representation of the company’s history and can be easily accessed whenever needed. This saves time and effort in searching for relevant visuals.
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Support:
Business design and store how-to guides in the form of images, which they upload to Google Photos. This allows businesses to provide visual support to their customers and team members. It makes it easier for them to understand and follow instructions without the support team explaining the steps repeatedly.
How To Remove Photos From Google Business
Now that it is clear what Google Photos are, it is time to learn how to remove photos from Google business. This comes after learning how to remove business from Google. Since this is for personal use, you can’t remove the photos from your Google My Business Account.
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Login to your Google account and go to Google Photos. You can also access it from your mobile device using the application.
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Browse through the albums or search for the photos you want to remove.
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Select the photo and click on the three-dot menu icon. From the dropdown menu, choose the “Delete” option.
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Confirm the deletion when prompted. This action will permanently remove the selected photo from your Google Photos library.
Please note that deleting a photo from Google Photos will also remove it from any other synced devices or platforms. Once you have deleted a photo, you cannot recover it, so double-check your selection before confirming the deletion.
How Long Does It Take To Remove Business From Google
Google, being a leader in the tech industry, makes us believe that it can perform actions instantaneously. However, this is not the case when you remove business from Google. The process can take some time as it involves various factors, such as verification and review processes. It is important to be patient and allow Google the necessary time to complete the removal request.
Google usually takes about 24 hours to get the job done, but there is no fixed timeframe. It may even take days to verify and process the request removal. Here are some factors that determine how long it takes to remove business from Google:
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Google prioritizes user privacy and security. This is why they have a thorough review process in place to ensure accurate and legitimate removals.
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They manually review each application, due to which it takes time to process a request.
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The Google support team usually has a high volume of requests. Due to this, it takes time to get to each removal request promptly.
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The complexity of the request removal and further investigation can delay the time it takes to remove business from Google.
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Delays from businesses in providing the necessary information also add up.
To speed up the removal action, provide complete information and contact Google customer support. Communication and follow-up with the support team will help streamline the process. Overall, patience and proactive engagement are key when it comes to removing businesses from Google.
Remove Business From Google: Final Thoughts
To remove business from Google is a straightforward process that does not require the assistance of a tech genius. However, removing businesses from Google can be a time-consuming task. This is mostly due to the high volume of requests and the complexity of each request removal.
So before proceeding, it is important to understand if you really want to eliminate your business from the web. Not only is it time-consuming, but it can also have significant consequences. One is that it may affect your online visibility and potential customer reach. This happens, especially if you don’t know what you are doing. Therefore, before proceeding, it is best to search for alternative methods.
Otherwise, you can always go to Beambox for help. The Beambox marketing platform will handle your online presence and ensure that your business is effectively managed and promoted online. With their expertise, you can focus on other aspects of your business. Learn more and start growing your business today with the Beambox free trial.
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