How to correctly setup a GBP location group for multi-location businesses

Setting up a Google Business Profile (GBP) for a multi-location business requires careful planning and execution to ensure maximum visibility and reach. This guide will walk you through the recommended GBP structure, as provided by Google, and offer best practices for setting up your multi-location business on this platform. By following these guidelines, you can optimize your online presence and effectively manage your business locations across Google Search and Maps.

Here is the GBP structure as recommended by Google…

Setup:

1. Create the organization

2. Create one (or more) Business Groups and set the “Owner” as the bulk verified account

3. Update each Listing so that the “Business Group” is the owner

   1. Set the “Primary Owner” of the listing to the “Business Group”

   2. This will make the listing appear under the business group in the GBP manager (business.google.com)

4. Create a User Group for the agency that will manage the listings

5. Add the agency user group as an “owner” of the Business Group
   Note: this will allow the agency users to inherit the bulk verification permissions

Note: the organization account can not have any listings assigned to it. It is the owner of the “organization” and can control the permissions for all the users and user groups (provided that the owner of the listing is the Business group - as set in step 3)

Create an organization

To create an organization in Business Profile:

1. Go to business.google.com/agencysignup.

2. Enter your company website address.

3. Sign in with an email address on your company domain.

4. Confirm that this is your company's primary Google Business Profile account.

5. Enter more information about your company and additional owners.

6. Follow the prompts to create your organization.

Note: this will create an organization account, with the email address you used as the “Primary Owner”. Note: this account cannot be an owner/manager on any listings (you will instead need to set the “Organization” as the owner/manager).

Assign a listing to a business group

1. Go to the GBP Manager (https://business.google.com/)

2. Go to Businesses → [Select the Business Group] → Group Settings

3. Copy the Business Group number

4. Go to the GBP listing you want to assign

5. Click on “Business Profile Settings” → “People and Access”

6. Click “Add”

7. Paste the Business Group number you copied in step 2

8. Set the permission level to “owner” and click “Invite”

9. Go back to the GBP Manager

10. Click on “Manage Invitations”

11. Accept the invite to manage the listing

Optional: make the Business Group the “Primary Owner” of the listing within the GBP Listing

11. Go to “Business Profile Settings” → “People and Access”

12. Click on the Business Group name

13. Click the pencil icon next to “Access”

14. Click “Primary Owner”

15. Click “OK”

Note: to do this, the business group will need to have been an “owner” on the listing for 7 days.

Create a User Group

1. Go to the GBP Manager (https://business.google.com/)

2. Click on “Manage Users”

3. Click “Create user group”

4. Give the group a name

5. Add users to the group, and assign a role

6. Click Invite (an email invite will be sent to them)

Note: the user will need to “accept” the invite via the email in order to access the listings

Assign a User Group to a Business Group

To create an organization in Business Profile:

1. Go to the GBP Manager (https://business.google.com/)

2. Go to Businesses → [Select the Business Group] → Group Settings

3. Click “Manage Users”

4. Click “Add users”

5. Type the name of the user group you want to add

6. Select the role you want to grant (Owner or Manager)

7. Click “Invite”

Note: a user group will be auto added, you will not need to accept the invite.