Reviews for businesses with more than one location

When a business opens a second site, reviews get complicated quickly. Customers review the wrong location, one site ends up with all the reviews, and the new shop looks empty. Most of it comes down to one rule: each location is its own listing.

One listing per location

Every physical location that serves customers should have its own Google Business Profile, with its own address, hours and reviews. Reviews do not transfer between them, and they should not. A customer searching near your second shop wants to know about that shop, not the first one.

One review link per location

Each listing has its own review link. This is where multi-site businesses go wrong most often: a batch of cards is ordered with the first shop’s link and sent to both, and every review from the second site lands on the first site’s listing.

When you order tap points, keep them separate by location, label them, and test each one before it goes on a counter. See how to find your Google review link.

Staff move, cards should not

Staff often work across locations, and it is natural for them to carry cards with them. Mobile cards should match the site the customer is at, not the site the staff member usually works from. A simple habit, such as a different colour card per location, avoids most mistakes.

The new site problem

A new location opens with no reviews next to an established one with hundreds. Customers notice. The fix is the same as for any new business, applied deliberately to the new site: finish the profile first, then put the tap points in from opening week. See how to get your first ten Google reviews.

Consistency across listings

• Use the same business name format on every listing.
• Choose categories per location based on what that site actually does.
• Keep hours accurate per site, especially over holidays.
• Reply to reviews on every listing, not just the main one.

Franchise note

If each location is independently owned, who controls each listing should be clear in writing. A listing belongs to whoever verified it, and untangling that after a franchisee leaves is harder than setting it up properly.