local-seo
How do I handle local SEO for multi-location businesses and franchises?
Local SEO for multi-location businesses starts with distinct location records, not one franchise page. Google Business Profile Help, checked 2026-09-15, sets bulk verification at 10 same-business locations and service areas at 20 per profile. Google Search Central, checked 2026-09-15, caps sitemap files at 50,000 URLs or 50 MB uncompressed. Maps Agent’s scope is profile content and reporting.
When can a multi-location business use Google Business Profile bulk management?
Google Business Profile Help says a business with 10 or more locations from the same business can apply for bulk verification. The same guidance describes a bulk workflow, while its business-group guidance allows owners and managers to access the profiles in a group. Treat the threshold as eligibility for the workflow, then keep each location’s data governed separately. Checked 2026-09-15.
What should each location page identify for local search?
Each location page should identify its own specific-location URL, physical address, primary telephone, business name, primary category, and hours. Google Search Central lists name and address as 2 required LocalBusiness properties, while Google’s profile guidance covers accurate location details. Keep the URL and address location-specific; shared brand fields can remain consistent where the guidance permits. Checked 2026-09-15.
How many service areas can one location list?
Google Business Profile Help distinguishes 2 eligible profile types for this question: service-area and hybrid. Either can list up to 20 service areas, using cities, postal codes, or other named areas. The same guidance describes an overall service area of about 2 hours of driving time or less from the business base. A whole state is not a default shortcut; use the permitted area types and fit the real service territory. Checked 2026-09-15.
How should a franchise sitemap scale past one file?
Google Search Central sets 2 limits for each sitemap file: no more than 50,000 URLs and no more than 50 MB uncompressed. When a location-page set exceeds either limit, split it across multiple sitemap files and use a sitemap index to submit the set. Keep the file boundaries operationally clear, then monitor the resulting URLs separately. Submission is a discovery input, not a promise that every URL appears in Search. Checked 2026-09-15.
How much Search Console history can a location-page program compare directly?
Search Console’s Performance report exposes 16 months of history, according to Google Search Console Help checked 2026-09-15. For older year-over-year comparisons, Google points operators to the Search Analytics API or bulk data exports stored in their own systems. Retain those exports by location and period, because the interface itself is a 16-month window for this comparison. Older analysis therefore depends on retained records.
What request rate should a multi-location GBP integration budget for?
Google for Developers documents a default quota of 300 queries per minute for the relevant Business Profile APIs. Its guidance says quota excess can return HTTP 429 Too Many Requests or RESOURCE_EXHAUSTED, and gives a pacing example of 5 requests per second with a 200-millisecond delay. Build retries around those responses and pace bulk updates rather than treating the default as a guaranteed batch rate. Checked 2026-09-15.
How should a franchise organize Business Profile access across brands?
Google’s Business Profile Help gives owners and managers access to the profiles contained in a business group. For a franchise, use a group as the access boundary for the same-business profiles it contains, keep brand ownership coherent, and assign role-based access deliberately. The guidance supports shared access; it does not turn unrelated businesses into one group. Checked 2026-09-15.
Which location-level fields should stay aligned across Google and the website?
Keep 6 fields aligned across the profile and the location page: specific-location URL, physical address, primary telephone, business name, primary category, and hours. Google Search Central marks name and address as 2 required LocalBusiness properties and documents the other location fields. Use one location record per store, with shared brand data separated from store-specific facts. Checked 2026-09-15.
What Maps Agent covers here, and what it does not
Included
- Google Business Profile profile upkeep
- 4 original-image posts per month
- 100 keywords per month
- 4 Google Products per month
- 4 Q&A posts per month
- 4 Q&A services per month
- business description optimization
- rank reports
- matched images
Not included
- review management
- review responses
- citation building
- directory listings
- call tracking
- social media management
- website building
- rank guarantees
- live dashboard
- approval workflow
AI Team is $99/mo, month to month. See the itemized composition.
See where your profile stands
Everything on this page describes what to change. The audit tells you which of it applies to you: it reads a verified Google Business Profile and scores it the same way every month.
Visibility Score
0 to 100
20 scored factors across profile completeness, performance, competitive position. Free, no signup, on any verified Google Business Profile.
No signup, no card. You get the score and the factors behind it.
Sources
- Google Business Profile Help, bulk verification for 10 or more same-business locations and business-group access, checked 2026-09-15
- Google Search Central, LocalBusiness properties and location-level URL, telephone, and hours guidance, checked 2026-09-15
- Google Business Profile Help, service-area and hybrid profiles, the 20-area cap, and service-area restrictions, checked 2026-09-15
- Google Search Central, sitemap file limits of 50,000 URLs and 50 MB uncompressed, checked 2026-09-15
- Google Search Console Help, the 16-month Performance-report history window, checked 2026-09-15
- Google for Developers, Business Profile API quota, 429 handling, and pacing example, checked 2026-09-15
- Google Business Profile Help, owners and managers accessing profiles in a business group, checked 2026-09-15
Common questions
- Does bulk management remove the need to keep every location’s data accurate?
- Bulk management changes the workflow, not the need for accurate records. Google Business Profile Help says businesses with 10 or more same-business locations can apply for bulk verification, and its group guidance allows owners and managers to access the profiles. Keep each location’s address, phone, hours, category, and URL current. Checked 2026-09-15.
- Can the same location page represent every store in a franchise?
- A single generic page should not stand in for every store. Google’s location guidance identifies a specific-location URL, physical address, primary telephone, business name, primary category, and hours, while Google Search Central lists name and address as 2 required LocalBusiness properties. Give each store its own location record and page. Checked 2026-09-15.
- Can a service-area profile list a whole state as its service area?
- Google allows a service-area or hybrid profile to list up to 20 service areas. The Business Profile guidance names cities, postal codes, and other areas as inputs and describes an overall area of about 2 hours of driving time or less from the business base. A whole state is not automatically validated by the cap. Checked 2026-09-15.
- Does submitting a sitemap guarantee that every location URL will appear in Search?
- Splitting is required when a location-page set crosses either sitemap-file limit: 50,000 URLs or 50 MB uncompressed. Google Search Central describes multiple sitemap files and an optional sitemap index for submitting them. That submission supports discovery, but it does not promise that every location URL will appear in Search. Checked 2026-09-15.
- Can the Search Console interface show year-over-year data older than 16 months?
- The Performance report exposes 16 months of history. For comparisons older than that window, Google points operators to the Search Analytics API or bulk data exports stored in their systems. Retained exports can support a franchise’s older location comparisons; the Search Console interface itself is not the storage layer for arbitrary older year-over-year views. Checked 2026-09-15.
- What response should an API client handle when it crosses the published quota?
- A client should handle HTTP 429 Too Many Requests or RESOURCE_EXHAUSTED when it crosses the documented Business Profile API quota. Google lists a default 300 queries per minute and gives a pacing example of 5 requests per second with a 200-millisecond delay. Queue the work, slow the request rate, and retry according to the integration’s policy. Checked 2026-09-15.