Do you need a street address for Local Citations?

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Hey guys, if I were to remove my friend's street address from all of his local citations listings, will that cause any problems? Especially for Apple Maps, Google Maps and Mapquest?

Since he is an onsite heating technician so no need to have a storefront he would not like to have his house street address being displayed online anywhere.
#search engine optimization #address #citations #local #street
  • I am answering this for Google Map only as I am only aware about it. You can hide the address in Google My business ( Google map) you can indicate that you provide services at client's location. This will not be a problem at all.

    Step by step instruction is as follows:
    1. Sign in to Google My Business and choose the listing you'd like to manage.
    2. Click Info at the top of the page.
    3. Click the Address section.
    4. YOU HAVE TO SCROLL DOWN TO SEE THE "I deliver goods and services to my customers at their locations."
    5. Enter your service area information. You can set your service area based on the zip codes or cities that you serve, or on a given area around your location.
    6. Click Save.
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  • Problems? No. It's just that, without an address, Google will not know where he's at, so it will not know to whom to show him as an option. So, it will just not show it on the map; it will not show him when people in his area are looking for his service near me searches.


    Same with Apple and Mapquest.


    If he doesn't want his house address displayed, why not just rent a small office (10x10, so it's not expensive) and have that be the public address of his business?



    The whole thing with wanting to be found? You've got to tell people where you are.




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  • Thanks, that's what I figured but as Seocorporation pointed out, if GMB will not "display" the house number then that will work, Regarding the other many local citations though does it mean removing only the street and house number alone will render it useless?
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  • never heard abt it, i dont think its so necessary!
  • Yes, NAP (Name, Address, Phone Number) is very important for Local Citations. If you remove it will affect your local ranking and Google business listing.
  • Our intent is not to remove the entire address, only the house number so we can leave the 121 st and the rest of the address.
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  • Hi,
    Yes, the street address is required for local citation because having proper address Google map won't be able to find your location and it can result in loss of audience and traffic too.
  • Exactly.
    Here is your own answer: no need to have a storefront

    I don't believe anyone has been forcing him to have one?
    Since people would call to get more info before going to store, then it would be
    important if and where his address is listed, otherwise your friend will be fine.



    fastreplies
  • Local Citation can be permutation and combination of following things
    1. Business Name
    2. Business Name + Address
    3. Business Name + Address + Phone No.
    4. Business Name + Address + Phone NO + EMail Id
    5. Business Name + Address + Phone No + EMail Id + Website URL

    So if you remove any of them, it will definitely work but you will have a negative affect on the local rankings.
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  • Local or global citation means that we need to submit all the business details in the listing websites. And it is mandatory in websites to sill all the information so that the user can easily reach you or contact you.

    Thanks
  • Firstly Local Citation should be consistence across all the listing according to the GMB (Google My Business ). So if you have GMB then you must have to make sure the NAP (Name , Address & Phone Number ) is consistence . Otherwise It will be harmful For local Ranking . If you don't have any GMB then you can remove friend's street address easily that's no problem it will work but it will negative affect on the local rankings. . If there no problem to keep the address all the citation . just remember NAP is very crucial for local Citation . I hope it will help you .
    Thanks
  • Tell your friend to get a paid mailbox from those "Mailbox R-US" places. There will be no need to give out a home address and it is in the same city.
  • Yes street address is necessary for the local citations. It's a mention of your business on the web, it is any combination of your company name, phone number, address, zip or postal code, and website address. It's a key factor in SEO because local citations help to improve your local search results.
    But if you want to change the old address in your citation then you can.
  • A bit late here but to answer this question... one really needs to READ the question to understand the type of answer to give. This is NOT about can you hide an address, it is pertaining to how to create Citations for a GMB listing with the address hidden.

    In almost all cases Citations are left that include Name, Address, Phone Number, web address etc. There are sites that Citations can be left with the option to hide the address... Obviously Google, Yelp Allows this, Bing allows this and I believe Yellow Pages allows this. However, those few are not going to be enough with the intention of gaining "Rank" with the use of Citations.

    The ultimate answer is when possible ( the site you are leaving the Citation ) is to check mark to not display the address... but in all of the other cases, it is just kinda what needs to be done.

    This is simply one of the pitfalls to being a home based business, and as common as this may be... The whole concept of "Citations" being to match Name, Address, and Phone information ( NAP ) across the internet, its going to be difficult to get the ranking ability Citations provide by avoiding the Address ( being 1/3 of the information required. )

    In the end - it literally becomes an ends to a means... and if YOU or a business you are working for wishes to list better to get more work to make more money, you / they need to weigh out the options and decide if the "Risk" and liability of placing the address in Citations is ultimately worth it.
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  • Hi,

    My gmb is not visible. It is Visible only if I zoom the map. Kindly help me why it is happening
  • You should really stress the importance of getting a business address to this client. If you list his home as a visible address, it's technically a violation of Google's TOS and may get your listing suspended - unless that's changed in the last year LOL!?

    Even then, you look like a more reputable and established company that is more likely to background screen employees and carry liability insurance when you have an office address and storefront photos in GMB.

    The client's leads will likely improve if you can make these changes.
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  • 19

    Hey guys, if I were to remove my friend's street address from all of his local citations listings, will that cause any problems? Especially for Apple Maps, Google Maps and Mapquest? Since he is an onsite heating technician so no need to have a storefront he would not like to have his house street address being displayed online anywhere.