Let’s say you’re considering renaming or re-branding your business. Part of that will involve renaming your online “local” listings – including Google My Business and Yelp. Easy enough, but what will happen to your reviews? Google’s form doesn’t inspire confidence, nor does Yelp’s handling of reviews in general make it feel like anything but Russian roulette.
Will Google or Yelp see the new name as a “new business,” and not let you keep your reviews on your renamed page(s)? Will you have to start over from zero? Will all your hard work not amount to a hill of beans?
The short answer is if the only thing that’s changing is your name, you should be able to keep your reviews post-renaming.
I recently asked both Google My Business and Yelp HQ. Here’s how I phrased it:
Let’s say I’ve got a business called “ABC Carpentry” and I rename it “ABC Bathrooms & Kitchens.” I also rename the business legally, and rename it on other sites, too. So totally new name, but nothing else changes (site, address, and phone number are the same). Would I be able to keep my reviews?
Thank you,
Phil
Here’s what Imran (who was very helpful) from Google support said:
Yes Google allows to keep the reviews. Reviews will be there. He can [use] the name of any business if he is verified.
For an example Abc@gmail.com has got a verified location, and it has got reviews. If he wants to change name, then he certainly can change name of the business without losing the reviews.
Here’s what Autumn at Yelp support said:
Some changes to businesses do not have a substantial enough effect to render the current listing obsolete. We evaluate business transitions on a case-by-case basis in order to determine if a new listing is necessary or not.
For more on how we handle business changes, check out our Support Center: https://www.yelp-support.com/article/What-are-the-guidelines-for-substantial-business-changes?l=en_US
Lest Yelp changes the rules later, here’s the relevant blurb on “Rebranding” (as of this writing):
Businesses that change names but retain the same customer experience, we’ll generally update the name of the business rather than create a new business page. As such, name changes can be submitted as a general business information update.
If the new name is accompanied by changes in the location, ambiance, or other fundamental elements of the customer experience, a new business page may be created to help customers differentiate between the old and new experiences (see the sections for Renovations and Moves).
I hope that info makes it feel like less of a cliff dive.
Any questions? First-hand experience? Leave a comment!
As far as I know, Google ties Reviews to the ADDRESS. Seems odd but G has treated reviews this way for a long time. This means you can change anything on the account and as long as the address doesn’t change, the reviews should stay. This creates major problems when a business moves locations, as you can imagine.
Good info on Yelp. Thanks Phil.
Brian
Great point, Brian. It does seem to work out that way. But their language is mushy on that point – to the extent it’s even publicly findable – and anything but reassuring. The kicker is that Google often lets you keep your reviews even if you change addresses, in cases where the new location isn’t far from the old one.
You’re right on Google. I haven’t spent nearly as much time in Yelp as I probably should. Everything about Yelp is a bit confusing to me ( ranking, reviews, not recommended reviews, etc) You’re my go to knowledge on Yelp.
I had a client who changed their name, address and website, and kept their reviews. Pretty sure I staggered the changes. They only moved a mile, but the funny thing is that they moved to a new zip code and Google shows the correct new address but with the old zip code. I’m afraid to press the matter for fear it will trigger a new listing.
Interesting, Rich. No doubt the staggering helped.
And yeah, I’ve also encountered the same hanging chad on ZIP codes.
Aloha, What if you change your name and create anew website with a new url? Will Google let me keep my Google Reviews? 13 years in business. Michelle
If those are the only changes you make, yes, most likely. I’d just suggest not updating both the name and URL at the same time. Maybe update one, wait a couple weeks, make sure your reviews are still there, and then update the other.
Hi we are considering changing our company name (new website domain that the old one will redirect to). We have over 40 google reviews and this has been our biggest concern with the switch. So our company name and website will change but same ownership, same location. Do you think we will be able to keep our reviews? If anyone that posted previously did make the switch, let me know what happened. Thanks!!
What are your thoughts on trying to change the name to a branded name (ie. Joe Jones Sells DC instead of Joe Jones, Remax Pinnacle)? Will Yelp let you change the name, will FB ever even verify the FB Page since it’s not connected to a publishable number?
If it’s an official, legal, across-the-board change of name, Yelp shouldn’t give you any problems with the new name.
I’m not clear on your Facebook question. You can only rename a page you’ve verified, and Facebook sets a limit on how often you can rename your page. Those are the only restrictions I know of.
Any updates on this for 2021? We may Change our company name and therefore the web domain and email will need to be updated on google my business too. Will we be able to keep our reviews? The physical address and all else stays the same. From what I see the name change should be ok but I’m nervous about changing that, the website and email. Lmk thx!