How-to

Duplicate listings: how to find and remove them

Why duplicate listings appear, how to find them, and how Google, Bing, Apple, Yelp, Facebook and smaller directories each want them reported.

By Hashir Ali · 9 min read · Updated October 31, 2026 · Facts checked on October 30, 2026

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Quick summary

Short answer: A duplicate is a second listing for the same business at the same location. You remove it where you manage it, and report it everywhere else.
Most common cause: A move or rebrand where someone created a new listing instead of editing the old one.
Why it hurts: Google doesn't show duplicate profiles on Search or Maps, and the copy you don't manage keeps your old details.
Not always a duplicate: Separate locations each get a listing, and on Google some practitioners and departments can have their own profile too.
Key takeaway: Search before you submit. Editing the listing that already exists is how you avoid making a second one.

What counts as a duplicate

A duplicate listing is a second listing for the same business at the same location on one site, usually carrying an older name, address or phone number. Google allows only one Business Profile for each business, and Yelp says a business location should be listed only once.

Several locations each get their own listing; that isn't duplication. A real duplicate costs you. Google says a profile it considers a duplicate won't show on Google Search or Maps; meanwhile your reviews split across two pages, and customers find the copy with your old number.

Practitioners and departments on Google

Doctors, dentists, lawyers and other individual practitioners, and departments such as a hospital's dermatology department, may have their own profile at the same address. Google's guidelines for practitioners and departments set the conditions. Outside them, an extra profile at the same address is one Google may consider a duplicate.

When Google allows a separate profile at the same location
Case	Its own profile?
A practitioner in a public-facing role who can be contacted directly at the verified location during stated hours	Yes, one profile. Where several public-facing practitioners work, each title holds only the practitioner's name, and the organization has its own profile.
The only public-facing practitioner at a branded organization	No. Share one profile with the organization, named like "Allstate: Joe Miller".
Support staff, or one practitioner's separate specializations	No. Support staff shouldn't have profiles, and a practitioner shouldn't have one per specialization.
A public-facing department that operates as a distinct entity, with a name and main category different from the main business	Yes, such as "Walmart Vision Center" or "Sears Auto Center".
A section of a store, such as the hot food bar inside Whole Foods Market	No. Google lists it as not acceptable.

Why duplicates appear

Moves. A new listing goes up for the new address while the old one stays live.
Rebrands. The new name gets a new listing, and the old one keeps its page and reviews.
Old phone numbers. A site that looks you up by your new number won't find the listing with the old one, so someone creates a second.
Auto-created listings. Some sites build listings from outside data. Bing says its Google sync can create duplicates, especially when the listing already exists on Bing.
Agencies submitting twice. The owner and an agency, or two agencies, each add the business. Google says not to create more than one page per location, in one account or several.

How to find them

Duplicates usually carry an old name, address or phone number, so a search for your current details can miss them. Run the search for old names, numbers and addresses from our NAP consistency guide, then check what turns up on Google Maps, Bing Maps, Apple Maps and Yelp.

Log each duplicate: the site, the URL to keep, the URL to remove and whether you can log into either.

Google Business Profile

Step 1: Remove duplicates you created

Google says a duplicate you made by mistake can be removed without affecting your verified listing. Removing it deletes all its content and linked managers, so check twice which profile you are removing.

Removing is not deleting from Maps

Taking a profile out of your account doesn't guarantee the business won't show up on Maps and Search. If it still shows, report it as in Step 2.

Step 2: Report duplicates on Maps

Open the place in Google Maps, select Suggest an edit, then Place closed or not here, then Duplicate of another place. When two profiles merge, their reviews are combined, but replies to reviews may be lost.

Not like this

Request the merge while the two profiles show different addresses and phone numbers.

Like this

Suggest edits until both show the same name, address and phone, then request the merge. Google says the profiles should have the same info.

Step 3: Request a profile someone else owns

If the verified profile belongs to someone else, request ownership. Google gives the current owner 3 days to respond. With no response you may be able to claim it, though Google says that option isn't always available.

Bing Places, Apple Business, Yelp and Facebook

Bing Places

When you look up your business in Bing Places, Bing says to pick the listing that matches your address and report the duplicates. A listing Bing has marked as a duplicate can't be edited: claim the published listing instead, or ask its owner for access.

Apple Business

Apple's guides don't describe a duplicate report. If the extra location is in your Apple Business account, you can remove it, though Apple warns it may still appear in Apple Maps. If it isn't in your account, report it in the Maps app under Reports, then Report a New Issue and explain.

Yelp

Open the duplicate page, click Edit, tick This is a duplicate of another business on Yelp, add the link to the page you keep and submit. In the apps, say so in the Notes field of Edit Business. Don't ask for a deletion instead: Yelp says it doesn't remove business pages on request.

Facebook

Meta lets you merge two Facebook Pages when you have access to both, they have the same name and represent the same thing, they have the same address if they have physical locations, and they're under the same Business Manager account. The Page you merge loses its posts, photos, reviews, ratings and username, then is removed from Facebook, and you can't unmerge it. Meta also says merging may not be available to all users, and that a missing merge option means the Pages aren't eligible.

If someone else runs the duplicate Page, Meta's advice is to contact someone with full control of it and ask for access.

How long reports take, and what to do if one is refused

Review times and next steps, from each platform's own help pages
Platform	How long	What helps, or what to do if it's refused
Google	No set time. Google says all merge requests are subject to review, and your list of Maps edits shows each one as Pending, Accepted or Not Accepted.	You can't cancel an edit: wait until it is accepted or rejected. If it isn't accepted, make both profiles show the same info, then submit a new request with correct details. If two distinct businesses were merged by mistake, contact support to appeal.
Bing Places	Changes publish in cycles, which Bing says typically take 7 to 12 days in North America and up to 2 weeks elsewhere.	Wait before you edit again: Bing says changes to a pending listing move its expected publish date.
Yelp	No set time. Yelp says its moderators check suggested changes and that this may take a while, depending on whether they can verify the information independently.	Add context, such as a link to a post or article that shows the change. Yelp says that helps its moderators verify it more promptly.

Apple's location and Maps report guides don't give a time, and Meta's merge article doesn't give one for merges or say what happens when one is declined.

Directories that only answer support requests

Many smaller directories have no edit or report button. Find the contact form or support email and send one short message with everything they need to act.

Not like this

Hi, please delete our old listing.

Like this

Please remove our duplicate listing (link). It repeats our current listing (link). We moved from 12 Elm St to 450 Oak St Ste 200 in March 2026, and I am writing from our business email.

Log the date. If nothing changes in a month, send it once more. If the site still won't act and you can claim the duplicate, at least correct its details.

What you can't control

Some directories never answer, and some rebuild listings from outside data after you fix them. Even Google says a business marked permanently closed may still appear for people who search for it. Make every listing you control right, and report the rest.

After a move or rebrand

Deal with the old listings before anything new goes up. Each platform wants it done differently.

What each platform wants after a move
Platform	What to do with the old listing
Google Business Profile	Google's pages differ. Its duplicates page says not to create a new profile when you relocate: update the address on the existing one, then verify again. Its policy overview says location edits are rejected for dining, lodging and entertainment venues, and that a relocated business must mark the old profile permanently closed and create a new one.
Bing Places	Bing doesn't recommend putting the new name or address on the old listing. Create a new listing and mark the old one closed.
Yelp	Where location and ambience are part of the experience, Yelp usually creates a new page and marks the old one moved. Retail and service businesses can generally update the existing page.
Other directories	Edit or claim the old listing; don't add a second one.

Which Google rule applies to you

The policy overview's relocation rule comes straight after its rule for businesses whose physical identity is tied to the customer experience, so we read it as covering those venues. If you run a restaurant, hotel or entertainment venue, expect Google to reject the address edit: mark the old profile permanently closed and create a new one at the new address. Any other business: update the address on the existing profile, and if Google rejects that edit, take the close-and-create route instead.

On Google, a business that moves and keeps its name usually gets its reviews moved automatically. A new name might need verifying again; our verification guide covers how. If the business has changed significantly, Google says to mark the old profile permanently closed rather than rename it.

Duplicate cleanup checklist

Every old name, address and number searched on Google, Bing, Apple Maps and Yelp
Each duplicate logged with the URL to keep and the URL to remove
Practitioner and department profiles checked against Google's conditions
Google duplicates you own removed, the rest reported as Duplicate of another place
Bing, Apple, Yelp and Facebook duplicates reported or merged the way each one asks
One clear request to each smaller directory, and a follow-up a month later
After a move, old listings updated or closed before anything new goes up

Questions

Which duplicate listing should I keep?

Keep the one you can manage, usually the verified or claimed listing. If you can't manage either, keep the one with more reviews. Update it to your current details before you report the other, so the site can see which listing is right and that both describe the same business.

Can I have a separate Google listing for each service?

No. Google treats several profiles for one business offering different services as duplicates, and tells you to list your services on your one profile instead. Separate businesses at the same address are different: each can have its own profile if it has a distinct name and clearly visible differences in signage.

Can a removed duplicate come back?

Yes. A site that builds listings from outside data can recreate one if an old record of your business still exists where it draws from. Repeat your search a few months after a cleanup, and report anything that has come back.

What should I ask an agency before it builds listings?

Ask whether it searches for existing listings before it submits, and whether you get the login for every listing it creates. Without logins, whoever fixes your details next may have to start over, or add the very duplicates you were trying to avoid.

Sources

The pages behind the facts above, opened on October 30, 2026. Rules, prices and plans change: check the page itself before you rely on it.

Moved, rebranded or changed numbers?

Our citation cleanup updates your old listings after a move, and when we build new ones we search first, so we don't create duplicates.

See citation cleanup