Mark a business permanently closed on Google, or move it

To mark a business permanently closed on Google, go to your Business Profile, select Edit profile, then Hours, select Edit, choose Permanently closed and save. For several branches, use Business Profile Manager: tick them, then Actions. The harder part is choosing the right status, because Google has a different tool for each situation and the wrong one costs you reviews or customers. A mall branch shut for a 5-day renovation, a kiosk closed for the rainy season and a branch moving from one mall to another all need different handling.

This guide covers all four cases for one shop or one branch of many: short closures, temporary closures, permanent closures and moves. It also covers what happens to the reviews in each case. If you run several branches, the profile basics are in our guide to Google Business Profile for multiple locations.

Google draws the lines clearly on its page about closing a business. Use this as a decision list:

• Closed 7 days or less (a holiday, a typhoon, inventory, a short repair): set special hours. The profile stays open.
• Closed more than 7 days, for the off-season, or indefinitely (renovation, a long repair, a pause): mark it temporarily closed.
• Closing for good, with no plan to reopen at that address: mark it permanently closed.
• Same branch moving to a new address, same name: edit the address. This is a move, not a closure.
• Same branch, new owner or franchisee, same name: change nothing on the status. Transfer access to the new owner.
• The business reopens at the same address under a new name that is more than a small change: mark the old profile closed and create a new one.

Use special hours, not a closed status: mark only the days the branch is shut as closed, and the profile keeps showing as open the rest of the time. The steps, and the Philippine dates that catch shops out, are in our guide to holiday hours on Google.

Put the same dates on the door. The free store hours sign maker prints your hours with a note line, for example "Closed Oct 28 to 31 for repairs. Open again Nov 1."

Go to your Business Profile, select Edit profile, then Hours. Next to Hours, select Edit, choose Temporarily closed and save. The profile then shows "Temporarily closed" on Search and Maps.

Two things to know before you use it. First, Google says temporarily closed businesses can rank after open businesses for broad searches, like "salon near me". Do not use it for a long weekend. Second, customers can still leave reviews while the branch is temporarily closed, so keep answering them.

To reopen, go back to Edit profile, then Hours, and choose Open with main hours. Set the days and times and save. Post an update on the profile the same day, so people who saw "Temporarily closed" last week know you are back.

For one branch: go to the Business Profile, select Edit profile, then Hours. Next to Hours, select Edit, choose Permanently closed and save. For several branches at once, sign in to Business Profile Manager, tick the branches, then select Actions and Mark as permanently closed.

The profile does not vanish. Google says a permanently closed profile may still show to people who search for it, clearly marked as closed. That is what you want: a regular who searches for the branch learns it closed, instead of finding nothing and assuming Google is wrong.

In Google's roles table, owners and managers can both close a location. In a franchise, that means a franchisee with manager access can close the branch profile. Write in your manual who decides; our guide to Google Business Profile for franchises explains the roles and has a template.

No. Mark it closed and leave it. Removing a profile from your account permanently deletes every post, photo, video and review reply made by owners and managers. Customer reviews remain, and Google says removal does not guarantee the business disappears from Search and Maps. You end up with a listing nobody manages and no replies under its old complaints.

If you do remove a profile and tick the option to mark it permanently closed, Google says it will not disappear from Maps right away. It slowly drops out of search results and is later removed.

Google's page on moving reviews between profiles sets out each case:

• Temporarily closed: the reviews stay, and customers can keep adding new ones.
• Permanently closed: the reviews stay, but customers cannot add new ones.
• Moved to a new address with the same name: Google transfers the reviews automatically. For some categories, such as hotels, golf courses and scenic attractions, they might not move.
• New owner or manager, same name: the reviews stay. Reply to old complaints to explain what has changed.
• Minor name change, or a name change across all branches of a chain: the reviews stay.
• A new profile created by mistake for a move or new owner: contact Google support to transfer the reviews from the old profile.
• Big changes to the business: Google says it might remove reviews that are no longer relevant.

Edit the address on the existing profile. Go to the Business Profile, select Edit profile, then Location. Next to Business location, select Edit, enter the new address and save. If Google cannot find it, select Adjust and place the pin on the building. Google's address help says changes usually show in about 10 minutes, but can take up to 30 days.

A moved business has to be verified again. For a storefront, video verification asks for permanent signage with the business name, the surroundings, and proof that you manage the place. So time the change for when the new site has its sign up and the till working. Our guide to video verification covers what to film.

Here is a timeline that works for a mall-to-mall or street-to-mall move:

• 2 weeks before: post on the profile and on Facebook with the new address and opening date. Put a sign at the old site.
• Last day at the old site: if there is a gap of more than a week before the new site opens, mark the profile temporarily closed. For a shorter gap, use special hours.
• New site ready, sign up: change the address, fix the pin, update the phone number and hours, and record the verification video.
• Opening day: reopen the profile with main hours, add photos of the new storefront and interior, and replace the old cover photo.
• First month: leave a sign at the old site pointing to the new one, and check Maps signed out that only one pin shows.

Not every relocation is a move. Ask whether a regular would see it as the same branch in a new place. A salon that moves two streets away with the same staff is a move. A brand that closes its Cubao branch and, three months later, opens one in Antipolo has closed one branch and opened another. Mark the old profile permanently closed and create a new profile for the new branch.

If you are not sure, think of the reviews. Moving 400 reviews about the Cubao branch to an Antipolo address would show customers reviews of a shop they cannot visit.

Anyone can suggest that a place is closed or has moved, using Suggest an edit on Maps, and Google may accept it. If your branch is wrongly shown as closed, reopen it from your own profile: Edit profile, then Hours, then Open with main hours. If it only shows as closed on a holiday, the fix is special hours; see holiday hours on Google. Google may email you when it gets an update that a location is temporarily closed, so read those emails.

There is one exception. If the profile was marked permanently closed as part of a move or a name change, Google says not to reopen it. Add the new business, verify it, and contact Google if you want the reviews moved.

If you see an old listing of your business, one you do not manage, at an address you left, suggest an edit on it and mark it as moved. If it has turned into a second pin beside your real one, see how to fix a duplicate listing.

For a chain closing one branch for good, run through this list so nothing is left pointing at an empty shop:

• Decide the closing date and who changes the profile (head office or the branch).
• Answer every unanswered review on the branch's profile before closing day. Replies stay visible after the closure.
• Post on the profile and Facebook: the last day, and the nearest branch with its address.
• On closing day, mark the profile permanently closed. Do not delete it, and do not move its address to another branch.
• Remove the branch from your website's store list and from delivery apps.
• Collect the branch's review QR cards and table tents so they are not reused at another branch.
• Remove branch staff's access to the profile once the closure is done.
• A week later, search the branch on Maps signed out and check it shows "Permanently closed".