SEO Director Caleb Schallert breaks down how multi-service businesses can create multiple Google Business Profiles at one address to dominate local search results.https://astoundz.com/nested-department-listings-google-business-profile/
Here's something most business owners don't know: Google actually allows multiple business listings at the same address. And when done right, it can triple local search visibility. I'm Caleb Schallert, SEO Director at ASTOUNDZ in Houston, and today I'm breaking down one of the most underutilized strategies in local SEO. Let me paint a picture. A home services company offers pest control, lawn care, and pool cleaning. Three completely different services. Three dedicated crews. But on Google? They get one listing. One primary category. One shot at showing up when someone searches. When someone types "pest control near me," that company has to compete against Terminix and Orkin. Specialists who do nothing but pest control. And when someone searches "pool cleaning"? That listing might not even show up because Google only sees "home services." This is a structural problem that costs multi-service businesses real money every single month. But here's the thing — Google has a solution built right into their guidelines. It's called nested department listings. And most businesses have never heard of it. Google allows businesses with genuinely distinct departments to create separate profiles at the same physical address. Each department gets its own listing, its own primary category, and its own chance to appear in local search. So that home services company? They could have a Pest Control profile, a Lawn Care profile, and a Pool Services profile. All at the same address. All completely legitimate according to Google's own documentation. The result is huge. Instead of one listing competing in one category, the business shows up across multiple search categories simultaneously. Now, before anyone gets too excited, there are rules. Google doesn't let just anyone do this. First, each department needs dedicated physical space. Real workspace where that department actually operates. Not a sign on the wall. Second, direct phone lines. Google wants someone to answer the phone and say "Pest Control Department" — not a phone tree, not an extension. Third, different primary categories. Each department has to be genuinely different from the parent listing. And fourth, dedicated landing pages. Each department needs its own page on the website. If a business tries to fake this — creating departments that don't really exist — Google's video verification process catches it fast. Listings get suspended within days. Car dealerships have used this strategy for years. They have separate profiles for each vehicle brand, plus service, parts, and body shop. A Ford Lincoln dealer might have five or six legitimate Google profiles at one address. Hospitals do the same thing. Emergency rooms, imaging centers, pharmacies — each gets its own profile. Multi-service companies with dedicated crews can absolutely qualify. The key is genuine operational separation. Now here's where most businesses mess up. They get verified, celebrate the win, and forget one critical step: location groups. Location groups tell Google that multiple profiles at the same address are intentionally related. Without that configuration, Google's algorithm sees multiple listings and assumes spam. The result? Automatic merging. No warning. No appeal. I've watched businesses lose months of work overnight because they skipped this step. Three carefully built profiles collapsed into one listing. All that effort, gone. Location groups must be configured immediately after verification. Every single day without them is a day those listings are vulnerable. As for timeline — this isn't a quick win. Realistic results take six months or longer. First couple months are foundation work. Verification, configuration, setup. Months three and four build authority through posts and reviews. Months five and six, that's when visibility gains start showing up. The businesses that succeed treat this as long-term infrastructure. Not a hack. Not a trick. Strategic positioning that compounds over time. So should every multi-service business pursue this? Only if the department structure genuinely exists. If a business would have to fake it, the risk isn't worth it. Better to strengthen one excellent listing than chase multiple profiles that won't survive verification. But for businesses with real departments — dedicated crews, separate phone numbers, distinct services — this is one of the biggest opportunities in local SEO right now. Google documents it openly. The question is whether the business structure supports it and whether implementation is done correctly. For the complete implementation guide, just Google "nested department listings" and look for the ASTOUNDZ post on the topic. I'm Caleb Schallert. Thanks for listening. ASTOUNDZ SEO City: Houston Address: 4501 Brookwoods Dr. Website: https://astoundz.com/ Phone: +1 713 904 5001 Email: partners@astoundz.com