Managing Google Business Profiles across several UK locations

Short answer: keep primary ownership of every profile in the business's own Google account, give staff manager access rather than shared logins, agree one written standard for names, categories and hours across sites, and check every location on a fixed weekly routine so nothing quietly drifts.

Owners searching "how to manage my google business profile" usually have one location in mind, where any gap is obvious the moment you look. Add a second site in Leeds and a third in Glasgow, and drift creeps in fast — outdated hours in one county, a missing service in another, a backlog of unanswered reviews nobody owns.

Getting access structured properly

The business itself should hold primary ownership of every profile it operates, not an individual employee's personal account. Staff and partners should get manager access, which lets them make edits without ever seeing the account credentials, and that access should be removed the day someone leaves. Google's help pages set out exactly how owner and manager roles differ, and how business groups let several locations be managed together.

A one-page standard worth writing down

Every location should follow the same rules for: the business name (the real-world name only, consistently, with nothing added for search purposes), the primary category (matched across sites offering the same core service), the description and service list (a shared core with genuinely local detail added), photos (each location's own exterior and interior, never borrowed from another site), and who replies to reviews and in what tone.

What should differ, deliberately, by location

Address, phone number, opening hours, parking information, the local team and any local events all belong to the individual site. A Manchester branch's opening hours or bank holiday closures will not match a Bristol branch's, and copying one location's photos or posts onto another looks lazy to customers who notice.

A weekly routine across every site

Check unanswered reviews location by location. Confirm hours and any upcoming special hours for the next month, particularly around bank holidays. Review any suggested edits Google has applied that you did not make yourself. Confirm what's scheduled to post at each location this week.

Opening, moving or closing a location

When opening, verify the new profile with that location's own address, phone number and photos before launch day. When moving, update the existing profile's address rather than creating a duplicate, and post about the move so regulars aren't caught out. When closing, mark the location as closed rather than deleting it, so anyone searching still gets an accurate answer.

Checklist

• The business owns every profile, not an individual's personal account
• Named managers assigned per location
• A written standard shared with all staff
• Weekly check completed for every location, including bank holiday hours

Where Local SEO AI helps

The Business plan covers up to five locations with pooled monthly credits and up to ten users, so each site keeps its own profile, reviews and posts while you see one overview across the group. Reports & actions lists the next step per location. If you manage profiles for clients rather than your own sites, see the agency approval workflow; live Google connection is awaiting Google's approval, and plan details are on pricing.

For wider guidance on running a UK business, including marketing rules, see GOV.UK's business and self-employed pages.