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Google Business Profile

How Do I Change My Address on Google Without Losing Rankings?

Edit the address in your existing profile and expect Google to review the change before it goes live. Google says that if you move after verification, you must verify again. Update your website, listings, and signage the same week so your details match everywhere, and expect your rankings near the old address to shift.
By Eric Walker · Last updated October 2026

What Google says

On its page about how to edit your Business Profile, Google explains that you sign in, choose Edit profile, make your changes, and save. Google reviews edits before they go live. If you move after verification, you must verify the business again. A name change after verification can also require verifying again.

The page does not give a time frame for edits to show up, so do not promise customers a date. Plan for the profile to lag your move by some days.

Before you move

  • Make a list of every place your address appears: website, directories, social profiles, ads, invoices, email signature, and licensing or insurance records.
  • Decide the date you will switch everything, and aim to change it all in the same week.
  • Check that the new location is eligible, using Google’s rules on P.O. boxes, virtual offices, and service-area businesses.
  • Make sure you can complete verification at the new address, since you will probably need to.

Edit, do not replace

Edit the existing profile rather than creating a new one. A second profile for the same business splits your reviews and can create a duplicate that is painful to clean up. If one already exists, see my guide to a duplicate Google listing.

What will happen to your rankings

Distance is one of the three factors Google names, and it ranked second in the 2026 Whitespark survey. If you move across town, the area where you rank best moves with you. Customers near the old address may see a different result than before, and customers near the new one a better one. That is not a penalty, it is geography.

Reviews, categories, and the rest of your profile stay with you if you edit the existing listing, which is the main reason to avoid starting over.

Keep everything consistent

The bigger risk during a move is inconsistent information. If your profile says one address and your website and directories say another, search engines have a harder time trusting either one. I cover the basics in my guides to NAP consistency and local citations. Update the most visible listings first and work down the list.

If you stop serving a location

If you closed a storefront and now work only by visiting customers, you can hide the address instead of removing the profile, as Google’s guidelines allow for businesses that do not serve customers at their address. If you left an old location behind, check for leftover listings at the old address and update or remove them so customers do not drive to an empty building.

A simple timeline for the move

  • Two weeks before: build your list of places the address appears and confirm the new location is eligible.
  • The week of the move: edit the Google profile, then update your website, main directories, and social pages the same day.
  • Right after: complete any verification Google asks for and check that the profile shows the new address.
  • Two to four weeks later: search for your business name and main services and look for old listings or outdated addresses still showing.

Keep notes. If something looks wrong six weeks later, you will know exactly what you changed and when.

Related questions

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