How do we delete a duplicate Google Business Profile without losing reviews?

I've consulted local businesses for years; the absolute biggest mistake people make is panicking and hitting 'permanently closed'. Do that, and the listing stays stuck on the map marked red as closed, making customers think you went out of business. The only clean fix is requesting a merge through official support.

Make sure both profiles have the exact same phone number before submitting your ticket. When the phone number matches, Google's algorithm sometimes flags it as a duplicate automatically and prompts a one-click merge, which saves you weeks of waiting.

Had the same thing happen with our dental clinic last year. An old receptionist created a new profile, leaving 80 reviews stranded on the old one. We made all details match 1:1 and explained the situation via the support form. Took about 12 days to get an approval email from Google, and every single review carried over to the active profile smoothly.

When writing in the support form, definitely make sure to include the Maps 'CID' numbers for both profiles. If you provide the direct CID code instead of those long codes in the profile share link, the support rep can locate the profiles in seconds, eliminating any risk of mix-ups.

Merge requests don't always go smoothly. Sometimes the system gets tripped up by spam filters and fails to transfer some of the older reviews. Make sure to back up screenshots of all 115 reviews along with customer names and dates before starting the process.

guys whatever you do dont click the delete business button. we deleted our bakerys 4 year old profile like that and spent 2 months trying to get it back half the reviews vanished into thin air too so watch out

It is recommended to have your relocation rationale, new lease agreement, and trade registry record ready to submit in your message to Google Support. If deemed necessary, they may request video verification showing the storefront signage and interior to confirm the change of address.

In short, the steps are clear: Do not delete or close either profile. Update the old profile to the new address, make sure the info on both profiles matches completely, and open a request with Google Support for a 'duplicate profile merge' asking them to transfer the reviews.

Let me summarize the topic since several different answers were given. like a page that answers one question works better than one touching on five topics.

Merge instead of deleting; deleted content doesn't come back. Good luck with that.

There are three things to check when doing this. Solutions that work at a small scale collapse when you grow; I learned this late.

If rankings stay the same but clicks drop, the issue isn't your page, but the search result appearance. I'm also curious if anyone does it differently.

You're right. Everyone rushing into google business profile deletion gets stuck at the same point.

Updating an existing page yields faster results than creating a new one. Proven by experience.

Thanks for writing this, that's the right way. Just because everyone does it doesn't mean it's right.

There's one point I'm curious about. Hasty decisions become decisions you have to fix six months later.

Let me write how it's done in practice. Start with a small trial; don't commit to everything at once.

This thread is archived.

I felt relieved reading this answer, so it's not just me. Taking notes for two weeks yields better results than a six-month estimate.

Everything goes well for the first three months; problems arise in the fourth. This is my opinion, I'm not claiming it's absolute truth.

Following.

I agree and I'd like to emphasize that. A page with low traffic might be reaching the right people. Look at where sales come from.

Any unwritten clause becomes a point of disagreement later, as both sides remember it differently. This is my opinion, I'm not claiming it's absolute truth.