Your Google My Business account lets people find your businesses easily. But if you have a business location that no longer exists physically, then you might want to get it off Google listings to avoid misguiding or confusing active and potential clients.

So, how can you close and delete a business from your Google My Business account? We'll explain that in this post.

How to Remove a Business From Your Google My Business Account

Since you can manage many business accounts with Google My Business, all you need to do is remove the one you want to delete from your business listings.

To do this, log in to your Google My Business account on your desktop computer. Then, use the following steps to close and remove it from Google My Business:

  1. On the sidebar, select Businesses.
  2. From the list of businesses, tap the Edit icon to the right of the one you wish to remove.
    Google my business account with business listings
  3. On the next page, click Mark as permanently closed to notify people that the business is now closed.
  4. From the popup dialog box, select Close Business.
  5. After closing the business, select the Remove listing option, and click Remove to delete that listing from your Google My Business account.
    Menu for closing business listing in Google My business

How to Quickly Close or Remove Multiple Businesses

In addition to being faster, this option lets you close or delete more than one business from your Google My Business account. You can do this by ticking more than one business listing at a time. Here's how to do it:

  1. Once you get to your business listings, tick the checkboxes to the left of the businesses you wish to delete.
  2. Look to the top of the list, and click Actions.
  3. From the dropdown, you can then choose to close any selected businesses permanently or delete them from your business listings.
    Google my business with options to remove business listings

Related: How to Use Google Forms for Your Business

That's it. You've now successfully removed the specified business from your business listings.

What Happens When You Remove a Business From Google?

Removing your business from Google is just like closing a shop and removing it from its known physical location. But this time, you're doing it digitally rather than physically.

However, the following happens when you remove your business from Google.

  • People can still see your business via Google search. But its visibility is reduced if you set it as permanently closed before deleting it.
  • All previous public posts, videos, pictures, and clients' comments and reviews about your business get deleted along with it.
  • People you've given previous managerial privileges can't access your business anymore.
  • Google's autogenerated website for your business gets removed as well.

You should also keep in mind that you can't recover a business once you remove it.

Other Things You Can Do With Your Business Listing Instead of Deleting It

Since removing a business from Google means losing all previous credentials, you might want to consider other options besides deleting it.

Some of these ideas can be helpful:

  • You can close a business listing permanently or temporarily instead of deleting it. Doing this still keeps your previous data. You can then reopen it later if you want.
  • If you don't manage an account in a particular location anymore, you can swap ownership of your business instead of deleting it completely.
  • If you're merely changing location, edit your location on Google Maps. Make sure to inform your customers about the change as well.
  • If you're deleting a business listing because of its many negative reviews, then you should work on the business and take steps to prevent bad reviews. You can then try to delete the negative reviews once you fix any existing issues.

But if you must delete your business because you've closed operations permanently, ensure that you notify existing customers about your decision.

Related: How to Set Your Location on Google Maps

Manage Your Businesses Professionally on Google

There are many reasons why you might want to delete your business account listing on Google. Whatever the reason, you should also consider the consequences that come with deleting your business listing. In essence, be sure you really want to delete it before doing so.

However, Google makes it easy to manage businesses via your business account, so you can go there anytime to change or edit your business information just as you would a physical one.