“New car dealerships are eligible for multiple listings. You can have one listing for your dealership and one listing for each brand you sell of new cars.”
- To be eligible for this each department must have its own unique phone number and staff. For example, someone in sales does not service customers looking for parts and services.
- Only new car dealerships with storefront branding are eligible to have an additional listing.
Departments can be displayed on the listing through "relation association". This can be performed by submitting any new requests for a department to https://support.google.com/business/contact/agency, as the Agency Support team should be your first point of contact to help set the relations of the department listing.
Google Business Profile Rules for Departments: https://support.google.com/business/answer/3038177?hl=en
Publicly-facing departments that operate as distinct entities should have their own page. The exact name of each department must be different from that of the main business and that of other departments. Typically such departments have a separate customer entrance and should each have distinct categories. Their hours may sometimes differ from those of the main business.
Acceptable (as distinct listings):
- "Walmart Vision Center"
- "Sears Auto Center"
- "Massachusetts General Hospital Department of Dermatology"
Not acceptable (as distinct listings):
- The Apple products section of Best Buy
- The hot food bar inside Whole Foods Market
For each department, the category that is the most representative of that department must be different from that of the main business and that of other departments.
For example, The main business "South Bay Toyota" has the category "Toyota Dealer" whereas the "South Bay Toyota Service & Parts" has the category "Auto Repair Shop" (plus the category "Auto Parts Store")
Example A - Multiple new car brands in a single location: Jaguar and Land Rover dealerships operate out of the same building, and use the same address, phone number, storefront branding, and authorization. Car dealerships practice this due to the distinct brands belonging to the same company.
Example B - Multiple departments for a single location: A Toyota dealership wants to have their Service department and Sales department as separate Google Business Profiles, they can do so if the departments have separate phone numbers.
Not eligible: Used car dealerships and "pre-certified" sales departments - Car dealerships primarily selling used cars, who carry and sell multiple vehicle brands are not eligible to have more than one listing for their business. For example, used car dealerships are only eligible for one listing since car brands that are sold can change frequently.
Get started with Google Business Profile for auto dealers: https://support.
FAQs
Q. If the used auto dealership has a "pre-certified" sales department that only sells the same brand, would this be eligible as a unique department?
A. No, used car dealerships are only eligible for one listing since car brands that are sold can change frequently. They deemed that pre-certified vehicles are still used cars and should not have a separate listing.
Q. Can I link the different departments for my new car dealership under one Reputation Management?
A. No, each department would act as its own location and would require its own Partner Center account and Reputation Management to monitor/respond to reviews.
Q. How can I monitor my dealership with multiple Google Business Profile departments?
A. If an eligible new auto dealership and each department have its own separate Google Business Profile and Partner Center account, those multi-location businesses can be managed under one Business App user, but still need separate Partner Center accounts in the platform.