I’ve read a few conflicting opinions, but in my mapping journey I have seen two significant scenarios in my area.
A local car dealership was bought by another bigger entity and rebranded to the name of the purchaser’s foreign corporation. Business continued as usual, and the new name was updated on the existing Google Maps entry. I took two photos after the rebranding and attained Cover Photo status, with the accompanying thousands of views. Previous photos which I’d added to the same POI automatically got renamed to the new name. There was never a new Maps entry created, and everything appeared to be a smooth transition.
One of our gas station chains changed its name a few years ago. Subsequently they merged with another chain of stations, with instructions from the regulatory authorities NOT to rename the stations in the second chain, but it’s still happening anyway. Today I attempted to upload a photo of one of the second set and could not find it on the map. Further investigation revealed that it is still listed under the old name and has just four photos - 2016 and 2017 as I remember the old station, 2022 after a redesign with the old name still intact, and one photo from the wrong location. My photo is of the current newest design and displays the name change, which of course doesn’t match the old name on Google Maps. My thought is to handle it as a name change of an existing business, but now I feel that correcting the present confusion needs a better photo than the one I took last week.
This is a common issue that comes up and I myself have come across it several times. My approach is dependent on whether there is a change in owners of the business.
Quite simply, if the owners of the business have changed the business name then I simply update the existing listing’s name (business name changes but no change in owners or nature of the business). In this way the business retains all the reviews, it’s star rating and photos other than photos showing the business name. However, if as well as the name change there is a change in business owners, then I would choose to close the old business and add the new business at the location. This new business/owners need to get new reviews and earn a new star rating.
Having said this, it can be a little tricky in some situations and here is one example that I came across some years back. A Law firm named “John Bardoel & Associates” changed it’s name to “Bardoel & Adams” when a new partner joined the business. In this instance, there was a change in business name as well as a change in business owners but I chose not to close the old listing and create a new. There are always exceptions! We have to use nous
Remember that a Google Maps listing with a lot of positive reviews can be a significant marketing asset for a new business owner. It might even be part of what he paid for when buying a new business. So I try to not impose my opinions and interpretations of the guidelines when it comes to places with a lot of reviews and photos.
From a Google Maps user perspective, it is best if new owners start a new pin. But it is only one side - business owners have their preferences also.
So I guess every case stands on it’s own. I’m thinking that where changes happen seamlessly and the business never closes during the transition, renaming the POI might be okay rather than creating a new one.
If the owner renames it, we have no choice. But if no one seems to care, as in my second example, I’ll have to consider and make the wisest decision.
As the data on the old POI is so limited and contradictory, it might be best to grab some extra points by creating a new place instead.
