What to Do If Your Practice is Moving Physical Locations: An SEO’s Guide
Moving your clinic space is exciting. But if you don't handle the digital side, you could lose the local search visibility you've worked hard to build, assuming you’re putting in work for SEO. Here's what to do before, during, and after your move.
This process can be super tricky, especially on the Google My Business side, especially now, as this is being written in March 2026. Google has gotten super specific with business location approvals.
So, let’s talk about it.
Table of Contents
What to Do Before You Move/Prepare to Move
Start this process as early as possible. Ideally 30 to 60 days out from your official move.
Step 1: Audit your existing citations (the key word here is audit, do not change… yet)
A citation is any place online where your business name, address, and phone number appear.
A list of potential citations that you have/where your citations are located:
Google Business Profile
Yelp
Apple Maps
Any directories
Facebook business page
Certifications you have
State PT association
Your website footer/contact page (more on your website below).
Your email signature
Malpractice insurance
…everywhere.
Run a citation audit now to see exactly what needs updating. It’s helpful to keep this list handy for the rest of forever.
Step 2: Don't forget your booking software audit (audit… not a change, yet)
Jane App, Acuity, whatever you're using, likely has an address field that shows up on your booking page and in appointment confirmation emails. Patients will see the wrong address if this doesn't get updated, which is both a citation inconsistency and a real-world problem.
Step 3: Note your current Google Business Profile status.
Screenshot your current profile and reviews. If something goes sideways during the move, you'll want a baseline to reference.
Do not update your Google Business Profile address too early. This sounds counterintuitive, but changing your address before you're physically at the new location can trigger a reverification process, and if you're not there yet to complete it, your listing can get suspended. More on that in a second.
Step 4: Your website details
Check your website for hardcoded address references.
For example:
Footer
Contact page
About page
Schema markup
Any embedded Google Maps.
Geotagged photos
Make a list. You'll need to update everything once you move.
To note about your website: While you prepare for a move, add a message on your website about the new location coming, when you’ll officially be in the new location, and any other details you can give. This is really nice to have as a banner on your home page. I prefer to have it below the home page banner section.
The Google Business Profile Problem in 2026
Let's talk about this because it's the part most people underestimate.
Google has significantly tightened its business location verification process. What used to be a quick postcard verification or a phone call is now often requiring video verification, where someone physically walks through the space on camera showing permanent signage, the entrance, interior, proof that you can unlock the door with a key (yes, really), and proof the business operates there. Ideally you have a lease in hand as well.
If your listing gets flagged during an address update, you may be looking at:
A suspended listing while you wait for reverification
A request for a video walkthrough of your new space
Delays of days to weeks before your listing is live and accurate
This means you need to plan for this to potentially happen and do everything you can do to prevent it from happening if you can, but realizing it still might. Don’t do it last minute, but also don’t do it too early… you MUST have evidence that you operate there.
One thing to never do: don't create a new listing. Some practice owners assume it's easier to start fresh on GBP rather than deal with the address update and verification headache. It's not. Creating a new listing means starting over on reviews and authority. Always update the existing one. Again: do not create a new listing.
When to update your GBP address: After you are physically operating at the new location (or just before you begin operating at the new location) and your signage is up. Not before.
What to have ready when you do:
Your business license or lease agreement showing the new address
Exterior photos showing your building, signage, and suite number
Interior photos showing the space is set up and operational
The ability to unlock the door, open the door, and walk into the space
Access to the email on the account in case Google sends a verification request
If you get hit with a video verification request, keep the video steady, clearly show the entrance with any street address or suite number visible, show interior signage, unlock the door when you walk into the clinic, and narrate as you go.
Google's reviewers are looking for proof this is a real, operating business at that address.
Sometimes, I will tell clients to be “extra” in their video verification requests; show everything you need to show. Your face, your website, your clinic, your door, the permanent signage, unlocking the door… everything.
And if you get denied /have to submit a verification request, it WILL take up to 5 days, and I haven’t seen it take less than 5 days per verification. While you’re going through the verification process, your profile will not be accessible to the public.
During the Move
Once you're physically at the new location (if I was starting to operate at the new location on Monday, I’d do all of the switchover between Wednesday to Friday of the week before):
Update your Google Business Profile address. Log in, go to edit your profile, update the address, and save. Then watch your email. Respond to any verification requests immediately. The faster you respond, the faster your listing updates.
Update your website. Every page that references your old address. Don't forget schema markup, which is the behind-the-scenes structured data that tells Google your business information. If you have LocalBusiness schema on your site, update the address there too. If this sounds like foreign language or you have an SEO-ist on your team, don’t worry about it. Update your top-tier citations first. Prioritize the following because these carry the most weight and inconsistency here creates confusion for both Google and patients.:
Yelp
Apple maps
Clinician directories
Your state association
Any malpractice insurance documents or insurance directories, if you accept insurance.
Update your social media profiles. Facebook Business Page especially — it has an address field that surfaces in local search and on Maps. Instagram and LinkedIn too if they're active. These aren’t directly "SEO"-related, but they're citations, and inconsistency is inconsistency.
If you're running Google Ads, check your location assets. They pull from GBP, so in theory, the address updates automatically. But log into the account and confirm the right address is showing before ads go live at the new location.
Post an update to your GBP. Use the posts feature to announce the move. Something simple: "We've moved! As of [date], you can find us at [new address]. Same team, same care, new space." Or something like that. This helps patients and signals activity on your listing.
Make sure your website announces the new location under the home page banner, footer, and in your online booking software. These are the two places that patients will look, so make sure your location is now announced in these spots.
After the Move
Keep auditing. Citation inconsistency is one of the most common reasons local SEO stalls after a move. New directories, old aggregator data, and random sites that scraped your old information. Check in monthly for the first few months.
You can request reviews that mention the new location. If you have a review generation process, this is a good time to lean on it. Reviews that reference your new neighborhood or new space help reinforce the location signal for Google.
Monitor your SEO rankings. It's normal to see some fluctuation in local rankings right after a move. Your new address means a new geographic center point, which can shift how you appear in local pack results depending on where searchers are located relative to your new space. Give it 60 to 90 days before drawing conclusions and getting alarmed.
Watch for duplicate listings. Sometimes when you update an address, an old listing or a duplicate can surface. Check Google Maps by searching your practice name and your old address periodically to make sure nothing weird is hanging around.
The Short Version
Don't wait until moving day. Start your citation audit early, don't touch GBP until you're physically operating at the new location, have your verification materials ready, and update everything systematically.
The practices that lose rankings after a move are almost always the ones that updated one thing and forgot about everything else.
Happy Moving!
How to Get Started with SEO, Local SEO, and Google My Business Optimization
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Courses that I’d recommend:
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