u/Affectionate_Act1603

We’re in the process of repositioning our event business toward a different core service: event production.

We’ve always offered production services, and we’re already known for them locally, but historically our brand and Google presence have been more associated with rentals. Our current business name is structured like:

[Company Name] – Events & Rentals

The issue is that Google seems to understand us primarily as a rental company, even though a significant portion of our revenue already comes from production work.

Our goals are:

1. Shift our primary focus and brand positioning toward event production.
2. Keep our existing rental revenue and rankings, since rentals are still valuable.
3. Open a second Google Business Profile in a key location for us, but have that profile focus only on production services.
4. Avoid confusing Google or accidentally hurting our current local SEO.
5. Navigate the fact that our current brand name includes the word “Rentals,” which may make it harder to be seen primarily as a production company.

A few questions:

• Is it a bad idea to open a second Google Business Profile focused on production if the original profile still exists for rentals?
• Should the second profile use the same brand name, a DBA, or a slightly different production-focused name?
• Would it be better to rebrand the main business name entirely, or keep the existing rental-oriented name and create separate production branding?
• How should we structure the website so Google understands that production is now the primary service without losing rental traffic?
• Are there risks of GBP suspension or ranking issues if both profiles are related to the same parent company but target different service categories/locations?

Would love advice from anyone who has handled a service-business repositioning, especially where the company wants to preserve existing rankings while shifting its main brand identity.

I’m dealing with a situation involving a competitor and I’m trying to figure out the right way to handle it without overreacting or doing anything unethical.

The first issue is that they appear to be copying our blog posts. I know “plagiarism” can sound dramatic, but this is not just a vague feeling. I’ve found at least five posts that are highly similar to ours. I also placed some honeypot-style markers in our content, including made-up terms and unique phrasing, and those appear in their versions too. I have a full audit document comparing the posts, and each one is at least 60% similar.

That said, the copied blog content is not actually my biggest concern.

The bigger issue is that they recently created a new Google Business Profile in a very important market for us. The business name appears to be keyword-stuffed in the format of “Business Name - Service - City Name.” It points to a new website they created specifically for this service and location. On that site, the contact email uses their main/older domain, not the new domain connected to the profile.

After running Local Falcon scans, they are already dominating some of our most valuable local search terms in that area. This market is one of the highest-income cities in the country and is especially valuable for the specific service we offer.

I’m frustrated about the copied content, and I do believe it has affected our rankings, although proving revenue impact would be difficult. But I’m much more concerned about the Google Business Profile because it seems to be having an immediate impact in a market that really matters to us.

I want to handle this properly and play by the rules. I’m not looking to start a smear campaign or do anything shady.

What are the legitimate steps I can take here?

Should I report the Google Business Profile? File DMCA complaints for the copied blog posts? Contact an attorney? Document everything and wait? Is there a proper order of operations for something like this?

Any advice from people who have dealt with local SEO competitors, copied content, or questionable GBP tactics would be appreciated.

I’m dealing with a situation involving a competitor and I’m trying to figure out the right way to handle it without overreacting or doing anything unethical.

The first issue is that they appear to be copying our blog posts. I know “plagiarism” can sound dramatic, but this is not just a vague feeling. I’ve found at least five posts that are highly similar to ours. I also placed some honeypot-style markers in our content, including made-up terms and unique phrasing, and those appear in their versions too. I have a full audit document comparing the posts, and each one is at least 60% similar.

That said, the copied blog content is not actually my biggest concern.

The bigger issue is that they recently created a new Google Business Profile in a very important market for us. The business name appears to be keyword-stuffed in the format of “Business Name - Service - City Name.” It points to a new website they created specifically for this service and location. On that site, the contact email uses their main/older domain, not the new domain connected to the profile.

After running Local Falcon scans, they are already dominating some of our most valuable local search terms in that area. This market is one of the highest-income cities in the country and is especially valuable for the specific service we offer.

I’m frustrated about the copied content, and I do believe it has affected our rankings, although proving revenue impact would be difficult. But I’m much more concerned about the Google Business Profile because it seems to be having an immediate impact in a market that really matters to us.

I want to handle this properly and play by the rules. I’m not looking to start a smear campaign or do anything shady.

What are the legitimate steps I can take here?

Should I report the Google Business Profile? File DMCA complaints for the copied blog posts? Contact an attorney? Document everything and wait? Is there a proper order of operations for something like this?

Any advice from people who have dealt with local SEO competitors, copied content, or questionable GBP tactics would be appreciated.