How do I add a service-area Location?

At BrightLocal we call business(s) added to the platform Locations.

A Location is any physical place that a business owns, be it an office, store, restaurant, outlet, or anything else in between. So if you’re a business owner with only one shop or office, you’ll have just one Location in BrightLocal. 

If you’re a business with multiple locations or an agency juggling multiple clients then you’ll probably have several Locations set up, one for each store, office, branch, or business that you’re working on.

To add a new service-area Location, follow the steps below:

1. Go to the 'Locations' tab within the 'All Locations' section.

2. Click on the green 'Add Location(s)' button — shown below within the red box.

3. Choose if you want to add one Location or two or more.

4. As a service-area business, you likely won’t have a physical business address for your Location, so in the next step, select 'No.' However, if you do have a business that is not your home address, select 'Yes'.

5. Next, choose an option to locate the Location's Google Business Profile and click 'Next' in the bottom right corner to proceed. If you already have a Google Business Profile, we recommend connecting it. Click here for instructions starting from step 5.

However, if you choose the option 'Don't have Admin rights? Use Google Maps URL,' you'll need to find and enter the URL. Click the blue arrow for instructions on how to find the URL. Once you have it, paste it into the search box and click 'Find'. 

Once the URL has been successfully found, click 'Next' to move on.

6. If you entered a Google Maps URL or connected the Location's Google Business Profile, the Location information should auto-fill on the next screen. If the Location doesn't have a Google Business Profile, the Location information will not be automatically populated; please enter it manually.

Please review the details to ensure they are correct and update them if needed. You can also assign the Location to the appropriate client and add a unique reference code if you wish. Remember, any fields marked with an asterisk (*) are required.

7. After clicking 'Next,' you'll be taken to a page where you can connect the Location's Facebook page and Google Analytics. To do this, click the green 'Connect' button below each option and follow the steps. If you prefer to skip this step, simply click 'Next' to continue.

8. Next, you have the option to enter additional details for Citation Builder campaigns if you plan to use them. This information is specific to Citation Builder and is not required. If it's not needed, simply click the 'Add This Location' button in the bottom right corner to proceed.

Success! Your Location is now set up, but there are no reports yet. To set up reports, click the green 'Monitor All My Data' button. If you'd prefer to do this later, simply close the popup by clicking the 'X'

9. Lastly, you'll need to set the Location to either Active or Ad-hoc, depending on what you want to do next.

Active Locations are a must for the ongoing management and reporting for clients and locations. With Active Locations, you can schedule recurring reports. Active Locations come out of your plan's Active Location Allowance.

Ad-hoc Locations, on the other hand, are perfect for one-off business audits and prospecting potential clients.

With Ad-hoc Locations you:

✅ Can only run manual reports

❌ Can’t schedule recurring reports

❌ Can’t use Get Reviews, Showcase Reviews, Active Sync, and GBP Post Scheduler

✅ Can run Citation Builder campaigns

✅ Can change to Active status at any time

Each manual report run uses an Ad-hoc Report Run.

To set a Location to Active, click on the 'All Locations' option in the main menu. Find the Location that you want to set to Active and click the arrow to reveal the dropdown menu, then click 'Active'. 

Discover more about how service-area business can use BrightLocal here.