Coworking Spaces (Shared Office Addresses) SEO Issues

When it comes to running a small business, you often face decisions that balance budget, flexibility, and professionalism. One such decision is whether to operate out of a coworking space (also known as shared office space). Co-working spaces are undeniably popular. They typically offer a vibrant community, networking opportunities, and helpful amenities, all at a semi-affordable rate for small business owners and startups.

But how does choosing a shared office address affect your SEO? For any small business focused on local SEO success, there are significant downsides to consider. We have experienced this challenge first-hand, including strategizing with select clients who use shared office space, as well as encountering our clients' competitors operating out of a coworking space.

In this article, I will walk you through the key SEO challenges tied to using a coworking space, helping you make a more informed decision about your business location.

Problems Created by Using a Shared Office Address

In local SEO, your business address plays a vital role in determining how Google and other search engines rank your business for local searches.

The accuracy, consistency, and credibility of your address can directly, and indirectly, impact your business’ visibility online. When you opt for a coworking space or shared office address, you risk sending muddied signals to search engines, leading to SEO drawbacks that could hurt your visibility in local search results.

Problem #1: Potential NAP and Citation Confusion

One element of local SEO is ensuring that your NAP (Name, Address, and Phone Number), along with other relevant data, is consistent across as many relevant platforms as possible. When you use a coworking space, multiple businesses share an identical address, which can lead to conflicting NAP details. Numerous businesses, currently and historically, using the same address means that citation sources like Yelp, Foursquare, data aggregators, and other business directories may group or confuse listings, causing inaccuracies and a lack of trust.

Imagine 50 different businesses using the same address. This lack of distinction can confuse search engines or, at very least, cause higher scrutiny, potentially decreasing your trustworthiness in Google’s eyes.

Google's algorithms are certainly getting better at understanding entities and normalizing certain levels of NAP inconsistency. However, prolonged discrepancies or inconsistency at scale can still cause issues. Having a massively overutilized address is more likely to make it difficult for Google to accurately understand and rank your business compared to having a traditional office space with a unique address.

Problem #2: Lack of Location Authority and Stability

Keep in mind that you are not just sharing an address with the 50 companies that are currently at that coworking facility. Think of the hundreds of companies over the year that have operated there, whether it be for years or only a few months. If they went out of business or moved elsewhere, they may have never shut down their original listings at that location, and they may be unaware that some of those listings get automatically created without their blessing!

Google values uniqueness and authority, even when it comes to physical locations. We believe that companies with their own dedicated locations and unique addresses tend to be perceived as more established and reliable, especially compared to those that share an address with numerous others that come and go rapidly. A dedicated address could indicate to Google that you are serious about your business presence in that community.

On the contrary, when your business address is mixed in with many others, your ability to build location authority could weaken.

This is particularly true for industries that thrive on customer trust, such as legal services, financial planners, or health practitioners. Customers searching for such services online expect trustworthy vendors, and Google’s ranking system often favors businesses that reflect a unique, stable presence in their community. Sharing an address in a coworking space may put you at a disadvantage in demonstrating that stability.

Problem #3: Google Business Profile (GBP) Verification Issues

For local businesses, having a well-optimized Google Business Profile (GBP) is crucial to ranking well in local search. When you are using a coworking space, you may face additional challenges in verifying your business address with Google.

Coworking spaces often come with restrictions that can make it more challenging to complete the verification process.

Google states, “Businesses can't list an office at a co-working space unless that office maintains clear signage, receives customers at the location during business hours, and is staffed during business hours by your business staff.”

Let us break that loaded statement down further:

1. You must have your company’s permanent office signage on the building. The name of the coworking space (e.g. Regus or WeWork) does not count!
2. You must receive customers and be staffed by your business staff during business hours. This does not mean a shared receptionist for the entire facility; it means you must have dedicated staff present.

If you can meet both of those requirements, your business will be more likely to get verified by Google initially.

Problem #4: Increased Chance of Google Business Profile Suspension

Even if you do manage to get your listing verified, Google’s internal systems are particularly sensitive regarding shared addresses, especially in certain industries. The presence of numerous businesses in the same address can raise red flags, potentially leading to suspended listings or lower visibility on Google Maps.

From our own experience reporting businesses who are violating Google’s policies and improperly using shared addresses for their primary office or “satellite offices,” they are much easier to get removed/suspended.

A suspended GBP can be incredibly damaging for your SEO efforts, as it directly affects how potential customers find your business!

Problem #5: Competing for Google Local Pack Visibility and the Possum Update

The “Local Pack” is the list of typically three businesses that appear in a dedicated map section on Google’s first page for local searches. Competing for a spot in the Local Pack is already challenging, but it becomes even harder when you are using a shared address.

Google’s Possum update, which rolled out in September 2016, significantly changed how businesses are filtered in local search results. Google wants to show searchers businesses that are physically close to their physical location (Proximity Bias). However, Google also strives to show diverse results.

One of the main objectives of the Possum update was to improve the quality of local search by filtering out businesses that are similar to each other in core service offering and are in very close proximity (this impacts shared office space and even nearby businesses in different buildings on the same street).

For businesses in coworking spaces, this can be a major problem. Since multiple businesses often share the same address, Google’s algorithm may filter out some of these businesses from local search results to avoid redundancy and increase diversity.

For example, if you are a family law attorney and your web presence is fully optimized for local SEO, your business might not appear in search results simply because it shares an address another attorney with overlapping services.

The Possum update aims to ensure that users get diverse results, but it inadvertently makes it harder for businesses in coworking spaces to compete.

Final Thoughts on Coworking Spaces SEO

While coworking spaces are an attractive option for small businesses due to their affordability and flexibility, they come with significant downsides when it comes to local SEO. We understand that a coworking space may be a necessary temporary steppingstone until you lease your own space. However, recognize the SEO challenges you will undoubtedly face by utilizing this setup.

If your goal is to grow your visibility in local search, you might want to invest in a commercial space not tied to a co-working facility. We wrote an article on how to pick your next business location, and the core principles contained within apply to selecting a new office location, as well as opening a second or third office space.

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