Changing your business name on Google and your website

To change your business name on Google, edit the name in your existing Google Business Profile once the new name is real: on your sign, your paperwork and your website. Keep the same profile so your reviews stay with you. Then update your website, keep your old web address forwarding to the new one if you get a new domain, and tell customers plainly that "Smith Plumbing is now Riverbend Plumbing". People who knew the old name should never hit a dead end.

Get the new name settled first

A name change done online before it is done offline causes confusion. Before you touch Google:

Make it official. Register the new name or DBA (doing business as) with your state or county as needed. Your attorney or accountant can tell you which filings apply to you, including any with the IRS (irs.gov has the basics on business name changes).
Get the sign up, or at least ordered. Google may check that the name matches what customers see.
Decide the exact spelling and form. "Riverbend Plumbing" or "Riverbend Plumbing & Drain"? "Co." or "Company"? Write it once, exactly, and use it everywhere.
Decide on the web address. Will you keep your current domain, or get one that matches the new name?

Step 1: change the name on your Google Business Profile

Edit the profile you already have. Your reviews, photos and history stay with it. Creating a fresh profile for the new name throws all of that away and can get both profiles suspended for being duplicates.

Sign in to the Google account that manages the profile, search Google for your business name, or go to business.google.com.
Click "Edit profile" and select the business name.
Type the new name exactly as it appears on your sign. Nothing extra: no town, no list of services, no slogan. "Riverbend Plumbing", not "Riverbend Plumbing - Best Plumber in Dayton". Extra words break Google's guidelines and can get the name reset or the profile suspended.
Save.

Google often reviews a name change before it shows, and sometimes asks you to verify the business again. That can take from a few days to a couple of weeks. Have proof ready if asked, such as a photo of the new sign, a business license or a utility bill in the new name.

Once it is live, update the profile's photos (new logo, new sign, new van) and the description to mention the change: "Formerly Smith Plumbing, same family, same team."

Step 2: update your website

Your website should say the new name everywhere, and still be easy to find for anyone who knows only the old one.

Change:

The logo and the name in the header of every page.
Page titles, the line in the browser tab and in Google results. "Drain Cleaning in Dayton | Riverbend Plumbing". Page titles and descriptions explains where to edit them.
The footer, copyright line and any "about us" text.
The contact page, email addresses and any forms that email you with the old name.
The business details your builder or SEO plugin passes to Google (often under "business info" or "site settings").
The site's favicon, the tiny icon in the browser tab, if it uses your old logo.

Keep, at least for a while:

A line on the home page such as "Smith Plumbing is now Riverbend Plumbing. Same team, same number."
A sentence on the about page that tells the story: why you changed, what stayed the same. This also helps people who search the old name find the new one.

Step 3: your domain and email

If your web address contains the old name, such as smithplumbing.com, you have two choices:

Keep the old domain for now. Simplest. The site still works and email keeps arriving. Many businesses keep the old address for years.

Move to a new domain that matches the new name, such as riverbendplumbing.com. If you do:

Keep renewing the old domain. Do not let it expire. Old business cards, saved links and years of Google history point to it.
Forward every old page address to the matching new one, not only the home page. If smithplumbing.com/water-heaters lands on riverbendplumbing.com/water-heaters, customers and Google follow you. This is the part that protects what your old site had earned in Google. Changing your domain name without losing Google explains how the forwarding works.
Keep your old email addresses working, forwarding to the new ones. Customers will keep writing to the old address for a long time. Keeping your email working during a website change covers the setup.
Tell Google in Search Console. It has a "Change of address" tool for moving a whole site to a new domain.

Step 4: everywhere else

Apple Maps and Bing Places.
Yelp, Facebook, Nextdoor, BBB and your trade directories. On Facebook, page name changes can need approval; change the name, not the page, so your followers and reviews stay.
Social media handles if they include the old name. Claim the new handle before you announce the change.
Invoices, quotes, email signatures, booking confirmations, voicemail greeting.
Vehicles, uniforms, yard signs, business cards.
Licenses, insurance, bank accounts and suppliers.

Keep a list of where you updated and when. Months later, search Google for the old name in quotes and fix any listing that still shows it alone.

Tell your customers

A short, friendly note avoids "are you the same company?" calls:

Email or text your past customers if you have permission to contact them: "We've changed our name to Riverbend Plumbing. Same team, same phone number, same promise."
Say it on your invoices for the first few months: "Formerly Smith Plumbing."
Post it on your Google profile as an update, and on Facebook.
Answer the phone with both names for a while: "Riverbend Plumbing, formerly Smith Plumbing, this is Dave."

What to expect from Google

Your profile keeps its reviews and its place, though it can take Google a little time to connect the new name with searches for the old one. People who search your old name may still find you through the profile and through the "formerly" lines on your website. If you also moved to a new domain, expect some movement in search results while Google processes the forwarding. Nobody can promise a smooth ride in search, but forwarding every old page and keeping the old domain alive is what protects the place your site has earned.

What to do this week

Write the new name once, exactly as it will appear everywhere.
Confirm the official filings are done or underway.
Decide whether to keep your current domain or move to a new one.
If moving, list every page on your old site so each can be forwarded.
Draft your "we've changed our name" line for the website, invoices and customers.

If the rebrand is a good moment for a new website too, you can see your site rebuilt first under the new name, with the old page addresses kept working.