Use publisher overrides
How do I make a field different for one publisher?
An override lets one publisher carry a different value while every other publisher keeps the shared one. You create it from that publisher's tab, using Edit. The drawer that opens can write either scope, so the button you press is the decision: Save for Google writes the Google-only exception, Save to Master changes the record everyone gets. Picking the wrong one is the whole risk in this workflow.
Key facts
| Where it lives | A location → a publisher tab (Google, Facebook, Apple, Bing) → Edit on the identity card, or Edit on a section |
| Drawer title | Edit details — Google, with Override for Google only. Switch on the left. |
| Scope switcher | A column of round buttons on the left of the drawer: Master (syndicates to all), Google, Facebook, Apple, Bing |
| Write the exception | Save for Google |
| Write the shared record | Save to Master |
| Spot an override | N field(s) differ on the Master identity card, Overridden for Google on the publisher tab, and Differs on N or Overridden badges on sections |
| Undo the exception | The tab row's ⋮ → Reset Google to Master. It clears every override for that publisher at once |
| Not connected yet | The tab says Not connected — saved here, will publish on connect, or Saved here — publishes automatically when this location is submitted for Apple and Bing |
Steps
Open the location and select the publisher's tab. The caption confirms the scope you are in: What Google Business Profile shows. Edits here apply to Google only. The tab also tells you whether the publisher is connected, so you know whether a saved value will go out now or wait.
Select Edit on the identity card. Check the round buttons on the left and the title before you type. The title Edit details — Google and the line Override for Google only tell you which scope is selected, and the footer lets you save to either.
Change only the field that genuinely needs to differ. Everything you leave alone keeps inheriting from the shared record, which is what you want. The business name, phone, website, additional phones and address can be overridden. The country is fixed, and categories are not part of this drawer: set them on Master.
Commit with Save for Google. Use Save to Master only if you realise the change belongs everywhere after all.
If you changed name, address, phone, primary category or website, Synup asks Update core business info? before saving. For a connected location this pushes to the live listing and can trigger Google re-verification. Cancel stops the save; Save anyway continues it.
To remove the exception later, open that publisher's tab and use ⋮ at the end of the tab row, then Reset Google to Master. The publisher goes back to inheriting the shared values.
Finding the overrides that already exist
Open a location and look for three signs.
On Master, the identity card shows 1 field differ (or the number) when any publisher carries its own value for name, phone, website, address or additional phones.
On a publisher tab, the identity card says Overridden for Google (or the publisher's name), and sections that carry their own value show an Overridden badge. On Master, the same sections show Differs on 1, meaning one publisher differs.
What each publisher lets you override
A publisher tab only offers what that site accepts, so the sections differ from tab to tab. Google shows the most, including Business details, Description, Social & payments, Hours, Attributes, Services, Media, Menus, Open status, Service area and Action links. Facebook shows Description, Hours, Media, Open status and Service area. Apple shows everything except Business details. Bing shows everything except Business details and Description. Where a site accepts a field only in part, the editor marks it Limited on that publisher, and where it does not accept it at all it says Not supported for that publisher. Google descriptions are limited to 750 characters and Apple's to 500.
Photos are the exception to the whole idea: they are shared by every publisher and cannot be set for one site alone. If you try, the editor says photos are shared by every site and asks you to change them on the shared record.
What you'll see when it's done
- The publisher tab shows the overridden value, while Master keeps the shared one
- Master shows N field(s) differ and the other publisher tabs are unaffected
- Where the publisher is not connected yet, the tab says so and the value is held until it is
- After a reset, a message reads Reset to base and that publisher "now inherits shared values", and the Overridden labels disappear
- As with any save, an override is queued and goes out after the usual wait; see editing a location profile for when a saved change reaches the listing
Watch out for
- Reset clears every override for that publisher. Reset Google to Master applies as soon as you choose it, with no confirmation, and it removes all of that publisher's overridden values rather than the single field you had in mind. Service area has its own Reset on its Overridden badge, which clears only that section.
- An override can hide a Master change. Where a publisher keeps its own value for a detail, the editor says changing the shared record would not change what that publisher shows, and points you to that publisher's tab.
- Saved is not published. Saving an override does not mean the live listing has changed yet. Publishers apply changes on their own schedule.
- Bulk edits can create overrides too. In Bulk edit on the locations list, choosing one publisher applies the change as an override on every selected location, and the dialog says so.
Questions people ask
Should I override or fix the shared record?
Override only when the difference is intentional and permanent for that one publisher. If you are correcting a mistake, fix the shared record so every publisher gets it; see updating name, address and phone.
Can I override the business name for one publisher?
Yes. The drawer exposes the business name, phone, website, additional phones and address for each publisher. It is rarely a good idea, because inconsistent names across directories are exactly what weakens the match, but the capability exists for publishers that enforce their own format.
Can I set a different category for one publisher?
Not as an override. The Synup category and each publisher's category are all edited on Master, in the identity card's drawer, and each publisher already has its own category row there.
What happens if I save an override on a publisher that isn't connected yet?
It is stored against that publisher and held. The tab tells you so: Not connected — saved here, will publish on connect for a publisher you connect to, or Saved here — publishes automatically when this location is submitted for Apple and Bing.
Why did Synup ask me to confirm before saving?
Because the field you changed is one of the core business details: name, address, phone, primary category or website. On a connected location these push to the live listing and can trigger re-verification with Google, so the confirmation makes that consequence explicit.
Next
For the shared record these exceptions sit on top of, see updating name, address and phone. To check what each publisher will actually receive, see previewing publisher-specific values. To send pending changes onward, see publishing saved location changes.