This week's reader question: "I switched brokerages twice. My old agent profiles are still online. Should I just delete them?"
Great question — and the instinct to nuke them is the wrong one more often than not. Here's the short version: don't delete first. Claim, update, or redirect first — and only delete true duplicates. An old profile that already ranks for your name is an asset you've been building for years, and deleting it can hand that hard-won search real estate to a stranger.
Think it through by type:
A profile you can claim and edit (Zillow, realtor.com, an old agent bio): update it. Fix the brokerage, match your NAP, point it at your current site. Now it works for you instead of confusing people.
A page with real reviews on it: never delete. Those reviews are trust you can't get back. Claim the page and keep them visible.
A brokerage bio you can't edit (the brokerage owns it): ask them to remove or update it, or at least strip your contact info so it stops competing with your current listing.
A genuine duplicate or dead listing — two of the same profile, or a "permanently closed" ghost: this is the one to merge or remove, because it splits your signals.
The rule of thumb: an outdated profile isn't a problem because it exists — it's a problem because it's wrong. Fix the information and most old profiles turn from liabilities into extra doors that lead back to you. Delete only when a page is a true duplicate with nothing worth keeping.
One caution: before you remove anything, make sure your current Google Business Profile and website are solid, so there's a clear "real" you for Google and buyers to land on. You never want to delete the old thing and leave a gap where the new thing should be.
Not sure which of your old profiles to update, redirect, or remove? That's exactly what our Digital Visibility Audit maps out — every profile with your name on it, and what to do with each.
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All The Best To Your Success.
