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Google Maps Bugs: Terrain View Missing Labels & LBC Categories Wrong

On January 20, 2010, In SEO, by rustybrick

There are two bugs to report in the Google Maps space. The first is that the Google Maps Terrain view has removed the country labels from the maps. The second is that categories are being added to business listings without them being added by the business owner in the local business center.

The maps terrain issue was reported in the Google Maps Help forum. Here is a picture of what I see in the terrain view. As you can see, the country labels seemed to have disappeared:

Brian from the Google Maps team said, “Thanks for reporting. I made sure this issue was escalated to the appropriate folks and I’ll post an update here when I see it.”

The other bug has to do with the Google Local Business Center. Some are reporting that unwanted categories are being applied to their business listings automatically. A different Google Maps Help thread is tracking this issue. Google Maps employee, Linda said, “Thanks for starting this thread. I will gather some information and get back to you all soon.”

Hopefully both of these bugs will be resolved shortly.

Forum discussion at Google Maps Help.

There are two bugs to report in the Google Maps space. The first is that the Google Maps Terrain view has removed the country labels from the maps. The second is that categories are being added to business listings without them being added by the business owner in the local business center.

The maps terrain issue was reported in the Google Maps Help forum. Here is a picture of what I see in the terrain view. As you can see, the country labels seemed to have disappeared:

Brian from the Google Maps team said, “Thanks for reporting. I made sure this issue was escalated to the appropriate folks and I’ll post an update here when I see it.”

The other bug has to do with the Google Local Business Center. Some are reporting that unwanted categories are being applied to their business listings automatically. A different Google Maps Help thread is tracking this issue. Google Maps employee, Linda said, “Thanks for starting this thread. I will gather some information and get back to you all soon.”

Hopefully both of these bugs will be resolved shortly.

Forum discussion at Google Maps Help.

Add Real Time Content to Your Google Maps Listing

On January 18, 2010, In SEO, by rustybrick

The Google Lat Long Blog announced businesses can now add real time information to their business listings. How does it work? It is honestly a bit tricky.

You would think you would “Edit” your business listing in Google Local Business Center. But no, instead you click on the “View report” link under the statistics section of that page. Then you are presented with a box to add a quick real-time message to your business listing (Places Page) on Google Maps.

On the top right of the statistics page is this box where owners can add information:

Here is me adding some info that may expire soon:

And here is that information showing up on my business listing in minutes:

Clearly, if you have a very active Google Maps listing, this can come in handy.

Forum discussion at DigitalPoint Forums.

The Google Lat Long Blog announced businesses can now add real time information to their business listings. How does it work? It is honestly a bit tricky.

You would think you would “Edit” your business listing in Google Local Business Center. But no, instead you click on the “View report” link under the statistics section of that page. Then you are presented with a box to add a quick real-time message to your business listing (Places Page) on Google Maps.

On the top right of the statistics page is this box where owners can add information:

Here is me adding some info that may expire soon:

And here is that information showing up on my business listing in minutes:

Clearly, if you have a very active Google Maps listing, this can come in handy.

Forum discussion at DigitalPoint Forums.

100 Listings Per Google Local Business Center

On January 13, 2010, In SEO, by rustybrick

Ever wonder if there is a limit on the number of business listings you can have in your Google Local Business Center? A Google Maps Help thread has Maps Guide Linda saying that limit is currently 100 listings.

Linda said:

100 individual listings is the maximum number we permit in Local Business Center accounts.

But what if you have more than a 100 offices? That is what one person wanted to know. He said:

Thanks for the quick reply! What do I do if we have 800 offices we want to include? Can I open multiple Google accounts with the same email address, but using different passwords? If not, what are my choices?

I assume that would work but is this the right way to handle it?

Forum discussion at Google Maps Help.

Ever wonder if there is a limit on the number of business listings you can have in your Google Local Business Center? A Google Maps Help thread has Maps Guide Linda saying that limit is currently 100 listings.

Linda said:

100 individual listings is the maximum number we permit in Local Business Center accounts.

But what if you have more than a 100 offices? That is what one person wanted to know. He said:

Thanks for the quick reply! What do I do if we have 800 offices we want to include? Can I open multiple Google accounts with the same email address, but using different passwords? If not, what are my choices?

I assume that would work but is this the right way to handle it?

Forum discussion at Google Maps Help.

Video Recap of Weekly Search Buzz :: January 8, 2010

On January 8, 2010, In SEO, by rustybrick

This week, I try to get fancier with my video set up and integrate multiple video sources, including my monitor – let’s see how that goes. I posted the Google webmaster report for January. There were rumors Caffeine went live, but it did not. More people are seeing the Google blue Jazz interface. Malware is becoming a bigger and bigger issues. Was there a Yahoo Search update or was it the paid inclusion results being removed? Google’s local business privacy blunder caused some overall concern. Google may return the SEO and web design local pack? Bing says they are slow and recommends you spam Digg or Yahoo Buzz. Microsoft adCenter offered free clicks, well – not really. AdWords tests a CPA lead form and also click to call on mobile phones. Also, most PPCers have participated in bid wars, while most advertisers are not afraid to make changes to their accounts. Finally Googlers were working on New Years and Google animated their logo for Issac Newton. That was this past week at the Search Engine Roundtable.

Make sure to subscribe to our video feed or subscribe directly on iTunes to be notified of these updates and download the video in the background. Here is the YouTube version of the feed:

For the original iTunes version, click here or to see the YouTube version in higher quality, click play & hit “HD.”

Search Topics of Discussion:
Google SEO

Google Search

Yahoo SEO

Google Local

Bing SEO

adCenter

Microsoft adCenter Offering Free Search Ads Over New Years?

AdWords

Misc

Please do subscribe via iTunes or on your favorite RSS reader. Don’t forget to comment below with the right answer and good luck!

This week, I try to get fancier with my video set up and integrate multiple video sources, including my monitor – let’s see how that goes. I posted the Google webmaster report for January. There were rumors Caffeine went live, but it did not. More people are seeing the Google blue Jazz interface. Malware is becoming a bigger and bigger issues. Was there a Yahoo Search update or was it the paid inclusion results being removed? Google’s local business privacy blunder caused some overall concern. Google may return the SEO and web design local pack? Bing says they are slow and recommends you spam Digg or Yahoo Buzz. Microsoft adCenter offered free clicks, well – not really. AdWords tests a CPA lead form and also click to call on mobile phones. Also, most PPCers have participated in bid wars, while most advertisers are not afraid to make changes to their accounts. Finally Googlers were working on New Years and Google animated their logo for Issac Newton. That was this past week at the Search Engine Roundtable.

Make sure to subscribe to our video feed or subscribe directly on iTunes to be notified of these updates and download the video in the background. Here is the YouTube version of the feed:

For the original iTunes version, click here or to see the YouTube version in higher quality, click play & hit “HD.”

Search Topics of Discussion:
Google SEO

Google Search

Yahoo SEO

Google Local

Bing SEO

adCenter

Microsoft adCenter Offering Free Search Ads Over New Years?

AdWords

Misc

Please do subscribe via iTunes or on your favorite RSS reader. Don’t forget to comment below with the right answer and good luck!

Google Sends Me & Others Wrong Local Business Center Reports

On January 7, 2010, In SEO, by rustybrick

This is a pretty bad slip up by Google. The Google Maps and Local team seemed to have sent out a batch of updates on how well a business’s Google Maps listings are doing, but to the wrong businesses.

Last night, just before 10pm (EST), I received an email from Google about how well my local business listing is doing in Google. The issue was, it was not for my business! It was for a place called Polk Mechanical based in Texas. That is exactly 1,576 miles away from my business’s location and would take me a full day to drive to, according to Google Maps.

Here is how well Polk Mechanical is doing in Google Maps:

I am not the only one who saw this. There is a report of it in Google Maps Help forum, David Dalka got one, so did Mike Blumenthal and Danya Henninger.

I emailed Google about this and I hope to get an understanding of why this happened.

The data shared by Google here is not all that sensitive, but it is still data.

Forum discussion at Google Maps Help.

Update: Google sent me a statement, it reads as follows:

As you’re aware, we send a monthly newsletter to our Local Business Center users, featuring product news and a glimpse at the Dashboard statistics which show the traffic Google properties drive to their listing. Shortly after sending the newsletter to a small portion of our users last night, we discovered that some emails included incorrect business listing information. We promptly stopped sending any further emails and investigated the cause, which we found to be a human error while pulling together the newsletter content. We’d like to sincerely apologize to all the business owners impacted and assure all our users that we’re working hard to ensure that nothing similar will happen again.

Update #2: Google sent an automated apology to those who received other companies information:

This is a pretty bad slip up by Google. The Google Maps and Local team seemed to have sent out a batch of updates on how well a business’s Google Maps listings are doing, but to the wrong businesses.

Last night, just before 10pm (EST), I received an email from Google about how well my local business listing is doing in Google. The issue was, it was not for my business! It was for a place called Polk Mechanical based in Texas. That is exactly 1,576 miles away from my business’s location and would take me a full day to drive to, according to Google Maps.

Here is how well Polk Mechanical is doing in Google Maps:

I am not the only one who saw this. There is a report of it in Google Maps Help forum, David Dalka got one, so did Mike Blumenthal and Danya Henninger.

I emailed Google about this and I hope to get an understanding of why this happened.

The data shared by Google here is not all that sensitive, but it is still data.

Forum discussion at Google Maps Help.

Update: Google sent me a statement, it reads as follows:

As you’re aware, we send a monthly newsletter to our Local Business Center users, featuring product news and a glimpse at the Dashboard statistics which show the traffic Google properties drive to their listing. Shortly after sending the newsletter to a small portion of our users last night, we discovered that some emails included incorrect business listing information. We promptly stopped sending any further emails and investigated the cause, which we found to be a human error while pulling together the newsletter content. We’d like to sincerely apologize to all the business owners impacted and assure all our users that we’re working hard to ensure that nothing similar will happen again.

Update #2: Google sent an automated apology to those who received other companies information:

Google Maps To Allow Businesses To Request Replacement Decals

On January 7, 2010, In SEO, by rustybrick

Google Maps Guide, Cecelia wrote in a Google Maps Help thread that Google will be enabling Google Local Business Favorite places to reorder lost or damaged Google QR code decals.

Ever since Google has been sending these out, I have seen threads from business owners asking how they can get replacement decals. For one reason or another, these people have lost or damaged the decals, and had no way to replace them.

Cecelia said in the thread:

We’re working to create a way for you to request a new Favorite Places decal if something happened to the original one. In the meantime, please hold tight and know we’re working on this.

Seems like it is coming soon, probably within the Google Local Business Center. When it does go live, we will let you know.

She also answered a frequently asked question:

Can a business which didn’t receive a decal request one?

No, it is not possible for a business to request becoming a Favorite Place. Businesses can sign up for Local Business Center to become eligible and if they meet our criteria, they may receive a decal in the next wave.

Forum discussion at Google Maps Help</a.

Google Maps Guide, Cecelia wrote in a Google Maps Help thread that Google will be enabling Google Local Business Favorite places to reorder lost or damaged Google QR code decals.

Ever since Google has been sending these out, I have seen threads from business owners asking how they can get replacement decals. For one reason or another, these people have lost or damaged the decals, and had no way to replace them.

Cecelia said in the thread:

We’re working to create a way for you to request a new Favorite Places decal if something happened to the original one. In the meantime, please hold tight and know we’re working on this.

Seems like it is coming soon, probably within the Google Local Business Center. When it does go live, we will let you know.

She also answered a frequently asked question:

Can a business which didn’t receive a decal request one?

No, it is not possible for a business to request becoming a Favorite Place. Businesses can sign up for Local Business Center to become eligible and if they meet our criteria, they may receive a decal in the next wave.

Forum discussion at Google Maps Help

Reporting Google Maps Business Listing Spam to Google

On December 30, 2009, In SEO, by rustybrick

Mike reported how Google likes you to report Google Maps business listing spam to them. Google Maps, especially the local business center, has been a target for spammers in the past couple years. Google has tried numerous ways to have people report spam to them.

I guess recently, Google changed it to ask people to report a problem with the business listing via the “report a problem” link either on the map itself or on the business’s place page. As Mike said, Maps Guide Cecelia noted that the “time frame [for spam removal] most likely varies based on the number of reports we receive.”

To report spam on a business’s places page, you go to the “more info” link on the search results of that listing and then click on the “more” link. The more link will open up options, such as “report a problem”:

After you click the “report a problem” link, a form pops up asking for more information:

Forum discussion at Sphinn.

Mike reported how Google likes you to report Google Maps business listing spam to them. Google Maps, especially the local business center, has been a target for spammers in the past couple years. Google has tried numerous ways to have people report spam to them.

I guess recently, Google changed it to ask people to report a problem with the business listing via the “report a problem” link either on the map itself or on the business’s place page. As Mike said, Maps Guide Cecelia noted that the “time frame [for spam removal] most likely varies based on the number of reports we receive.”

To report spam on a business’s places page, you go to the “more info” link on the search results of that listing and then click on the “more” link. The more link will open up options, such as “report a problem”:

After you click the “report a problem” link, a form pops up asking for more information:

Forum discussion at Sphinn.

Introducing The Google Mapping Tool Availability Matrix

On December 21, 2009, In SEO, by rustybrick

Google Maps has tons of features, but some of those features are not available in all regions due to many reasons. In order to help document what is and what is not available in certain regions, Google created a page named the Mapping Tool Availability to help you see which Google tools are available for mapping your area.

Google breaks the page down by several regions including Africa, Asia, Caribbean, Central America, Europe, Middle East, North America, Oceania and South America. When you open a region, Google shows you a matrix of what features are available in that area, features such as the Local Business Center, Community Edits, My Maps, Map Maker or Building Maker. Here is a screen capture of the North America matrix:

This will come in handy for the folks in the Google Maps forum and for local business consultants.

Forum discussion at Google Maps Help.

Google Maps has tons of features, but some of those features are not available in all regions due to many reasons. In order to help document what is and what is not available in certain regions, Google created a page named the Mapping Tool Availability to help you see which Google tools are available for mapping your area.

Google breaks the page down by several regions including Africa, Asia, Caribbean, Central America, Europe, Middle East, North America, Oceania and South America. When you open a region, Google shows you a matrix of what features are available in that area, features such as the Local Business Center, Community Edits, My Maps, Map Maker or Building Maker. Here is a screen capture of the North America matrix:

This will come in handy for the folks in the Google Maps forum and for local business consultants.

Forum discussion at Google Maps Help.

Google Favorite Places QR Codes Taking Many Customers to Wrong Location

On December 17, 2009, In SEO, by rustybrick

On Friday afternoon, I reported My Google Favorite Place Decal Was Hijacked. In short, it turned out the QR code was indeed correct, but if the QR code scanner reads it wrong, it can take you to a different business. Which is what happens when I use certain scanners or if the lighting is poor when I scan using certain apps.

Here is a quick video of how this went down on Friday afternoon:

Now, I am not the only one experiencing these problems. I have spotted at least four threads (I know there are more) with complaints about their QR codes not working.

Let me pull out the various complaints from the four Google Maps Help threads I found:

The card I received in the mail from Google indicating we are a “Favorite Place” takes the user to the wrong business. Hundreds of miles away.

My card takes users to the generic google mobile home page?!?!?!

Same issue, mine goes to the generic google home page.

I got someone with an iPhone to test it out and it goes to info on some store in New York City, not my store, Epic Biking (www.epicbiking.com), in Saratoga Springs UTAH.

Once our Favorite Place decal is scanned it directs to the Double Tree Marriot in Palm Beach Gardens, FL as opposed to our listing Land Rover Palm Beach.

We’re having the same exact issue. Except, ours is Starwood Hotels in New York when it should link to OK4WD. I scanned the thing probably a good five or six times too

When I had my issue, Ryan Hayward from Google contacted me immediately. I learned from him that in my case, it was not a data issue on Google’s side, but rather an issue with the scanner reading the code incorrectly or missing pieces of the code. From what I understand, the code itself stores data in it, such as addresses, URLs, names and so on. So technically, I do not think Google printed these codes with a specific unique identifier in them for your business to match up in the Google Local Business Center. I think Google printed these codes to have address information and that is all. I can be wrong, but I think this is how it is working.

The overall issue here is that the codes are not working for many many businesses and searchers. It doesn’t matter if it is a Google bug or a scanner bug, it is not working for a lot of people and lot of the time.

Forum discussion at Google Maps Help threads.

Update: Ryan from Google sent me a note that many of this complaints are due to a QuickMark bug in their latest release. QuickMark sent an update to Apple and they hope it is approved soon. QuickMark wrote about the bug over here.

Ryan added:

Obviously we’re not happy that any users are having trouble with applications to scan their decals. We are in close contact with QuickMark, and are planning to notify our Favorite Places decal recipients when the bug is fixed. In the meantime, various other apps should be working fine, and the QuickMark bug only applies to the latest release which came out Dec. 11. Once the new release is live in iTunes’ app store, all users will be able to download the update.

On Friday afternoon, I reported My Google Favorite Place Decal Was Hijacked. In short, it turned out the QR code was indeed correct, but if the QR code scanner reads it wrong, it can take you to a different business. Which is what happens when I use certain scanners or if the lighting is poor when I scan using certain apps.

Here is a quick video of how this went down on Friday afternoon:

Now, I am not the only one experiencing these problems. I have spotted at least four threads (I know there are more) with complaints about their QR codes not working.

Let me pull out the various complaints from the four Google Maps Help threads I found:

The card I received in the mail from Google indicating we are a “Favorite Place” takes the user to the wrong business. Hundreds of miles away.

My card takes users to the generic google mobile home page?!?!?!

Same issue, mine goes to the generic google home page.

I got someone with an iPhone to test it out and it goes to info on some store in New York City, not my store, Epic Biking (www.epicbiking.com), in Saratoga Springs UTAH.

Once our Favorite Place decal is scanned it directs to the Double Tree Marriot in Palm Beach Gardens, FL as opposed to our listing Land Rover Palm Beach.

We’re having the same exact issue. Except, ours is Starwood Hotels in New York when it should link to OK4WD. I scanned the thing probably a good five or six times too

When I had my issue, Ryan Hayward from Google contacted me immediately. I learned from him that in my case, it was not a data issue on Google’s side, but rather an issue with the scanner reading the code incorrectly or missing pieces of the code. From what I understand, the code itself stores data in it, such as addresses, URLs, names and so on. So technically, I do not think Google printed these codes with a specific unique identifier in them for your business to match up in the Google Local Business Center. I think Google printed these codes to have address information and that is all. I can be wrong, but I think this is how it is working.

The overall issue here is that the codes are not working for many many businesses and searchers. It doesn’t matter if it is a Google bug or a scanner bug, it is not working for a lot of people and lot of the time.

Forum discussion at Google Maps Help threads.

Update: Ryan from Google sent me a note that many of this complaints are due to a QuickMark bug in their latest release. QuickMark sent an update to Apple and they hope it is approved soon. QuickMark wrote about the bug over here.

Ryan added:

Obviously we’re not happy that any users are having trouble with applications to scan their decals. We are in close contact with QuickMark, and are planning to notify our Favorite Places decal recipients when the bug is fixed. In the meantime, various other apps should be working fine, and the QuickMark bug only applies to the latest release which came out Dec. 11. Once the new release is live in iTunes’ app store, all users will be able to download the update.

Bug When Updating Google Maps Local Listing

On December 14, 2009, In SEO, by rustybrick

Starting over the weekend, if you tried to update a Google Maps business listing in the Google Local Business Center, you would get a weird error. We have many reports in the Google Maps forums, many.

The error sometimes looks like this:

System Error

We’re sorry, but we are unable to serve your request at this time. Please try back in a few minutes.

Try again document.write(“|\n\x3ca href\x3d\x22/local/add/businessCenter?hl\x3den-US\x26amp;gl\x3dUS\x22 onclick\x3d\x22history.go(-1); return false;\x22\x3e

Return to previous page\x3c/a\x3e”); | Return to previous page

Google Maps Guide Linda replied to many of the threads with the same message, it read:

Hi,

We’re aware of this system error issue and we hope to have this fixed by next week. Please check your account again next week to verify your business listing.

Thanks for your patience.

Best,
Maps Guide Linda

The Google Maps threads include these four help threads, but I believe there are many more.

Forum discussion at Google Maps Help Discussions.

Starting over the weekend, if you tried to update a Google Maps business listing in the Google Local Business Center, you would get a weird error. We have many reports in the Google Maps forums, many.

The error sometimes looks like this:

System Error

We’re sorry, but we are unable to serve your request at this time. Please try back in a few minutes.

Try again document.write(“|\n\x3ca href\x3d\x22/local/add/businessCenter?hl\x3den-US\x26amp;gl\x3dUS\x22 onclick\x3d\x22history.go(-1); return false;\x22\x3e

Return to previous page\x3c/a\x3e”); | Return to previous page

Google Maps Guide Linda replied to many of the threads with the same message, it read:

Hi,

We’re aware of this system error issue and we hope to have this fixed by next week. Please check your account again next week to verify your business listing.

Thanks for your patience.

Best,
Maps Guide Linda

The Google Maps threads include these four help threads, but I believe there are many more.

Forum discussion at Google Maps Help Discussions.

Google Maps Bugs: Terrain View Missing Labels & LBC Categories Wrong

Add Real Time Content to Your Google Maps Listing

100 Listings Per Google Local Business Center

Video Recap of Weekly Search Buzz :: January 8, 2010

Google Maps To Allow Businesses To Request Replacement Decals

Reporting Google Maps Business Listing Spam to Google

Introducing The Google Mapping Tool Availability Matrix

Google Favorite Places QR Codes Taking Many Customers to Wrong Location

Bug When Updating Google Maps Local Listing

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