Changes to Google Places

[Madeleine]

Anyone have any ideas of how this is going to impact us as smal business owners? Anything we need to do? Anything we can do?
I got this today, but given that Google has seen fit to move my business several times based on false info, I am not looking forward to any across-the-board changes where little businesses get lost.
Dear Google Places user,
Google will soon update your listing data on our consumer properties such as Google and Google Maps to more accurately reflect the latest information we have about your business.
We use many sources to determine the accuracy of our listing data and to provide the best possible experience for business owners and consumers who use Google and Google Maps to find local information.
Below is a summary of what your listing(s) will contain once it’s updated in the next few weeks. This will be visible on your Place page and listings across Google properties, but it will not be reflected in your Google Places account:
The info they have right now is correct, but that hasn't stopped them from taking someone else's info and believing it was valid because for some reason the 'other' info was deemed as more accurate than the business owner's own info.

 

[toddburme]

I didn't get that...

 

[Madeleine]

I didn't get that....

Are you the registered owner as far as Google Places is concerned? Have you claimed your business on Google Places is a better way to ask that. Check your email address and make sure it is up to date.

 

[InnBloom]

Anyone have any ideas of how this is going to impact us as smal business owners? Anything we need to do? Anything we can do?
I got this today, but given that Google has seen fit to move my business several times based on false info, I am not looking forward to any across-the-board changes where little businesses get lost.
Dear Google Places user,
Google will soon update your listing data on our consumer properties such as Google and Google Maps to more accurately reflect the latest information we have about your business.
We use many sources to determine the accuracy of our listing data and to provide the best possible experience for business owners and consumers who use Google and Google Maps to find local information.
Below is a summary of what your listing(s) will contain once it’s updated in the next few weeks. This will be visible on your Place page and listings across Google properties, but it will not be reflected in your Google Places account:
The info they have right now is correct, but that hasn't stopped them from taking someone else's info and believing it was valid because for some reason the 'other' info was deemed as more accurate than the business owner's own info.

I got this exact same email, and of course I quickly went to my google places account to see what was wrong that they were changing. But everything they said they were changing to was EXACTLY what it already says. So I'm very confused, and a little nbit annoyed that they wasted my time making me check things out.

 

[souslechene]

Anyone have any ideas of how this is going to impact us as smal business owners? Anything we need to do? Anything we can do?
I got this today, but given that Google has seen fit to move my business several times based on false info, I am not looking forward to any across-the-board changes where little businesses get lost.
Dear Google Places user,
Google will soon update your listing data on our consumer properties such as Google and Google Maps to more accurately reflect the latest information we have about your business.
We use many sources to determine the accuracy of our listing data and to provide the best possible experience for business owners and consumers who use Google and Google Maps to find local information.
Below is a summary of what your listing(s) will contain once it’s updated in the next few weeks. This will be visible on your Place page and listings across Google properties, but it will not be reflected in your Google Places account:
The info they have right now is correct, but that hasn't stopped them from taking someone else's info and believing it was valid because for some reason the 'other' info was deemed as more accurate than the business owner's own info.

I got this exact same email, and of course I quickly went to my google places account to see what was wrong that they were changing. But everything they said they were changing to was EXACTLY what it already says. So I'm very confused, and a little nbit annoyed that they wasted my time making me check things out..

I also received a few here.
From what I read, it is just what Google explains in their email : from many external sources, they have created an updated address for our properties and only want to double check/ensure with us if it is correct before updating it.
I see it mostly as a quality control step from them and I do not expect changes to the results besides the fact that updated places may have an affected result. No more.
I am happy that they try to improve the quality of their results...

 

[souslechene]

I suspect they did not sent it to all places because I did not received it for all the places I take care of...

 

[EmptyNest]

Ya know...I am reading "In the Plex" and it is so interesting to have insight into the beginnings of Google. Do you all know what their Motto is ???
"DO NO EVIL!"

 

[JBloggs]

[COLOR= rgb(68, 68, 68)]Google Places - Important Data Gathering Change that could impact your Local Listing... Read More Here: http://bit.ly/oE6cuX[/COLOR]
from [COLOR= rgb(68, 68, 68)]@AcornInternet[/COLOR]

 

[Madeleine]

Anyone have any ideas of how this is going to impact us as smal business owners? Anything we need to do? Anything we can do?
I got this today, but given that Google has seen fit to move my business several times based on false info, I am not looking forward to any across-the-board changes where little businesses get lost.
Dear Google Places user,
Google will soon update your listing data on our consumer properties such as Google and Google Maps to more accurately reflect the latest information we have about your business.
We use many sources to determine the accuracy of our listing data and to provide the best possible experience for business owners and consumers who use Google and Google Maps to find local information.
Below is a summary of what your listing(s) will contain once it’s updated in the next few weeks. This will be visible on your Place page and listings across Google properties, but it will not be reflected in your Google Places account:
The info they have right now is correct, but that hasn't stopped them from taking someone else's info and believing it was valid because for some reason the 'other' info was deemed as more accurate than the business owner's own info.

I got this exact same email, and of course I quickly went to my google places account to see what was wrong that they were changing. But everything they said they were changing to was EXACTLY what it already says. So I'm very confused, and a little nbit annoyed that they wasted my time making me check things out..

I also received a few here.
From what I read, it is just what Google explains in their email : from many external sources, they have created an updated address for our properties and only want to double check/ensure with us if it is correct before updating it.
I see it mostly as a quality control step from them and I do not expect changes to the results besides the fact that updated places may have an affected result. No more.
I am happy that they try to improve the quality of their results...
.

My problem with it is that their 'external sources' can be anyone. My property has been moved by 'external sources' four times. It takes a LOT of effort on my part to convince Google that, as the actual owner of the business, I am in a better position to know exactly where I am located than the bar with a similar address.
It's very annoying because one of the places they move me to is 4 miles away and, whereas I would love to live on the ocean, I don't and guests are mad when I tell them there are no water view rooms because I'm nowhere near the water.
An example would be if you had an article written about you in Le Monde and they got your address wrong. And then some bloggers picked it up. You might get a lot of calls and great business from the article, but Google IS going to move your property to where Le Monde and all those expert bloggers say it is. No matter where it really is.

 

[Breakfast Diva]

WARNING!! You must be using your actual footprint address on all your online sites.
For a lot of us in small rural locations, we've been able to have listings in some directories using our p.o. box for our nearest town, so we could have that town as our location. My address is actually in a town we are not even close to and nobody's ever heard of. Our website used to have our nearest town listed as our address and as our primary listing major directories. It had made a lot of sense to do this because of our rural location and it was not misleading our guests because it is an 8 minute drive to the closest town, but a 20 minute drive to our actual footprint town. The way I had listed us, google maps always showed us in the correct location.
It worked well for many years for us. Then about 3 months ago after I did a google places update (added video), we got caught up in the new google places algorhythm. Because google found out on the web different addresses, they shut us down on google maps, google places which ment that we were not being found on the mobile devices. We kept our organic google placements in the searchs, but lost the little pin mark and listing when doing a search for "xyz town bed and breakfast"
We use acorn for all of our website needs and they were able to help me straighten things out. I was in a panic! Lisa was able to convince me that even though we had to go back to our footprint address, it would still be ok because of all the marketing/seo we had in our website. It took a couple of months, but I was able to get enough of the addresses changed on major sites and all of our google listings came back, including in the town I am closest to, even though we're not using that town's address any more.
Soooo, if any of you have conflicting addresses, or are not using your actual address that comes from the USPS, be very careful and start to change things now, before you get slapped silly by google.

 

[Madeleine]

WARNING!! You must be using your actual footprint address on all your online sites.
For a lot of us in small rural locations, we've been able to have listings in some directories using our p.o. box for our nearest town, so we could have that town as our location. My address is actually in a town we are not even close to and nobody's ever heard of. Our website used to have our nearest town listed as our address and as our primary listing major directories. It had made a lot of sense to do this because of our rural location and it was not misleading our guests because it is an 8 minute drive to the closest town, but a 20 minute drive to our actual footprint town. The way I had listed us, google maps always showed us in the correct location.
It worked well for many years for us. Then about 3 months ago after I did a google places update (added video), we got caught up in the new google places algorhythm. Because google found out on the web different addresses, they shut us down on google maps, google places which ment that we were not being found on the mobile devices. We kept our organic google placements in the searchs, but lost the little pin mark and listing when doing a search for "xyz town bed and breakfast"
We use acorn for all of our website needs and they were able to help me straighten things out. I was in a panic! Lisa was able to convince me that even though we had to go back to our footprint address, it would still be ok because of all the marketing/seo we had in our website. It took a couple of months, but I was able to get enough of the addresses changed on major sites and all of our google listings came back, including in the town I am closest to, even though we're not using that town's address any more.
Soooo, if any of you have conflicting addresses, or are not using your actual address that comes from the USPS, be very careful and start to change things now, before you get slapped silly by google..

I am using the actual zip + 4 address. But a couple of directories had the wrong +4 and, of course, they know better than I do or the post office does, where the building is. I still don't think I've tracked them all down. And some of them are 'dead' directories where you can't get anything changed.

 

[Breakfast Diva]

WARNING!! You must be using your actual footprint address on all your online sites.
For a lot of us in small rural locations, we've been able to have listings in some directories using our p.o. box for our nearest town, so we could have that town as our location. My address is actually in a town we are not even close to and nobody's ever heard of. Our website used to have our nearest town listed as our address and as our primary listing major directories. It had made a lot of sense to do this because of our rural location and it was not misleading our guests because it is an 8 minute drive to the closest town, but a 20 minute drive to our actual footprint town. The way I had listed us, google maps always showed us in the correct location.
It worked well for many years for us. Then about 3 months ago after I did a google places update (added video), we got caught up in the new google places algorhythm. Because google found out on the web different addresses, they shut us down on google maps, google places which ment that we were not being found on the mobile devices. We kept our organic google placements in the searchs, but lost the little pin mark and listing when doing a search for "xyz town bed and breakfast"
We use acorn for all of our website needs and they were able to help me straighten things out. I was in a panic! Lisa was able to convince me that even though we had to go back to our footprint address, it would still be ok because of all the marketing/seo we had in our website. It took a couple of months, but I was able to get enough of the addresses changed on major sites and all of our google listings came back, including in the town I am closest to, even though we're not using that town's address any more.
Soooo, if any of you have conflicting addresses, or are not using your actual address that comes from the USPS, be very careful and start to change things now, before you get slapped silly by google..

I am using the actual zip + 4 address. But a couple of directories had the wrong +4 and, of course, they know better than I do or the post office does, where the building is. I still don't think I've tracked them all down. And some of them are 'dead' directories where you can't get anything changed.
.

It's so frustrating to track those down. Especially when it's a directory that you didn't even want to be on!