Google "Home Based Address" issue

Goomer

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Got a phone call today from Google Maps.
"Does your business service customers at that location"??
"No Sir, I am an Independent Contractor, and that is the legal address for my home based Corporation"

"..................ok...Perfect....Thank you very much......Click"

Hmmmm......somethings not right I think.......I check my listing later in the day and find the dreaded "We currently do not support this listing"

FOOOOOOOOOOOKKKKKKKK...........

In starting to look into the LATEST reasons for Google to throw this error, I keep seeing refeences to the fact that seems Google may be beginning to not allow businesses who do not service customers at their address, to show this address in their listing.
Listings found to be in violation of this (They now know this because you most likely just told them you do not service customers at the listed address), are booted because they are now in violation of their listing policy.

Because of the LAG in Google response time, and understaffed help department, this could be a big bump in the road for anyone relying on Google for a large part of their business.
Listings can disappear for moooooonths into the Google Black hole.

Anyone run into this yet??
 

FredC

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Yep....the rule is actually a couple months old.

I have a couple people going through the same thing now...............thought I warned everybody what to say..........guess not.
didn't automatically hide all the addresses because google seems to be doing it randomly...and businesses without the address look less legit imo.

If you get a call from the googleman
1. You better answer it
2. If you haven't hidden your address you better say YES customers drop off rugs here or similar.............

best at this point just to go ahead and hide it. Select "do not show my address on google maps" or whatever in your places account


oh..and I don't know if it has been fixed yet but there was some issue last month where your old listing could not be retrieved if they canned it.
 

Goomer

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I don't think they look legit either.

I hid the address and will now have to just wait a while before doing anything else to my listing, as to avoid delaying my listing reinstatement. Hopefully it will pop back up soon.
These things are always scary because Google still seems to be full of "Listing Black Holes", and impenetrable, as far as talking to someone live regarding these matters.
Customer support seems to be backlogged for months, and saving a listing could take several months also.
Seems they are targeting Locksmiths, Plumbers, Carpet Cleaners etc, so you guys better start rehearsing your elaborate stories about how you service customers at your location.

Fred, they people that you know that are going through this, how many have done nothing else but hid their address and waited???

How long have those been waiting so far??
 

Goomer

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Funny, but to us "The Circle" is subjectively a negative thing, when in reality, it may draw more attention to your listing to they eyes of the average consumer......assuming is does not affect your ranking of course.
 

Hoody

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When I first created my google plus account for the people I do web work for, it took 3-4 weeks before they converted from places to plus, and got the support location error. They say it takes a day for changes to update but I haven't found that to be the case.
 

Connor

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Mine disappeared months ago and google hasn't responded to putting it back, just that they are "looking into it".
 

BLewis

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It happened to us recently. Hopefully the fixes will take effect in a couple of weeks or so. Terrible timing since phone calls from new customers have practically came to a stand still. Busiest time of year and best time to pick up new clients. I ask my wife and she said that she did not field any calls from google or didn't think we had missed any. So we are rehearsed and prepared now to answer intelligently if they call. Organic listings just don't seem to have the same impact as places or so we have experienced.
 

ruff

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If you get a call from the googleman
1. You better answer it
2. If you haven't hidden your address you better say YES customers drop off rugs here or similar.............

Fred,
I've been getting a robo call where I have to press 1 and so forth, and they don't say they are from Google but something like "a data compiler that is .....with Google".
Are those legitimate?
 

FredC

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Fred,
I've been getting a robo call where I have to press 1 and so forth, and they don't say they are from Google but something like "a data compiler that is .....with Google".
Are those legitimate?

No....those are usually directories selling their services...
 
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FredC

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Fred, they people that you know that are going through this, how many have done nothing else but hid their address and waited???

How long have those been waiting so far??

This round? None so far but it has only been a few days.....and of course google doesn't update things instantly. I'll wait till the listings look like they have been updated again and then if they don't show back up I will submit the issue to google.

Why wait? Every time I get google involved it creates a cluster**** and I end up just having to fix more stuff.........
 

HydroDude

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We get 2 -3 calls a day from someone claiming to be Google wanting to update our listing...seems like each time it is a new number on the caller ID...and the automated calls drive me crazy.
 

jcooper

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If you are having real bad issues(google screwing ya), just delete the listing and start over. As long as you don't have a boat load of reviews, no big deal(Everything can be redone). Yea, you will lose your listing spot(a,b,c etc.) and it might/will take time to get back to the top. Still better than the listing not existing.

What are ya going to do, wait for help from googe? Might be a very long wait.
 

Goomer

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Incoming caller ID from Google Maps will show as 650-253-2000. I suggest to everyone to store this number in your phone so you are sure to pick it up. This number does not accept incoming calls, so you will not be able to call them back if you miss it, and if you do miss the call, it seems there is a good chance they will strike your listing anyway.
Any calls from any other number asking to update your listing are not the real deal.
In this instance, Google Maps will specifically be asking if you service customers at your location, and possibly other questions.
I think everyone needs to make a value call on whether to hide your address in Places preemptively. A floating red circle now might be better than vanished listing later.
 

FredC

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A floating red circle now might be better than vanished listing later.

True...more now than before since it seems like more people are aware of the rule and switching..not to mention the rampage google is on........plus you are more likely to get reported by a competitor now that more people know about it

but this has been around since May when you were likely to be the only one showing as a circle with a hidden address


http://mikeysboard.com/forum/showthread.php?261326-Helllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllp
 

Goomer

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I missed the boat on this one.

What do you recommend as a good way to keep on top of the latest Google conspiracy theories? Any quality email subscription that sends out articles or alerts to try to stay a step ahead of The Googleman??
Too busy to be trolling SEO forums.
 

floorguy

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I dunno...but that yonkers site gives me a headache...

mine has had the floating circle....am i safe for a while??

ohhh on a side note...they are busy fixing Chrome.....this last update has screwed something up, and causes it to pause, and if you type in an addy, before the new tab comes up...it clears it out
 

Goomer

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Now that I hid my address and re-submitted, I guess it comes down to 3 choices.....

1..Wait (how long is the question) and see if they acknowledge the change and reinstate my listing.
2.. Report the problem to the support team for review, which always seems to take months, and seems to keep the listing in limbo until reviewed, and even then, no guarantee of anything.
3.. Delete the listing, create a new one, and start from the bottom again.
 

FredC

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I dunno...but that yonkers site gives me a headache...

mine has had the floating circle....am i safe for a while??

ohhh on a side note...they are busy fixing Chrome.....this last update has screwed something up, and causes it to pause, and if you type in an addy, before the new tab comes up...it clears it out


your still has the pin when I search so it must have been changed very recently...

but yes you are safe
 

Goomer

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So, who cleaned the chair?

Dunno.....But I think they did a fine job.

I noticed that when you choose to hide your address, the circle marker on the map is moved to what seems to be the center of your service area. I no longer see a tab to fix the marker location like before.
Is the circle location movable??
 

Hoody

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I could be a jerk and report my old boss for using his rental properties as addresses in diff cities when I know they don't use them for business purposes......but I'm already beating him locally, geographically, and organically.
 

Goomer

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From Google Forums :

Sevice Area Business with recent "do not support this location" message?

1 post by 1 author in Google and Your Business
Categories: Technical issue?

Jade W

Jun 29

Here's the state of these listings now (October 8):

Sevice-area businesses who are experiencing the "We currently do not support this location" message should --

1.) Check to make sure you comply with the quality guidelines, particularly hiding your address, if appropriate.
2.) Once you're sure you comply, contact the support team (select the last option).
3.) If possible, the team will reinstate listings that are OK.
4.) Sometimes, the support team cannot reinstate a listing, even if it's OK. These listings cannot be brought back because of an issue that we're still working on fixing. The support team will send an email back saying the listing is down due to a technical glitch. When we have an update, we will follow up with all of the people who got the message about the technical glitch.

What's the status of listings in #4?
For listings in #4, there isn't much course of action other than waiting. Please know that our team's doing everything we can to get them reinstated when possible.




Hey guys,

Good news -- we’ve been able to bring back some of the listings that incorrectly had the “We currently do not support this location” error. Many previously deleted service area businesses that had their addresses correctly hidden a few weeks ago are back.

If your listing’s not back yet, please know that we are still working on it. In the meantime, please review the quality guidelines and this article on service area businesses. Make sure your listing complies.

Thanks,
Jade
 

PTMatt

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best at this point just to go ahead and hide it. Select "do not show my address on google maps" or whatever in your places account

Fred,

I've heard that hiding your address can really hurt your local places ranking but does not affect your organic listing. what is you thought on this?
 

Goomer

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I have not seen that hiding your address causes any negative effect.

Based on what I was reading, hiding your address used to noticeably affect your ranking, but now it does not. Most of the information regarding this that is floating around the net is a little outdated, and the latest information does not suggest a negative affect. My listing is still in limbo, so I have not been able to confirm anything myself. There is always a chance that any change to your listing might result in a temporary wobble in your rank.
 

FredC

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Fred,

I've heard that hiding your address can really hurt your local places ranking but does not affect your organic listing. what is you thought on this?

While in the past this seemed to be the case I have switched many to hidden and haven't seen a negative result. At least not that can be directly attributed to the switch.

What I do know is that if it isn't hidden and you are working from a residential address there is a very good chance your listing will disappear and it can be a pita to get back............
 

Royal Man

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The negative effect I see is not from ranking. No effect what so ever.

The negative effect is from clients.

From my experience of having and not having an address posted, Clients like to see an address!
 
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