Google Maps Update Challenges(A Local Guide’s Perspective)

Google Maps tips & tricks
,
1

Challenges We Face While Updating Google Maps – A Local Guide’s Perspective

Google Maps is one of the most useful platforms for discovering places, finding directions, and accessing local information. As Google Local Guides, we contribute our time and effort to make the platform more accurate and helpful for everyone.

P-3
P-31600×886 268 KB

However, updating Google Maps is not always an easy experience. Sometimes, we face different technical and practical challenges that make contributing difficult.

P-4
P-41536×1002 275 KB

Here are some common issues that I believe many Local Guides may have experienced:-

1. Place Updates Not Getting Approved: -

Sometimes, we suggest corrections to business names, addresses, categories, or other information, but the changes remain pending or get rejected even when the information is accurate.

2. Difficulty Adding New Places: -

Adding a new business or important public location can sometimes be challenging. Even after providing the correct name, address, category, and photographs, the suggested place may not appear on Google Maps.

3. Incorrect Business Information: -

Some businesses have incorrect locations, outdated phone numbers, wrong opening hours, or duplicate listings. Correcting these details can take time and repeated effort.

4. Photo Uploading and Publishing Issues: -

Sometimes, photographs take a long time to upload, fail to publish, or do not appear on the place’s profile as expected.

5. Duplicate Place Listings: -

Duplicate locations can confuse users and make navigation difficult. Identifying the correct listing and reporting duplicates is not always straightforward.

6. Road and Location Correction Challenges: -

In developing countries like Bangladesh, many roads, newly developed areas, and local landmarks are not properly represented on Google Maps. Updating these details can be difficult, especially when information is limited.

Despite these challenges, I believe we should continue contributing with patience, accuracy, and genuine information.

I would also love to hear from other Local Guides around the world.

I hope sharing our experiences will help identify common problems and make the platform better for everyone.

Together, let’s make Google Maps more accurate, reliable, and useful for the world!

Happy Mapping!

#LocalGuides

#GoogleMaps

#LocalGuidesConnect

#MappingChallenges

#Bangladesh

2

I shared some tips to overcome such challenges here.

3

@jakiripsc Thanks for highlighting the most important issues. They can indeed be quite problematic in our day-to-day activities. A common issue I come across is businesses adding their official registered company details to a location where a physical business actually operates, for example a burger stand or a pizza-by-the-slice place. Instead of adding what is really located there, such as the actual food outlet, the owners would enter the company’s registered details, which meant that the address did not match the real location at all.

As a result, I would correct the information, then the owner would change it back, then I would correct it again :melting_face: :laughing: Unfortunately, the problem is that many people do not fully understand how Google Maps works.

When it comes to roads, I have not managed to add a single one. The system kept rejecting my edits even though I submitted them correctly and followed the instructions.

4

My area has a lot of gated estates that Google street view cars have missed.

A quick word with the estate management office would probably allow 360 camera equipped, EV motorbike access so I could add the lot over 2 days.

The question is, how do I get hold of the gear?

5

Hi, @JustynaMad
When it comes to adding roads, I have experienced several difficulties from the start. I had to be patient at first and keep submitting roads I knew existed, even when they were rejected by Google. There is also an unwritten rule that it is better to add a road without a name, as named edits are more likely to be rejected. The name can be added later once the edit is approved (but there is no guarantee that it will be always approved).

6

I contribute across different types of activities on Google Maps. Therefore, when one thing is failing, I still see success in another area. This mitigates the feeling of frustration that would exist otherwise. When Roads don’t get approved, my Photos are still being accepted. When Edits become difficult, Answers are just a series of quick clicks that score every time. This is what works for me, but I can’t promise it’s a good strategy for everyone.

7

There’s no need, @PaulEB. Google’s crowdsourcing concept operates on the principle of everyone doing what little they can do. You can contribute in another way, while someone else who owns such gear can handle that. No obligation to incur an expense.

8

Hal ini yang sering saya temui. Berdekatan lokasi namun sudah saya coba edit karena kesamaan. Namun ditolak karena kedua tempat tersebut sudah mempunyai banyak rating.
Anehnya keduanya dalam lokasi yang sama.

9

@JustynaMad Thank you very much for taking your valuable time to read my post.

10

@ALG87 Thank you very much for taking your valuable time to read my post.

11

@tony_b Thank you very much for taking your valuable time to read my post.

12

@ALG87 I hope to be added to Roadmapper in January – supposedly it makes adding roads much easier and a lot less frustrating. :nerd_face:

I was recently in a spa town (Rymanów-Zdrój) where the roads are barely mapped at all, including bridges over the river. A lot of elderly people visit, and I noticed them navigating with Google Maps. Because the roads aren’t added, Google was sending them all the way around :sob: I’d really love to fix this.

13

@JustynaMad Thank you so much for taking your valuable time to read my post.