#LGCTM Tips & Tricks: Use Duplicate Detection

Google Maps tips & tricks
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Screenshot of some suggested duplicates
Screenshot of some suggested duplicates1439×2048 202 KB

Before revealing the actual tip, I have to admit: this one I stumbled upon by accident. But then again: some of the (functions of) the greatest things in everyday life were discovered ‘by accident’ (or did you think that at some point one caveman said to the other “Wouldn’t it be great to have something that would enable use to cook this dead animal before we eat it? Let’s try out some stuff”)

In my quest these days to remove fake entries from the map, I frequently use the option “Spam, fake or abusive” from the list of possible reasons why you think a POI should be removed from Maps. Just above that option in this list is “Duplicate of another place” and thanks to the fat-finger syndrome (I typically do this reporting of fakes on my phone) I sometimes hit the “Duplicate”-option instead of the “Spam”-option. To my surprise this sometimes resulted into a list of other fake POIs - either using the same address but in another business segment or having a similar name.

The screenshot at the top of this post shows a specific example. When I accidentally triggered the duplicate detection on a fake locksmith entry (serrurier is the French word for locksmith), it reveales 3 others fakes to me:

  • another locksmith entry with the same address, but the name in Dutch instead of French (slotenmaker is the Dutch word for locksmith)
  • a window supplier, once again with the same address
  • another locksmith in the vicinity

So, my tip this time: make full use of the built-in duplicate detection offered by Maps.

This post is part of a series of tips in the Local Guides Clean The Map project.

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That’s a great tip @JanVanHaver
Maps app doesn’t show every place in a map view. However, all the duplicate entries pop up when searched in the suggested way.
I used that immediately. The fake place had a spelling mistake. Even then that sprung up in the list. Making a copy of that, I could search & arrange to close that false entry.

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Yes dear @JanVanHaver

This is one great tool and it even detects the places with same phone number or websites. So we can check if those are spam ones or not. Thanks for reminding :ok_hand:t2:

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I simply love it when the tips get out to good use @C_T . Thanks for the feedback.

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I learned a very interesting thing about duplicates @JanVanHaver over on the Google Maps Community. I had the impression that when you selected the primary and then duplicate from the list you were asking to close the primary. The reality is that Google reviews both entries and chooses one to become the primary - not necessarily the one you chose.

Paul

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@PaulPavlinovich it would then also be interesting to find out what happens to duplicate suggestions that get approved by the algorithm, not by a human reviewer (those are rare, but I have seen them). I guess / hope in those cases the one you mark as primary is the one that remains on the map.

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Great addition @Amiran , the fact that also having the same website or phone number can cause a listing to appear on the list of potential duplicates. Thanks for pointing that out.

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