There are several local shops around me (in Hong Kong) that I would like to add to Google Maps so that I may review them.
I have included geo-tagged photos of their exteriors, photos of the operating hours posted in their window and photos of their menus, but Google immediately rejects the additions with the stated reason that Google couldn’t verify the edit.
Is there anything more that I can do, or should I just stick to the more popular mapping and review sites?
Don’t forget to also add the phone number and the website. They need to be working and Google will look them up to verify your information. So the phone number should show the same business name and the website needs to be the one for the particular store.
Let us know if this did fix your problems.
Cheers
Morten
Also, please note that a very common reason for rejection is that the place already exist on Google Maps. Do a text search. Just looking at the map is not showing all places.
Cheers
Morten
*Thank you @MortenCopenhagen *
I included the website, phone number, operating hours, address, what building the business was inside, menus… pretty much every field in the form… together with photos that documented all of these entries. Shot the photos on my phone, so they’re even geo-tagged.
One of the shops is definitely a spinoff of another restaurant, and the website is shared. This may be true for the others, as they are all part of multi-outlet businesses.
I actually gave up trying to add shops months ago because of this and really don’t intend to spend my time testing software. If it’s a hit-or-miss process, I’ll wait until something more reliable is developed.
Thank you for your kind attention. -scott
@scott_brooks , there are different philosophy about how to add a place on Google Maps, and a few basic steps explained clearly by @MortenCopenhagen , like to check first if a place already exist.
This said, we need to understand:
1) What are the basic requirements for adding a place in Google Maps?
2) What are the basic requirements for the verification to work?
Of course the existence of a place need to be verified. To verify your place Maps use a wide set of procedures, but the most important are the possibility to find a digital footprint of the place.
I saw the photo you added, @scott_brooks . Most of them are useless, and some also against the rules. Adding a geo-tagged photo doesn’t help (everyone can create a fake geo-tagged photo in two minutes). When you add a place, if needed maps ask you to add a single (one) photo of the storefront with a clear name of the place well visible. Anything else, screenshots are against the rules and useless. You will have to keep in mind that the verification is mostly made by an algorithm
Other information:
Someone wants to add the largest amount of informations available (website, phone number, opening time), others, like me, only add the “basic information”. Why? Because to approve your edit the whole set of submitted information need to be approved, and if one of the info cannot be verified, the whole set will be immediately rejected. A reiterate attempt to submit the same edit will probably classify you as a potential spammer.
Personally, once the place is approved, I add the next set of information, and some still pending for a while
Hope this will help you with your future edits
Oh, @scott_brooks , I forget to add a note: the photo on your profile related to an Unknown place are a kind of digital waste, and you can delete them whenever you want (no pints for that photos)
Hello @scott_brooks
The most reliable way to add a shop to Google Maps is the owner routing the request through Google My Business.
You can convince the owners to do so as listing a business doesn’t cost anything.
That’s beneficial for everyone as the owner can respond to customer queries and reviews quickly. Send updates and so on. Further the overall control on the data will be strict and will eliminate any possibility of spamming.
You are right @C_T , that is the better way to add a business on maps.
On the other hand, a public listing can be added simply using three main things shared by @ErmesT . Most of the time your edit will be rejected if you are adding all the required detail with the edit. (Also, make sure not to edit the address automatically picked up by the maps)
It sounds weird but that is what I’ve experienced in the past few years. A listing got approved within a second if I am not adding all the details. While adding all the details redirects me to a rejection of my edit.
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