2022
A well-known feature that many LG's face each and everyday are when we suggest edits and are Not Applied. Gus' post gives some rational reasons as to why you may have edits not applied, and the two sets of guidelines that LG's are expected to follow, here and here.
This thread is not here to discuss whether your edit should be right or wrong, although that will be naturally appear here every now and then. If you are making perfectly valid edits that follows the guidelines but are unfairly receiving Not Applied edits immediately, you can follow the two sets of instructions below.
Send feedback within Maps directly to the team
You can send feedback using the web application for Google Maps or within the mobile applications. I will be illustrating both ways to do so, one on Chrome which should be synonymous with other web browsers, and the other on an Android device. Because feedback is always constantly flowing, you may not have your problem solved immediately, and cannot be tracked. So you may have to check every now and then.
Sending feedback via web browsers
By opening Maps on your web browser, you will be able to send feedback to the team, as I have successfully done so for TAFE NSW Meadowbank Library. I had submitted the request to change the map marker from the other side of the road to the actual building, and it looks like it has now been implemented. Here are the steps to submitting feedback on a browser.
- Navigate to and/or select the listing that requires intervention. In this example, I will be focusing on Target Mt. Druitt.
- Open up the feedback menu by opening the menu (≡) and selecting Send feedback below, or directly clicking the small link on the bottom right.
Once that is selected, a Send feedback window will appear. Since we cannot edit the map and suggest an edit, we will select Other feedback.
Once clicked, in the middle of the screen a feedback window and input will be seen. In this screen, you will type your issue and also include your screenshot as well. Once you have described your issue, ensure that you include a screenshot, and then click on the map below.
- Highlight the issue you wish to resolve, and the instructions carefully. You want to make sure that you communicate the correct outcome.
- Once highlighted, you can click Done and hit Send once you're happy with the action required to be taken by Google Maps. You also want to make sure that you advised you attempted to make the edit as well and was immediately not applied, or you might get a generic response that tells you how to suggest an edit instead.
Sending feedback via Android application
By opening Maps on your Android device, you will be able to send feedback to the team. It is very similar to submitting feedback via the web browser. Here are the steps to submitting feedback on an Android device.
- Navigate to and select the listing that requires intervention. In this example, I will be focusing on TALKING TABLES.
- Open up the feedback menu by opening the menu (≡) and selecting Send feedback. You may need to scroll down a little bit to find it.
In this picture, the menu has been elongated to include it in its entirety.
Once that is selected, a Send feedback window will appear. Since we cannot edit the map and suggest an edit, we will select Send app feedback.
Once selected, a feedback screen will be shown. Describe your issue and include your screenshot and system logs as well. You want to ensure all the correct information is complete.
- Highlight your content that requires intervention.
- Once your are satisfied with your feedback, hit Send at the top right of the screen. You will receive a confirmation message 'Thank you for your feedback' to confirm receipt.
Requesting help on Local Guides Connect
Local Guides Connect has a great team of Google employees, dedicated mappers, top contributors and highly experienced users that have very high levels of trust and are able to suggest edits that may be approved or sent for manual review instead of being rejected in accordance with the algorithms. You can ask them to have a look at your edits, provided that you are familiar with the guidelines and have made your own attempt to correct the listing. You can track your requests here as you will receive a reply when a moderator has responded to you.
To direct our efforts and investigations into achieving the correct outcome, I encourage you to provide complete information of the edits you are suggesting. There are two distinct scenarios for as such.
- If you are suggesting an edit to an existing place, please provide the following information:
- Google Maps short URL: (e.g. https://goo.gl/maps/KoZLMMfndtP2)
- Suggested edit: (e.g. Name - BRAL SWEET HOUSE to Bral Sweet House, or Category - Restaurant to Indian Restaurant)
- Reason: (e.g. Capitalization, map marker in wrong location, service or product, etc.)
* I also advise only to make the sole individual edit by itself. - If you are attempting a place creation, please provide the following information:
- Name:
- Category:
- Address:
- Map Marker: (e.g. 32.688746, 74.860647, how do I find these coordinates?)
- Any additional evidence to support your claim (e.g. photos or website)
* Note that the hours, website and relevant photos rarely impact place creation unless it reaches a Pending status.
Discussions about whether a certain listing should be mapped or not or other off-topic discussions, or also posts that are not requesting any assistance will be monitored and cleaned up accordingly.
In my defence I have been poised to see to a taskforce that addresses user's concerns for their edits being not applied, and assisting them with our resources to ensure that a community of local guides who know their secret gems better than anyone else are acknowledged and their experiences enriched while making Google Maps a better application for all. Each day I usually see about a dozen of posts on Local Guides Connect asking why their edits were not applied, and given a general explanation isn't always so clear cut.
As Gus has highlighted in this post, there are a billion reasons Google might reject your edit. The algorithm is fine tuned frequently to strike a balance between spam levels coming from potential bad users and a community of good mappers, and at times LGs may be adversely affected in one way or another. So keep on keeping on, you should not take it personally, and contribute in many of the other ways Google Maps enables you to.
Anywho, thanks for reading. If you have any cases that you would like feedback on, would like to have a moderator review or even your feedback about this post, feel free to post here. Let's work together to make our world a better place.
Request #1: Move a library [COMPLETE]
A user has privately messaged me for further assistance, and I have discussed and clarified her request as per follows:
- Biblioteca Comunale: (e.g. https://goo.gl/maps/yGAxYhCQs8G2)
- Suggested edit: Move map marker from middle of road to spot
- Streetview does not show the library as it is outdated, but instead a blank space.
Request #2: Remove duplicate post offices that don't exist [2 OF 3 IN PROGRESS]
In addition, this user has also highlighted that there are four post offices on the map, but in the small village of Podenzano, Italy only one of them actually exists. Would we be able to expedite the removal of such duplicate listings? The only one that should exist is this one, which has a picture of the opening hours and one 3-star review and its existence verifiable via streetview.
Note: Feel free to send requests and private messages to me. I'm more than happy to help assist and format your request into something readable that will hopefully expedite the actioning of your requests. But if the listing is not clear enough and cannot be explained, or does not have enough visual evidence (e.g. a photo, current streetview images or no official website), unfortunately I will not be able to assist and escalate your request.
I would love to be able to make the edits or suggest them myself, but unfortunately I am barely able to make even the slightest edits right now. Maybe another moderator/Googler can help?
@YK1001 wrote:
When we report we cannot Edit a place - sometimes it is meant to talk about an error while submitting the edit, sometimes it is meant to talk about the (lack of) approval result.
I probably started @wishmasterf having their edits being helped with the recommendations on my post above from trying to get help from moderators on Local Guides Connect, as an interim strategy with the current immediately 'not applied' suggestions. Also I posted an example of how specific the report should be below, is that correct/advised?
URL: https://goo.gl/maps/3VePEDvhjT12
Suggested edit: Phone number should be (606) 784-3262.
Reason: Existing number goes to a department in the store that cannot transfer and provides the main number for you to callback. Verified correct number on website and by calling.
Despite using TALKING TABLES as a benchmark example of trying to solely update the name for capitalisation purposes (to just Talking Tables), the name is still capitalised in full six whole months after reporting it as feedback. Whenever I try to update the name of this Indian Restaurant, I immediately get not applied. These are the select few where no matter how hard I try or the amount of times I report this, it seems as if the owner has the upper hand and just brushes all attempted edits off. Nor is the team even dealing with such a venial request despite a few reports.
Of course I can always ask someone more experienced with a high trust level to help with this edit. But when you're constantly in the area and you have a severe case of OCD, this really boils my blood when I am helpless trying to rectify this. I know it's not much, but can someone please help?
