What to do about businesses that are listed as a home address / home apartment

[talormanda]

I've come across many items such as home businesses that are in the middle of streets, or a Magician that is listing his home apartment as the address, but the marker is in the middle of an intersection. What is the best thing to do about this? If everyone did it, it would look very busy. Is there a way to suggest hiding the home business since there is obviously no storefront?

[sputnikjim]

1. Open the details panel for the place

2. Choose "Suggest an edit"

3. Choose "Yes" for "Place is permanently closed or has never existed"

4. Choose radio button "Never existed"

5. Submit

[VR360Tours]

Hi

What if the business doesn't want a specific location? I run business from home, but customers will never come to my home as I go to their place of business. I have put my business location in the general area, but not on my house.

[sputnikjim]

In order to be a location on Google Maps you must be open to customers at that location.

If you only serve customers at the customers' location or meet them at a third location, then you are not allowed to have a place on Google Maqs.

Am I correct, @TraciC, @GusMoreira?

[Flash · Accepted solution]

@VR360Tours, you need to provide Google with the precise address in order to stay on the map; but the system is set up to allow the exact situation you are in.  Since you actually go to the customer you have a Service Area Business (SAB) without a storefront.  The requirements to be listed locally is that you actually deal face to face with your customers, if you do then please read over this guide, but when doing so allow for the fact that Map Maker is no longer open.

[talormanda]

So if they fail to make the SAB hidden from Maps, I'm good to mark it as "not existing"?

[sputnikjim]

@talormanda,

I believe that is correct because while they may indeed "exist" as a valid Service Area Business, they do not "exist" as a valid storefront business so they do not qualify as a place on Google Maps, just as you, @Flash, @VR360Tours, and I do not qualify to put our homes on Google Maps (unless they qualify as a storefront business).

Once again, I invite @TraciC, @GusMoreira to comment.

[Flash]

@sputnikjim, thank you for your attempts to help; but there is no need to request Googler's input every time you are unsure of an answer.  The forum has many experts and most situations have already been discussed previously with Google; so rather than tagging Googlers the better course of action is to leave the post for someone else to answer.  You are well known as having a lot of valuable information and as a result other knowledgeable people might skip a thread they see you in, thus if you refrain from posting altogether that let's us see that there has been no authoritative answer, and Googler's will not have to be consulted on issues that we already have had answered.

@talormanda; at one time we deleted all SABs without storefronts on the map.

Google then asked that if it was claimed in GMB that we leave it; and provided us a tag within Map Maker to let us know if it is claimed.  We still deleted unclaimed items.

Now that Map Maker is close it is harder to tell if places are claimed.  Normally what will indicate it is if there is the offer to made a claim in the listing; though that is not fool proof.  So do feel free to delete SABs without storefronts that you can tell are not claimed.  No one will fault you for using your best judgement on in that respect.

[TraciC]

Hi there, I accepted @Flash's answer as a solution. As he noted, it's not always necessary to tag in a Google Moderator for a response. We're happy to help out when needed but fellow Local Guides are quite knowledgeable, especially Connect Moderators. This is a great community where we can learn from one another's expertise. 🙂 

[VR360Tours]

I am set up like this: (see pic)

I am in Llanfairfechan village, but serve the area on North Wales. This seems to work, but I don't have a specific location and it let me set up without a specific location.