Google Places: "We currently do not support the location"

[echo1]

Does anybody know what is going on with this message? Instead of our Google Places page, we get the above message.

To be mentioned that Google representatives called our business to verify this listing 2 times this week...

Anybody got the same problem?

Thanks!

[RobertFisher]

New Rule:For questions like this you must supply a url..... It is near impossible otherwise.

Best

OK, it can be one of several things, a recent edit gone wrong, an over stuffing in categories with keywords, etc. Did you do a recent edit? Did you do it in your Places account? Etc. Again, it is near impossible to help without a url. Thanks,

[MiriamEllis]

Hi Echo1,

Nice to see you here!. Your question is timely. Check this out:

http://marketing-blog.catalystemarketing.com/google-places-update-do-not-support-location.html

Linda's post is well worth reading...and it contains these 2 important links:

http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/Places/thread?tid=0c8ca117c0cbfb60&hl=en

http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/Places/thread?hl=en&tid=6cccf153cc8b6d8b

I believe you these links will really help you.

Out of curiosity...are you positive you were speaking to Google reps? They have been doing calls lately. And they really made Local SEO Andrew Shotland mad. You might want to read:

http://www.localseoguide.com/hey-seos-if-google-maps-calls-dont-answer/

Uh-oh!

Good luck with your 'do not support' issues. That has been one that has plagued places so steadily for so long.

[MiriamEllis]

Hey Robert -

Yes, I like your new rule! It is really impossible to diagnose most stuff in Places without looking at it, but so often, the member isn't free to share the business name, so we do the best we can

[RobertFisher]

Comprendo Amiga,

I truly understand as I have often had to withhold one of mine as it is a clients and I have a rule about what we disclose without permission...nothing. So, yep, I agree. But, sometimes it is more out of not wanting to be seen by competitors or nerves over what someone may say, etc. So, anyone reading if you can, please let us know a url.

[RobertFisher]

OK, Miriam, you are truly and I mean truly on top of all things Local at the Google. I had done several searches recently on "Do not support location" in places and in GWMT, etc. and the most current thing I could find was 2010. That had a bad link to take you to a resolution. Ouch. These are not only great links from you, the Shotland blog piece was priceless! I commented and gave you attribution.

I am thinking a name change may be in order: Miriam Local or Miriam S.E.O. Local. (like that second one.)

Thanks for the great help you provide,

Robert

[MiriamEllis]

Hey Robert,

I have a secret weapon - I run an RSS feed of local news into my brain at night so that I dream in local.

Seriously, though, you are very kind and I am so glad to know I am helping others. I really love my work in Q&A. It's often one of the pleasantest tasks in my day.

Hope your week is off to a good start.

Miriam

[echo1]

Hello and sorry for the delayed response.

Bottom line: problem solved!

Thanks to the information you provided, we followed the article listed here: http://www.localseoguide.com/hey-seos-if-google-maps-calls-dont-answer/

then the one listed here:
http://www.localseoguide.com/the-non-place-place-use-case/

Andrew Shotland's case was similar with ours so we just followed through. Apparently the "Do not show my business address on my Maps listing" in Google Places account must be checked and then resubmit  your listing to Places Troubleshooter. It took about 15 minutes and our listing was back online as it was before. With small exceptions like West instead of W and Road instead of Rd. Weird thing is that even the "Do not show my business address..." is checked, on the listing you are still able to see the full address (not logged in).

This raises a few questions:

• Should we dare to edit our listing? What if we get back to the same problem?
• Can the "Road vs Rd" and "West vs W" affect us in rankings for Google Places?
• Could have been just a bug?

Thank you very much for your help, much appreciated!!

[MiriamEllis]

Hi Echo1,

You are very welcome.

Honesty, what I'd do in this case is try to talk with Andrew. I'd try to book even 1/2 hour of his consulting time since he has gone through this exact same situation. I'm saying this is what I would do in your shoes. I can give you my best guess answer to your three questions, but because I haven't personally had to deal with this with any of my clients, I want to make it clear that I am estimating rather than telling you what you should definitely do.

That said:

• There is a chance if you edit the listing, yes, you will have to go through the steps again.

• I do not think it's a big deal, regarding the abbreviations. It is my opinion that Google is cool with Rd vs. Road, etc.

• The one thing that would concern me is the 'do not show address' part. I'm not sure from your original post whether you want your address concealed or not. If you don't want it concealed, then you don't want it marked that way, even if it's currently showing the address.

• I don't know whether to classify this as a bug or not at this point. What I do know is that Google is in the process of making quite significant updates to their whole handling of local and that oodles of problems appear for small business owners whenever they change anything.

So, I think you should be looking at your listing every day to see if it stays live or disappears again. I think you should also consider talking to Andrew about this. He is a friend and a very skilled Local SEO. And, I think you may need to take steps to get rid of the 'do not show address' if you want to ensure that your address is shown.

Hope this helps! I am wishing you luck!

Miriam

[RobertFisher]

As we say down Jamaica way....It be jammin' mon. It be jammin'.