Google is changing my address?

[Creativedge]

The listing in question is for Milford Dental Excellence in Milford, OH:
https://www.google.com/maps?cid=17958868842158455051

The address the client provided us with is:
1188 State Route 131
Milford, OH 45150

We've used that address when setting up and verifying their Google My Business page, and it's exactly how it appears when I'm in the Google account.

However, when it comes up in Maps, it reads:
1188 OH-131
Milford, OH 45150

This has left us concerned since the Google listing doesn't match how the business is being listed on most other sites.

Is this going to be a problem? If Google won't change the address to match how we've entered it, does this mean we need to change the address everywhere else in order to match Google?

 

[djbaxter]

I'm the tech guy here, not one of our Local Search experts, but it seems to me Google is just changing the format to what they prefer. Anyone finding your business on Google Maps will still see you in your correct location and if they request directions they will still get to the same place.

I wouldn't worry about it. You can try editing the information on Google Maps and see if it sticks.

But I would not recommend changing the stated address anywhere else. Your main goal should be to help potential clients or customers find you, i.e., you want the "human" address to appear on your website and other listings, not the "Google address".

I am a Google Local Guide and I just submitted your address as 1188 State Route 131, Milford, OH 45150, USA. We'll see what happens.

 

[Linda Buquet]

Thanks for helping David!

CE, the address Google is using is correct in Google's opinion. The address client told you to use may be the correct mailing address, but G does not map mail addresses, she goes by physical locations on a map.

Check to see what I mean. Go to maps, plug in the address you think is correct:
1188 State Route 131, Milford, OH

Now notice in blue area Google auto-corrected it to 1188 OH-131 and also labeled the map pin with her version of the address.

Next click some other businesses on that street and see all addresses are 1188 OH-131.
So that is likely the correct mapping address.

Next search for Dentist address in both formats and see that Google finds the practice either way. (I used to always double check addresses with these methods before entering because often what the client thinks is correct is not via maps.)

However the good news is Google knows the 2 are the same. It's like if you put #105 in dash and she changed it to Suite 105. She'll still know citations written as #105 mean the same thing. So no need to change citations, she knows. (But new citations you build, you may want to use G's format.)

I generally advocate not to change NAP in dash unless it's wrong. I would not change it just for formatting difference. You could, and it could be a good thing, but no telling what Google would do.

The one thing I would change though is the category. It's showing as Dental Clinic. I used to specialize in Dentistry and know that Dentists don't want to rank for Dental Clinic, they want to rank for Dentist. So I'd delete all cats and only have Dentist as a category.

Make sense?

 

[Creativedge]

Thanks to both of you for your replies. Sounds like, in future, I'll have to make sure we're checking with how Google wants addresses formatted before we start working citations.

Linda: I wasn't aware of the issue with the categories. My impression was that we should use every category that looked appropriate. I take it that's not the case, then? Do you recommend just "dentist" for dentists? (No "teeth whitening" or "dental hygienist"?)

 

[Linda Buquet]

Well it used to be you'd put every cat that applied but then more recently Google recommends in guidelines being more specific:

Categories
Categories help your customers find accurate, specific results for services they’re interested in. In order to keep your business information accurate and live, make sure that you:

Use as few categories as possible to describe your overall core business from the provided list.

Choose categories that are as specific as possible, but representative of your main business.

Do not use categories solely as keywords or to describe attributes of your business.

It used to be that to rank for keywords you'd need to have them in cats. Not so much anymore.

So I would maybe at Cosmetic Dentist since that seems to be a big focus for them.

But my main issue is that high end Dentists I know would never want to be referred to as a "Dental Clinic". Typically someone that searched for that KW would be looking for a low end, cheap HMO clinic. So since all my Dentists were higher end, I never used that cat.

 

[Creativedge]

So I would maybe at Cosmetic Dentist since that seems to be a big focus for them.

But my main issue is that high end Dentists I know would never want to be referred to as a "Dental Clinic". Typically someone that searched for that KW would be looking for a low end, cheap HMO clinic. So since all my Dentists were higher end, I never used that cat.

Ah. I thought it was a matter of that just being the term that Google decided to use.

I have at least one dentist who has gotten into trouble using the term "cosmetic dentist," as it makes it sound as if they have a specialization that they don't actually have. ("Cosmetic dentistry" is okay to use, but most sites don't allow this term.)

Yelp, in particular, has been a pain in this respect as, not only do they use Cosmetic Dentist, they almost always change the categories of General Dentists to include "Pediatric Dentist" and "Endodontist," which, I'm told, can result in a nasty call from the dental board.

Yelp support usually gives me a lot of pushback when I ask them to remove those terms.