GPS Address vs. Postal Address GBP Confusion

[Shelly]

I have a GPS vs. mailing address GBP conundrum. See attached map.

The business's physical location is on a private gravel driveway named Crescent Bay Drive. Google does know this road, but the post office will NOT deliver mail there (I know because I was a customer before they were a client, and I was told that I could not mail a check to the address). We updated all NAP references to use the real mailing address, but the client is now repeatedly saying that customers are having a difficult time finding the business via GPS since it is not clear where to go when you reach the top of that gravel road (despite a large sign pointing people down the road).

What is best practice if GPS doesn't match the postal address for a brick-and-mortar business like this? I have tried numerous times to get the client to understand that the mailing address is what we should use in GBP (frankly, that is where I used to go to find the mailing address for my checks), but they feel like they are losing business due to how they are listed in Google?

Any thoughts would be incredibly helpful.

 

[JS Girard]

Try to change the address manually via suggestion post-validation? It's been about our only successful trick.

 

[Shelly]

Try to change the address manually via suggestion post-validation? It's been about our only successful trick.

I am looking for overall advice on whether I should change the address. Can I assume that based on your response, you believe it should be the client-requested GPS-friendly address, not the postal address? I'm just not sure if there is a best practice which address to use in GBP for a situation like this.

 

[JS Girard]

My advice is:

• If you haven't validated yet, validate at the address that's on file. Otherwise the Google agent will get pissy about that.
• Don't be afraid to adjust the map pin position even before the validation. That should not be an issue anymore (and if nervous you can use suggestions).
• If the client absolutely demands that the address be the "physical" one, try to use suggestions to do it. Using the physical address on website and citations may help.

the worse that can happen with suggestions is 1) it's rejected, or google later reverse, but then you do the suggestion again 2) Google could create a dupe at the postal address later on.

The GPS issue is, tbh, a nightmare scenario when it shows up: I've seen multiple cases where Google Maps insists on using the address location and not the pin location no matter what you do, causing all sorts of havoc.

 

[keyserholiday]

If The USPS doesn’t recognize their address, you will need to keep the one you currently are using. There is no way to set up GBP or citations using the GPS if the address is not in The USPS database. Make sure your client communicates the proper directions to all expected customers.

 

[Stefan Somborac]

Google wants businesses to use the real physical address on the GBP, not the mailing address.

If Google Maps recognizes the address, you shouldn't have a problem adding it to the profile.

This makes sense to me because the business wants the GBP to drive foot traffic to the shop, not letters to the mailing address, right?

You can make suggestions to the TomTom and Here databases, which can fix GPS issues. (At least, you used to be able to. I haven't done it in a few years, but can provide URLs if you'd like to try.)

 

[keyserholiday]

Hey @Shelly, I have an idea. At the end of the road, past your client's real location, is another business using the same address, and they have the PIN there. You could try moving the pin and seeing if Google accepts it. The other business in question has 120 reviews, but doesn't show up when I Google the address, so the likelihood that your clients get filtered is slim.

 

[Shelly]

Thank you all for the help!

Here is our progress to date:

1. Moved the pin within the GBP admin. It seemed to stick.
2. We updated the about us page on the website to use a directions button linking to the GBP where the pin is correct, rather than adding an address to the website that might confuse Google.
3. Fully communicated this change and the reasoning with the client. They continue to insist that the address is updated to the physical location.
4. During that discussion, it became clear the issue was with Apple Maps, not Google. Apple has the address correct, including the zipcode; however they are using a similar, but different city name - 45 minutes from the location of the business (resulting in customers driving very far out of the way). We are currently in communication with Apple, trying to get that corrected.
5. Per client, we will be attempting to change the location to the physical location for all citations in the coming weeks.

 

[keyserholiday]

Thank you all for the help!

Here is our progress to date:

1. Moved the pin within the GBP admin. It seemed to stick.
2. We updated the about us page on the website to use a directions button linking to the GBP where the pin is correct, rather than adding an address to the website that might confuse Google.
3. Fully communicated this change and the reasoning with the client. They continue to insist that the address is updated to the physical location.
4. During that discussion, it became clear the issue was with Apple Maps, not Google. Apple has the address correct, including the zipcode; however they are using a similar, but different city name - 45 minutes from the location of the business (resulting in customers driving very far out of the way). We are currently in communication with Apple, trying to get that corrected.
5. Per client, we will be attempting to change the location to the physical location for all citations in the coming weeks.

Apple wants to use 4901 NY-3 instead of the correct address.