Comments on: SMB Dilemma – When All Maps Are Dead Wrong

By: SEO Igloo Blog » Getting Local Stuff Done - Great Clients Make It Easier

SEO Igloo Blog » Getting Local Stuff Done - Great Clients Make It Easier — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 00:11:32 +0000

[...] the basic steps of Local Search optimization/marketing is really pretty easy. This week, in our continuing pursuit of a strong local presence for our client, we walked the gentleman through claiming and improving his Google LBC listing. The phone [...]

By: SEO Igloo Blog » Trying to get neighborly with MapQuest, Google Maps and Yahoo Local

Sat, 18 Oct 2008 23:55:01 +0000

[...] you may recall, some weeks ago, I was contacted by a small business owner who showed me not only the incorrect placement of his business in the 3 maps but also the proliferation of incorrect data being shown for his region of Hayward, [...]

By: Understanding Google Maps & Yahoo Local Search » Google Maps upgrade to TeleAtlas: “Data may not be optimal” | Developing Knowledge about Local Search

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 02:47:29 +0000

[...] the next several weeks as these problems with TeleAtlas’ data are uncovered. As Miriam Ellis points out on her blog, this missing Map’s data can cause incredible marketing problems to the small business that [...]

By: Map Markers in Wrong Location after TeleAtlas/Google Deal | Stever.ca

Map Markers in Wrong Location after TeleAtlas/Google Deal | Stever.ca — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 00:29:38 +0000

[...] Maps service and already there are lots of reports of errors. Entire towns are missing in Alberta, streets missing in various locations, and oodles of reports of marker locations being off the mark by a few miles [...]

By: David Cox

David Cox — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 02:02:50 +0000

I would love to hear if you do take on this customer if making a correction on My Maps a public edit will show up on Google Maps when they search for it. I read about it on Mikes blog and would love to hear how it works in a real world application. At the Google Maps Help Center – Fix an Error on Google Maps notes that “you can put your own road or neighborhood on the map using My Maps quite easily as a temporary fix…Once you’re done, all public maps will be searchable in Google Maps almost immediately.” I would love to have you try it and report vs me be the tester

By: Google Maps Errors - TeleAtlas data needs some finetuning? : Local Search Optimization

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 17:57:10 +0000

[...] routes, missing cities, wrongly placed addresses, etc, etc. And as Miriam Ellis points out on her blog it can lead to some serious issues. Or take a look at this issue, in Alberta CA, where people might [...]

By: Mike Blumenthal

Mike Blumenthal — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 12:32:02 +0000

@David

The bizarre reason for round pins showing up on some searches is that Google defaults their no address to the centroid.

@Mark Law

I appreciate you stopping by and providing feedback to Miriam. I wonder if you could share with us what Mapquest’s procedures and outcomes are in a situation like this when it is reported to you.

Does Mapquest make the changes directly or immediately? I assume that you feed it back to your data provider, if that is the case how long does it take for the info to show back up on your map?

Mike

By: admin

admin — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 20:44:52 +0000

Hey, David,
Nice to see you here. I’m confident that we can definitely begin to pack power behind this potential client’s business listing, for relevance/ranking purposes, but unless we can get the address location fixed, the business will have to tell anyone who calls to look at the map on their own site rather than on the mapping entities. A hassle and awkward conversation to have to have, rather than simply letting customers use the various maps, as intended.

But, perhaps we can work towards getting this resolved, if Google and Yahoo will be as accessible as MQ has just shown me they are!

Thanks for coming by, David.
Miriam

By: admin

admin — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 20:40:11 +0000

Welcome, Mark!
Thank you so much for your kind and informative response to this situation. I really appreciate you letting your team know about the discrepancy. It would be great if we could resolve this situation, and whether or not I end up working with this client, we will certainly let them know about your response to their predicament. Thank you for that.

And, while I have your ear, allow me to congratulate MQ on the visual appeal of your maps. They are very easy to read and use, and we use MQ often!

Kind Regards,
Miriam

By: David Mihm

David Mihm — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 17:53:54 +0000

Hey Miriam,

Glad that Mike responded because he’s clearly the expert on this issue. Given the # of businesses we see ranking despite a “floating” marker, I would think that citations listing the same information, even if its incorrect in the maps, would still accumulate some power behind the man’s listing?