When your new estate address is not on Google Maps yet

In growth areas, new streets appear faster than maps catch up. A business that opens in a brand new estate or shopping strip can find customers sent to the wrong place, or told the address does not exist. It is frustrating, and it is usually temporary. Here is what helps in the meantime.

Check how your listing actually looks

Search your business name in Google Maps on your phone and tap directions. Then do it again from a friend’s phone, which will not be signed into your account. If the pin lands in the wrong place, you will see what your customers see.

Place your pin accurately

When you set up or edit your Business Profile location, you can adjust where the map marker sits. Put it on your actual entrance, not the middle of a car park or the centre of the estate. If Google asks you to verify the change, do it promptly.

If the street is missing from the map

Google Maps lets users suggest edits and report missing roads. If your street is not showing, reporting it is worth doing. It can take time, so do not rely on it alone.

Help customers in other ways

• Write directions in plain words on your website and in booking confirmations. “Behind the new supermarket, entry off the roundabout” is more useful than a street number that does not exist yet.
• Add photos of the outside of your premises and the approach, so customers recognise it. See Business Profile photos.
• Mention landmarks in your description, briefly. See writing your Business Profile description.

Service area businesses have it easier

If customers never visit you, hide your address and set service areas instead. The map pin problem then mostly goes away. See Google Business Profile for service area businesses.

Reviews still matter while you wait

New estate businesses compete with others that opened in the same season. A steady flow of reviews from day one is the best way to stand out. See how to get your first ten Google reviews and Google reviews in Melbourne’s southeast.

Do not create a second listing

If the address is wrong, fix the existing listing rather than making a new one. Duplicates split your reviews and confuse Google. See what happens to your reviews when you move or rebrand.