Many Google Places Help Forum posters have issues and are complaining about their Google Places listing not showing in the Google Maps Places  search results.

The first situation is when you have claimed an existing listing in Google Maps or made a new Google Places entry.  Once you have PIN verified the entry there are two stages to go through before an entry will show with its ranking in a Places page 7 Pack result.

Firstly the Places entry has to be built into the Google Maps index.  This is a batch process which seems to run every four weeks.   In the first few days after PIN verification you may get the ‘Location is not supported’ message which just means the Places entry is in the process of being submitted to the Maps index run.  You can test whether the Maps index run has included your Places page by going into Google Maps and searching by the primary Phone no or (Business Name and Zip/Post Code).  If your Places page appears then you are in the index.

Google then take about two weeks to gather matching information about you off the web, other web directory listings called ‘citations’ and reviews posted on other web directories and now directly in the Places page.  Until you have been given a ranking you will appear many pages down the Places search result after being built into the Maps index.  If after 4 weeks you only show as a red dot on the Places search results Map on one of your categories and your location, your ranking is not high enough to show on the first page of search results.

If you edit the Business Name, Address or Phone Number you go through the same process on re-verification.  Also the latest ranking algorithm will be applied to the entry and the new ranking is usually lower than it was before, because of extra criteria you have to satisfy and which requires more web data out there.

If after 4 weeks you do not appear in a search at all then Google are applying content spamming aspects of the Rejected algorithm quietly to your entry at search time.  You need to visit my ‘Rejected – Needs Action: Advice’.  I post there as SQLPerformance.

http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/Places/thread?tid=329ec6af3d9ec39e&hl=en

If an existing Places entry page stops showing for a search there can be three account status reasons:

Google Places Suspended Account Status – Your Google Places account has been Suspended because of multiple entries which violate newer guidelines.  The Places account can be put in Suspended status for repeated use of a phone number as Google have now actually made it a unique key rather then just saying it is.  Or they have detected you are a Web Marketeer who is managing clients Places entries in your own account rather than in each clients own Places account under their own email.  You need to transfer each entry from the Google Places Suspended email account into an email account owned by the client.  If they set a specific email up they can share the password with you.

Google Places Rejected – Needs Action Status – Your Google Places account has been Rejected as it violates the Quality Guidelines.  Reading through the Help Articles may help but there are many other issues which can cause the status and you may require help.  You need to visit my post in the Google Places Help Forum ‘Rejected – Needs Action: Advice’.  I post there as SQLPerformance.

http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/Places/thread?tid=329ec6af3d9ec39e&hl=en

Google Places Pending Being Reviewed  Status- Your Google Places entry has been put into Pending Being Reviewed because the entry violates newer Quality Guidelines and a manual review is required.  Common spamming categories such as Lock Smiths have to be additionally manually checked.  To get out of Pending Being Reviewed status you need to visit my post in the Google Places Help Forum ‘Pending Review: Advice’.  I post there as SQLPerformance.

http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/Places/thread?tid=0aeb527b34e8aca0&hl=en

If you are stuck visit this page and then make a post on the forum:

http://andrewhuskinson.com/?p=24

www.google.com/support/forum/p/Places?hl=en

You may then be advised on issues as to why you are not showing a Places search result for your Google Places entry.

Cheers. Andrew.

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