While location apps like Google Maps and Waze have made getting to a new place easier, it can be frustrating when the store or business isn’t listed on the app. But why? Here are the types of businesses and locations that you cannot add to Google Maps:
- Temporary Locations (Non-Fixed Locations)
Temporary locations happen when a business often moves from one location to another, making it hard for the business to be added to Google Maps because it’s not fixed. If the business remains closed for more than two weeks, even if it’s only temporarily, it would still be difficult for the business to get listed on the app. For businesses in a temporarily rented or soon-to-be-sold premise, you may also find it hard to add the location to Google Maps. A vacation home without permanent onsite management, like certain Airbnb’s, will also be tricky to add into the system.
- Temporary Businesses (Non-Permanent Listings)
It’s also worth noting that Google Maps is used to locate ongoing businesses, so seasonal pop-ups aren’t available in the app. If you plan on holding a pop-up, it’s best to organise it in an established location like an event hall or a mall. Street stalls that aren’t at a permanent hawker premise or that pasar malam (night market) stall you like to frequent won’t be on Maps either.
- Businesses With No Physical Location (Non-Physical Presence)
This criteria is self-explanatory, but if the business doesn’t have a physical store or stall, you won’t find it on Google Maps. If you have an online business, you should register a business address to make it eligible to be added to the app. According to Google Support, call centres are also businesses with a non-physical presence.
- Undisclosed Businesses & Location (Private Listings And Premises)
If the place you’re heading to is at a hush-hush location, chances are it won’t be on the app. Private properties, like a celebrity’s home – or even yours -, also won’t be listed in Google Maps, but you can find the nearest street.
- Locations Restricted To The Public (Non-public)
Similarly to the previous criteria: if it’s not supposed to be on Google Maps, it won’t. However, this point is specifically for military or sensitive establishments like barracks or ammunition bases. Nuclear power plants not publicly known to everyday civilians are also unavailable on Google Maps.
What do you think about these Google Maps conditions? Were you surprised by any of them?
Source: Google
