In some cases, Google decides to publish different data on the Google Maps listing itself if they have reason to assume that they have more up-to-date data. This means that the data that is visible on Google Maps and/or Google Search deviates from the data in your Google Business Profile (which is the data that we have submitted from our platform).
These direct updates coming from Google are so-called “Google Updates”.
Google has certain mechanisms in place to fetch and validate information from various sources, both online and offline:
- the business website
- listings on other platforms
- physical store signage (visible on online images)
- recurring user suggestions
- automated phone calls from Google, especially for opening hours (read more about this here)
Because this is being considered the most valid and most up-to-date data by Google, our system is not allowed to overwrite these Google updates until they are being rejected by you.
Google Maps, a community-based navigation platform
Keep in mind that Google Maps is a community-based platform, meaning that Google might prioritize user suggestions for location data if they are not only considered valid, but also most up-to-date.
So, if several users suggest the same edit, Google might be applying those changes directly to the Google Maps listing, even if your verified GBP profile has different data saved.
How to override this information?
Uberall makes suggestions to override these “Google updates”. Sometimes they are accepted and sometimes they are not due to the complicated AI logic of Google.
The best way to fix the fields that have been updated by Google directly is to discard these “Google Updates” in GBP directly. Once logged into the GBP dashboard, listings that have such “Google Updates” will be marked by a red dot next to the pencil icon. “Google Updates” can be discarded for all listings in bulk:
Best practices to avoid such updates
- Keep all business data consistent throughout all the platforms both online and offline. The company website and the physical store signage are very important and trustworthy sources for Google. Google is constantly crawling the web, especially the business website, and might be pulling data from there.
- Always make all changes to the location data in the Uberall platform first, to make sure the same data is submitted and available in other directories as well.
- Be mindful of phone calls that are coming from Google. As Google states here, they might be calling your business to confirm your data, especially opening hours. There is an option now to turn these phone calls off - these settings can be changed directly in GBP, under the “Business Profile Settings” of each individual location:
