Google Business Profiles Bug Places Service Area Map Pins in the Ocean
Some service area businesses are seeing their Google Business Profile map pin land in the middle of the ocean, even though the shaded service area on Google Maps is still drawn in the right place. The pin is the marker that represents the business on the map, and for affected listings it is currently floating far offshore.
What the bug looks like
For affected service area businesses, Google Maps renders the correct shaded service area that a business has chosen to serve. The profile itself, however, is showing a PIN marker that sits in open water rather than anywhere near the business or its service area.
Screenshots shared publicly show the difference between how a service area business pin should appear on Google Maps and how it currently appears. The pin should sit somewhere within, or close to, the business’s chosen service area. Instead, it is being placed offshore, in some cases far from any land.
How widespread it is
The problem is not limited to a single profile.
Service area businesses, often shortened to SABs, are businesses that travel to a customer rather than welcoming customers to a fixed storefront. On Google, these listings normally hide the business address publicly and instead display a service area covering the cities, towns or regions the business is willing to serve.
Why this is a problem for service area businesses
A map pin that lands in the ocean makes a listing look broken. Customers searching Google Maps for a nearby service are unlikely to trust or click a profile whose marker is clearly not on land. It can also make the listing harder to verify and harder to manage, since the geographic signal the pin normally provides has been lost.
The shaded service area itself is still drawn correctly, so the business’s intent to serve a region still comes through. But the floating pin is the visual cue most people use to orient themselves on the map, and that cue is missing for affected profiles right now.
What businesses can do in the meantime
- Check your own Google Business Profile on Google Maps to see whether your pin is in the correct location or sitting offshore.
- Take a screenshot of your profile showing the pin location, so you have a record of the issue.
- Use the Google Business Profile support channels to flag the problem directly to Google, so the report is logged on Google’s side rather than only on social media.
- Keep your service area settings, business categories and hours accurate, since the rest of the profile is still being drawn correctly even when the pin is in the wrong place.
For businesses that want a clearer read on where they actually appear across a service area, a geo grid report shows rank position mapped town by town rather than as a single city wide average, which is useful when a listing looks off in one part of the region.
Is Google aware of the bug?
As of now it is not clear whether Google has publicly acknowledged the issue. The bug was first flagged publicly on LinkedIn by an SEO practitioner who posted screenshots comparing a correct service area pin against the ocean placement. Others in the comments reported seeing the same behavior on profiles they manage, which suggests the problem is not isolated.
A similar issue surfaced years ago, when Google dropped some business pins in the middle of the country for reasons that were never fully explained. Those pins eventually returned to the correct locations, and the expectation is that this round of ocean placements will be corrected as well once Google addresses the underlying bug.
What to watch next
The main thing to watch is whether Google confirms the bug and rolls out a fix that puts the pins back where they belong. In the meantime, affected businesses should keep documenting the issue and continue to verify that the rest of their listing, including the service area shape, hours, categories and reviews, is in good shape. A broken pin hurts click through rates, but a well maintained profile with accurate service area information still gives customers the right signal about where a business is willing to travel.
FAQ
What is happening with Google Business Profile map pins?
Some service area businesses are seeing their map pin land in the middle of the ocean on Google Maps, even though the shaded service area is still drawn in the correct place on the profile.
Does this bug affect all Google Business Profile listings?
No. The reports so far are limited to service area businesses, which are the listings that hide their address publicly and instead show the areas they serve. Storefront businesses with a public address have not been reported as affected.
Has Google fixed the map pin bug?
There has been no public confirmation from Google that it is aware of the issue or that a fix is in progress. A similar ocean and center of country pin problem in past years was eventually corrected, and affected businesses are being encouraged to report the issue through Google Business Profile support channels.
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