One of the first things that becomes obvious when you start to read the Google Maps Help Group is that there are a lot of errors with the mapping system. There are daily posts from map users and business owners reporting that a certain business or location is, in reality, located somewhere other than where it appears on the map. They’re not reporting bad business data in Google’s business listings — this is bad data on the map side of things, which is to be expected to some degree.

If this is happening to your small business, it might be costing you customers. So do what you can to get it fixed. Here’s what you need to know:

1.) Google gets its map data from two providers — NAVTEQ and Tele Atlas — and both provide online methods to report needed changed to their maps.

2.) Use Google Maps to find out which provider is the source of the map where you’ve found an error. You should see text at the bottom of the map listing either NAVTEQ or Tele Atlas.

3.) Use one of these links to submit the error or updated map information: NAVTEQ or Tele Atlas

(Note: the Tele Atlas link above is a redirect from another page. If it no longer works when you’re reading this post, try this page instead, or go to the Tele Atlas home page and look under the SUPPORT tab.)

4.) Finally, you can also report problems to Google. Joel, one of the Google Maps Guides posting in the Help Group, invited people to use this link to report inaccurate map data.

And then be patient.

Thanks to Stephen for assistance.

Technorati Tags: google maps, google, local maps, local search