Comments on: Google Maps and PO Boxes – When can they be used?

By: Stever

Stever — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 01:41:02 +0000

@colorful That's too broad a statement to really mean anything. There certainly are "serious" business that use PO Boxes. I'm building a website for a client that operates a remote wilderness lodge primarily for backcountry snowmobiling deep in the mountains. The lodge is located far far far outside anywhere that a postal worker will ever go to deliver mail. It's located on public forest land (long term tourism/recreation lease from government) and has no physical address associated with it. It is for all intents and purposes in the middle of nowhere (once you leave the pavement it's another 30 miles of dirt logging roads). The nearest town is very small, population 3000, and a PO Box in that town is their ONLY option. There are no virtual office or UPS services available in an area like that and even if there was they would be located 50 miles from the actual location of the lodge. So does that mean they are not a serious business? They most certainly are. This exact example may be a mute point as Google Maps/Local searching is not really a typical traffic source for such a business, so PO Box or not, or getting into Google Maps based on an address or not has no real bearing on them. But I would certainly argue that there are legit cases for a serious business to use a PO Box.

By: colorful

colorful — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:21:53 +0000

I think Google should promote serious businesses. How serious can be a business with an PO Box address?

By: Local Business Listings Online – Using P.O. Boxes « AmIVisible Research Center

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 13:24:27 +0000

[...] no longer considered “physical addresses” for businesses. See Mike Blumenthal’s Google Maps and PO Boxes – When can they be used? November 4 post: The poor man’s virtual office, the PO Box, has been singled out in the new [...]

By: Stever

Stever — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 01:12:37 +0000

@Samantha, yes, technically the UPS Mailboxes are PO Boxes, of sorts. But so are virtual offices, when you just get the bare bones service. It’s basically a mail forwarding service. Many virtual office companies provide secretary services, use of conference rooms, virtual phone numbers, etc., but often are options within their more expensive packages. So when you just use their most basic service it’s really no different than using a UPS address.

By: Samantha

Samantha — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 19:33:58 +0000

@Stever UPS boxes are still considered mailboxes – Same as a post office box, just run by a private company. And google should treat them as such. They are in no way a physical location. They are a mailing address – but not a location. No one works out of a box in a Post office or UPS store.

I Agree with google – PO boxes shouldn’t serve as your location. Peple know you aren’t working out of a box in a mailbox facility. It keeps their listings legit.

I also don’t understand why people are still using their home addresses. There are alot of crazy’s out there. Get a virtual office to protect your private life. Plus they usually help bolster your business image.

The best solution for this is a virtual office service that provides you with a physical office address (not a mailbox). You can find these services easily for less than $1 a day. Just slightly more than a PO box – but provides your business with a physical presence.

By: Stever

Stever — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 06:58:45 +0000

@Miriam, I don’t really think this is Google’s master plan to revive the floundering real estate market, just being snarky during a week of hating on the big G for a number of things.

By: MiriamEllis

MiriamEllis — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 20:39:23 +0000

Heh heh, Steve. I hadn’t thought of that.

By: Stever

Stever — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 08:26:47 +0000

I’m certain UPS has seen a nice little uptick in their Mail Box services of late. Google’s banning of PO boxes should send another wave of businesses their way.

Or, maybe this is Google’s plan to revive the real estate market. Force businesses that operate without a location to go rent or buy office space. Get that bubble inflating again so all those realtors and mortagage brokers can once again spend big bucks on Adwords.

By: Mike Ramsey

Mike Ramsey — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 23:25:25 +0000

This is probably the one area that might stay vague to give Google reason to look at individual cases. If they say no mailboxes ups or p.o. period, then they are hurting a lot of legitimate businesses. If they say UPS are ok, P.O.’s aren’t ok….then people take advantage.

By: Glenn Y

Glenn Y — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 22:47:02 +0000

It looks like this may be part of Google’s attempt to thwart mapspam?

This still leaves the door wide open for people using fraudulent address to LOOK local when in fact they are not. So no PO’s may create as many problems as it solves.

We just had a sudden an unexpected drop in mapspam in our zip code, a topic for another thread…