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Understanding Google My Business & Local Search

Google Maps: A (mis)Guided Tour of Olean

Since October and Google’s inclusion of the “report an error” link, I have been obsessively reporting errors in the general area of where I work. As I noted yesterday, Google has acknowledged and begun to repair these.

None the less, a few errors remain in Google’s geo data and the business listings so I decided to bring you a custom Map’s (mis)guided tour of downtown Olean. The view covers a roughly 55,000 sq. ft. area and the list is by no means exhaustive. If you are planning a trip in this direction, better give me a call.

Olean, a town of 15,000 where I was born, has lost a number of businesses every recession since the onset of the rust belt phenomena. However, it appears that more than the usual number have been misplaced if not lost during this recession. Thank god Jim’s Vacuum Repair is still around and I know how to get there. As much as I dislike dentists, I am glad that I can still find my dentist as well.

The (mis) Guided Map (Pin=Google’s Location, #=actual location)
(click to view larger):

misguidedtour

The Key (with the real scoop):

Actual Location – Maps Link Info Bubble Notes
A The centroid of the fair City of Olean, NY at the southerly end of the downtown area
1 pin1 My Dentist. Shown on East State Stree. He is actually located 4 blocks west on West State Street. Seems that East State Street is misnamed for some retail locations only.
2 pin2 My lawyer. I get a lot of speeding tickets so its a good thing she is in the next office over not 3000 feet away. (Just kidding about the tickets πŸ™‚ )
3 pin3 My office supply store. This is a weird one. The address shows the next town south of but is still located in this one. The pin shows it in north Olean and not on N Union St.
4 pin4 Not my bar but a well known watering hole none the less. It seems that Google shows two N Union Streets. One is actually called North Union St Extension. The Pulaski Club is on the real North Union St but is shown on the extension. I suppose there are enough other beer places that this will not cause any undue hardships.
5 pin5 It seemed fitting to include a chiropractor in these results. You will need one after going through the many gyrations following the wrong turns on this map. πŸ™‚
6 pin6 The city skating rink were my son spends his Friday nights during the winter. The pin is actually located where the city office for the rec dept is, so while way off at least I can understand it.
7 pin7 My vacumm repair man, Jim. I went to high school with him and having a vacuum repair man is one of life’s treasures.Seems the same West State-East St bug that bit my dentist bit him.
8 pin8 Colonial Library eh? Now this one is very weird. Actually (according to Maps) its located in Richburg NY, a town 30 minutes east not near the Hampton Inn as shown.
9 The map shows 2 N. Union Streets. No wonder we can’t find the Pulawski Club
10 W. State, East Sate…what’s the diff? I think I’ll stop at 10.