Google Maps Bug Impacts Local Business Ratings

Google says it may be “multiple weeks” before they’re able to fix a Google Maps bug that’s showing the wrong star ratings for some local businesses.

A paper/stationery store in Toronto reported the bug last month in the Google Maps Help Forum. The store’s Place Page shows several reviews that are being pulled in from OurFaves.com, each one with a 1-star rating:

But the real reviews on OurFaves.com aren’t actually 1-star reviews; the two shown above in Google Maps are actually both 4-star reviews. See the first and third review on the screenshot below:

In limited checking, I haven’t been able to reproduce this problem. It appears the bug only affects reviews that Google Maps aggregates from third-party sites, not reviews that are posted directly on Google Maps. In any case, local businesses rely heavily on positive word-of-mouth, and too many poor ratings can have a big impact on a small business’s bottom line. The paper store owner says customers have noticed and are calling about the poor ratings.

Google Maps staffer Joel Headley responded in the Help Forum thread: “We’re working on a fix and hope to get it resolved soon. It will likely be a multiple weeks before it’s resolved.”

(via Search Engine Roundtable)