Local SEO
How to fix a Google Maps pin that keeps reverting to the wrong location
A pin that moves back is usually not a Maps bug: the location you see is assembled from your profile, the public map record, and what the rest of the web says. Fix the address text first, then work outward, and keep a log so a revert is visible instead of silent.
Expected outcome
What you will have when you finish
Before you start
Gather these details before you begin. It keeps the task focused and prevents guesswork later.
- Owner or manager access to the Google Business Profile.
- The correct street address exactly as it appears on your lease, licence, or utility bill, including building, suite, or floor numbers.
- The wrong location the pin keeps returning to: a screenshot of the pin on Google Maps and the street address Maps shows for that spot.
- A note of what you have already tried — every pin correction, its date, and whether it held.
- The Google Maps link for your business listing, and the link for any second listing you suspect is a duplicate.
Only an owner or manager can change the address and pin, and only the profile owner or an authorized manager can contact Google support about the listing. If someone else prepares the evidence, one authorised owner should review and send any support request and keep the case ID. Do not let two people correct the pin at the same time from different accounts.
Why re-dragging the pin does not stick
A map pin looks like one thing you move. It is not: the pin customers see is the result of several records that have to agree, and correcting one while another still says the old location is why it moves back.
The first record is your own Business Profile: the address text and the pin position you set in the editor. The second is the public map record, which any Maps user can suggest changes to. The third is every other listing Google holds for your business, including a duplicate at a previous address. The fourth is the rest of the web — your website, directories, and booking platforms — which Google cross-checks against your profile.
Google gathers business information from different sources and can update your profile when those sources report that your information is incorrect or outdated — so a conflicting source, such as a duplicate listing at the old address or an old address still on your own website, can pull a corrected pin back.
One distinction decides the whole job: a pin in the wrong place and an address in the wrong place are two different problems. If the address text is wrong, the pin will follow it however carefully you place it. If the address text is right but the marker sits on the wrong rooftop, adjust the pin in the profile editor. If your profile is entirely correct and the public map still shows the business in the wrong spot, the problem lives in the public map record. Fix the sources in the right order, then stop touching the pin while the corrections settle.
| What you see | Which record is wrong | Where to fix it |
|---|---|---|
| The address text on your profile is wrong or out of date | Your profile’s address | Step 2: correct the address text first |
| The address text is right, but the pin sits on the wrong building | Your profile’s pin position | Step 3: adjust the pin in the profile editor |
| Your profile is right, but Maps still shows the pin in the wrong place | The public map record | Step 5: suggest the correction on Maps |
| A second listing for your business sits at the old address | A duplicate listing | Step 4: report or merge the duplicate |
| The pin is right, but drivers still end up somewhere else | The road and directions data, not the pin | See FAQ: do not move the pin to fix directions |
Expected outcome
What you will have when you finish
A map pin that stays where your business actually is, fixed at the source instead of re-dragged every week. You will know which record was pulling the pin back, and you will have a dated log of each correction.
How to fix a reverting pin step by step
Step 1
Step 1: Record the wrong and right locations precisely
Do not rely on memory or on the view you see while signed in. Check what customers see. Without this record, you cannot tell whether a correction held, and you cannot show support a pattern.
- Search for your business on Google Search and Google Maps while signed out, or in a private browser window, on a phone as well as a computer, and record the pin's current position with the date and a screenshot.
- Note the exact wrong location: the street address Maps shows for the pin's current spot.
- Note whether navigation is affected: if customers following directions end up at the wrong place, the pin is the problem. If the pin looks right but drivers still go wrong, read the FAQ first — that is a different problem.
- Write down the correct location the same way: the full street address and what the pin should sit on — your building, at the entrance customers use.
Step 2
Step 2: Correct the address text on your profile first
If the address text is wrong, fix it before touching the pin. A correct pin on a wrong address will not survive, because Google places the marker from the address. If the address text was already correct, skip to Step 3 — do not re-enter a correct address, because every fresh edit restarts the review of that field.
- Sign in to the Google Account that manages the profile and open the profile editor.
- Go to Edit profile, then Location. Next to "Business location", select Edit and enter the complete address, including building, suite, or floor where that is part of the real address. The address field is for the address only.
- If Google cannot find the address, re-enter the parts highlighted in red; if it still cannot be found, use Adjust to place the pin instead (Step 3).
- Select Save. Google says changes to your profile usually take about 10 minutes to show up, and in some cases up to 30 days. If the address is still wrong after that, the problem is one of the other records.
- Changing the address can lead Google to ask you to verify the business again, so keep your verification documents ready. Do not create a new profile while verification is pending — a second profile becomes a duplicate.
Step 3
Step 3: Adjust the pin in your own profile
If the address text is right but the marker is on the wrong rooftop, adjust the pin where you control it — in the profile editor, not on the public map. This is the step most owners repeat, and repeating it is the mistake: each new adjustment is a new edit for Google to review, and a pin under constant review never settles.
- In the profile editor, go to Edit profile, then Location. Next to "Business location", select Edit, then select Adjust.
- Move the map so the pin points to your business location, then select Done and Save — Google's instruction is to move the map under the pin rather than drag the marker. Use the satellite view to place the pin on your building, at the side customers actually enter from.
- Check the result signed out on Maps after the change has had time to appear, and record the date and the result.
- If the pin will not stay where you put it, do not keep re-adjusting it: another record is overruling the correction. Work through Steps 4 to 6 before touching the pin again.
Step 4
Step 4: Search Maps for a duplicate listing at the old location
A duplicate listing sitting at your old address is the most common reason a corrected pin moves back, and the cause owners check last. If there is no duplicate, the pin's pull is coming from somewhere else — continue to Step 5.
- On Google Maps, search for your business name, your old business name if you have renamed, and your old address. Note every listing Google shows for your business, including ones you did not create.
- Open each listing and compare it with your main profile. A listing at the old address with your reviews on it is not a spare copy — it is the record pulling your pin back.
- If a duplicate holds reviews or is not yours to remove, request a merge: on the duplicate's listing in Google Maps, use Suggest an edit, mark it as a duplicate of another place, and select your main profile. Google reviews every merge request; there is no instant or automatic merge. Our guide on merging duplicate profiles covers the routes in full.
- If the two listings are at an old and a new address because you moved, do not merge: update the existing profile with the new address (Step 2).
- Do not create a new profile while a merge is pending: a fresh profile adds another duplicate and splits new reviews away from the history you are consolidating.
Step 5
Step 5: Correct the public map record
Use this step only after your own profile is correct: a public correction submitted while your profile still carries the old address will be weighed against your own record and is likely to lose.
- On a computer, open Google Maps, search for your business, open the listing, and select Suggest an edit, then choose the option for a wrong pin location or address.
- Move the pin to the correct place — on your building, at the customer entrance — and submit. Add a short note if the form offers one: the correct address, and that the pin currently sits at the wrong address.
- Google reviews suggested edits; there is no published time for a decision. Check the status under your Google Account profile, Contributions, Edits.
- While a suggestion is still pending, do not submit the same correction again: it does not speed up the first one, and repeated edits to the same place are often rejected automatically. Wait for a decision first.
- If the suggestion is rejected, check Steps 2 to 4 again before resubmitting: a rejection usually means another record still disagrees with your correction. Fix that record first, then submit once more.
Step 6
Step 6: Make the rest of the web agree with your profile
Google cross-checks your profile against other public information, and so do the people suggesting edits. An old address still published somewhere you control can keep pulling the pin back.
- Check your own website first, especially the contact page, the footer, and any location page. An old address on your own site is the public information Google names as an example of what it uses to judge whether an update should be published. Correct it there before anywhere else.
- Check the directories and platforms customers actually use — the major map and review sites, your social profiles, and any industry directory your trade relies on — and correct the same address everywhere, in one canonical format.
- Check your booking platform and email signature too, and any printed material customers photograph and upload — a menu or flyer with the old address is a source too.
- If you moved, keep a visible record of the move on your website for a while — the old address with "we have moved" and the new address.
Step 7
Step 7: Answer suggested-edit notifications and keep a revert log
A pin that has been fixed once can still be moved again by a suggestion from someone else. The defence is detection, not another adjustment.
- Google notifies you about certain suggested edits before they are published, by email or with an in-product notification. Once you are notified, you have 4 days to accept or reject. Accept only a suggestion that is actually correct.
- Do not ignore the notification: if you do not respond within 4 days, Google may automatically publish the update when other publicly available information supports it — which is why Step 6 matters.
- In the profile editor, look for the changes Google has already made: information changed by Google appears in blue. Review the blue fields one by one.
- Keep a short log from the first correction onward: the date you found the pin wrong, the wrong and correct locations, what you changed, and the date you checked it again. If the pin reverts after you have fixed every source, that log is what support needs (see below).
Common mistakes to avoid
Re-dragging the pin every day
Each adjustment is a new edit for Google to review. A pin corrected daily never gets a clean observation window, and you cannot tell which correction held. Make one clean correction per record and log the result.
Fixing the public map before fixing your own profile
A public suggestion is weighed against the records Google already holds, and your own profile is the strongest. If your profile still says the old address, a Maps suggestion pointing somewhere else will usually lose. Profile first, public map second.
Submitting the same correction again while one is still pending
A duplicate submission does not queue-jump the first one. Check the status of your pending suggestion first, and only resubmit after a decision — and only after you have fixed whatever record the rejection points to.
Creating a new profile to start over
A new profile starts at zero and creates a duplicate problem. If the original profile is corrected or the duplicate is merged, you will have split your review history across listings. Work with the existing profile.
Moving the pin to fix bad directions
The pin is the destination. If it is correct and drivers still end up in the wrong place, the problem is the road or directions data, not the marker. Moving the pin off your building to chase better directions puts it in the wrong place for everyone else.
Correcting the profile but not your website
If your own website still shows the old address, Google can treat the wrong value as the one supported by public information, and the pin can drift back. Fix the source you control first.
How to know the task is complete
Success checks
- The pin in the profile editor sits on your building, at the customer entrance, in the satellite view.
- No second listing for your business appears at the old address on Maps — or a merge or duplicate report has been submitted for it.
- The public pin on Google Maps, checked signed out on a phone and a computer, sits in the same correct place.
- Your website and main directories show the same address as the profile.
- Any pending suggested edits have been accepted or rejected inside their 4-day window.
- The pin has held across repeat signed-out checks on separate days.
If something does not work
- The pin moves back within days of a clean correction: work through Step 4 again — a duplicate at the old address is the usual cause — then Step 6, looking for the source that still publishes the old address.
- The pin will not move at all in the profile editor, or the adjustment stays pending for a long time: profile edits can stay in review. Check the status rather than resubmitting. Our guide to what to do when Google Business Profile edits stay pending covers the stuck-edit case.
- The same wrong location returns after you have fixed every source: contact Google Business Profile support through the Help Center with your revert log — dates, locations, corrections, and before-and-after screenshots. A reverting pin after every source is fixed is the point where only Google can see what is pulling it back.
- The pin is correct but navigation still takes customers to the wrong place: that is a directions problem, not a pin problem. Use Maps, Help and feedback, Send feedback, and describe where drivers end up and where they should go.
Google Maps pin keeps reverting FAQ
Why does my pin keep moving back after I fix it?
Because the pin you see is fed by more than one record: your profile, the public map record, a duplicate listing at the old address, and suggested edits from other Maps users. Google can update your profile when its sources report that your information is incorrect or outdated. The fix is to find which source still disagrees and correct the sources in order — profile first, duplicate second, public map third — instead of re-dragging the pin.
Should I fix the pin in my Business Profile or in Google Maps?
In your Business Profile first. Open Edit profile, then Location, and use Adjust next to "Business location" to place the pin. Only correct the public map record through Suggest an edit after your profile is right: a public suggestion submitted while your profile still carries the old address will usually lose to your own record.
How long does a pin correction take to show?
Google says changes to your profile usually take about 10 minutes to show up, and in some cases up to 30 days. For a suggested correction on the public map, Google publishes no fixed time — check the status of your suggestion under your account's Contributions, Edits.
There is a second listing at my old address. Should I just delete it?
Not by deleting. If the duplicate holds reviews or is not yours to remove, request a merge from the duplicate's listing in Google Maps, using Suggest an edit and marking it as a duplicate of your main profile. Removing a profile from your account permanently deletes the posts, photos, videos, and review replies its owners added, while merging combines the reviews.
The pin is right, but navigation still takes customers to the wrong place. What do I do?
Do not move the pin. The pin is the destination; if it is correct, the problem is the road or directions data. Report it through Google Maps, Help and feedback, Send feedback, explaining where drivers end up and where they should go. Moving the pin off your building to chase better directions puts the pin in the wrong place for everyone else.