Google Small Business just announced in its Product Forums that it’s changed some if its policies regarding P.O. boxes. Basically, P.O. Boxes are no longer permitted in either address lines 1 or 2, when a business is submitting its location information, to better align with Google Maps.
In the past, users would list their P.O. Box in address line 2, as seen in the screen shot below:
The P.O. box would then be manually reviewed by Google during a “pending” status, in order to verify the accuracy of the first address line. Google is no longer doing this, and directs users to take the follwing new steps:
– Make sure your listing remains active:
– Sign in at places.google.com
– Select “Edit”
– Remove the term “P.O. Box” from the address fields
– Save your changes
If a user is prompted to reverify, and can’t do so with the available options, Google directs them to this contact form.
In related news, Google recently began allowing users of its maps to add their home and work locations, to better track their whereabouts.