We continue to receive many emails each week asking how to correct map errors in Google Earth (address in the wrong location, point of interest is missing, etc), so I thought it’d be worth revisiting that.
To start, you don’t actually fix the errors in Google Earth; you fix them in Google Maps, and those corrections are synced into Google Earth over the course of a few weeks. The process has changed slightly in the new Google Maps, so here’s how it works.
To suggest a correction, click on the small question mark in the lower right corner of the screen inside of Google Maps and choose “Report a data problem”.
Next, click on the map to show Google the exact location with the problem.
After that, the window in the upper left corner of Google Maps will ask for details, based on the type of object you just clicked. For example, if you clicked on a road Google will ask you questions related to roads (“doesn’t exist”, “one-way/two-way is incorrect”, etc). If you click on a business, it will ask you questions related to the business.
I’ve suggested quite a few edits to my local area, and all have been accepted into Google Earth/Maps and helped make my town more accurate. I’ve updated street names, new roads, closed restaurants, etc. I’m a heavy user of the GPS navigation features on Google Maps for my Android phone, so having an accurate map is very important.
The “report a problem” feature is a great tool to help make Google products more accurate for everyone. To learn more about how this process works, you can visit this page in the Google Maps support system.
About Mickey Mellen
Mickey has been using Google Earth since it was released in 2005, and has created a variety of geo-related sites including Google Earth Hacks. He runs a web design firm in Marietta, GA, where he lives with his wife and two kids.
You could also use mapmaker:
https://www.google.co.za/mapmaker
You’re lucky you can open GE. Mine bounces between “DirectX not supported” and “Try OpenGL”. Neither of which work. This problem was reported many months ago and appears not to have been fixed. I ended up reverting to an older version…6.2.2, which sort of works, but not very well. Does anyone have any clues?
Good luck getting google to update a map. I have tried to get them to move the pointer for my corporate HQ to the proper place for years. They even have the name of the street where I work named incorrectly. All verifiable via their own streetview images and they have refused. Do no evil my butt!