How-to · Updated October 11, 2026
Report a competitor stuffing keywords into their business name
Updated October 11, 2026
10 minutes, then Google's review
First check the competitor's sign and website: a name the business really uses is usually allowed, though Google still bans slogans and some extras even on a sign. If the listing adds services or places, open it in Google Maps, select Suggest an edit and correct only the name. Keep the redressal form for fraud.
Before you start
- A Google Account signed in to Google Maps. A suggested edit is tied to the account that sent it, and the Maps app lists each one with its status.
- Proof of the name the business really uses. A photo of its sign, the name on its website, or the name on its stationery, which is what Google's rule measures a name against.
- The listing's Google Maps link, if you may need the complaint form. Google accepts only links that start with https://www.google.com/maps.
Confirm the name breaks Google's rule
This part decides whether Google will treat the name as stuffed: a name the business really uses is usually allowed, though Google still bans slogans and some other extras even when they are on the sign.
- Write down the name exactly as the listing shows it, then compare it with the business's sign, website and stationery. Google says a name should reflect the business's real-world name "as used consistently on your storefront, website, stationery, and as known to customers."
- Mark the words Google does not permit in a name: service or product information, location information, marketing taglines, business hours, and phone numbers or web addresses. Google's own examples of names that break the rule include "Verizon Wireless 4G LTE" and "Holiday Inn (I-93 at Exit 2)".
- If the extra words also appear in the name on the business's own sign and website, an edit removing them is unlikely to be accepted. That is a judgment, not a rule Google states, and it follows from Google measuring the name against real-world use.
- Check your own profile's name against the same list before reporting anyone. Google says unnecessary information in a business name "could result in the suspension of your Business Profile."
Suggest the correct name in Google Maps
This part sends the correction through Suggest an edit, because Google names no separate route for a stuffed name that is not fraud.
- Sign in to Google Maps, then search for the business or select it on the map. Google says suggesting edits is only available in certain countries and regions.
- Select Suggest an edit, then the place's name (Google's help calls it Place name).
- Enter the name the business uses on its sign and website, removing only the extra words. Google warns that edits that try to significantly change a business may be rejected.
- If you know the name is wrong but not what it should be, select Don't know, but this is incorrect. Google says not every detail offers this option.
- Add a photo of the sign if you have one, then select Submit. Google says a photo helps it verify the suggestion, and that your photos are publicly available under your name, so leave it out if the account shows your own name. That last point is a judgment.
A submitted edit cannot be cancelled or recalled. Google says to wait until it is accepted or not, then submit a new edit with the correct details.
Escalate a name used to mislead
This part covers the Business Redressal Complaint Form, which Google keeps for names, phone numbers and websites that point to fraud, not for ordinary corrections.
- Use the form only when the name raises suspicion of fraudulent activity. Google says not to use it to correct an incorrect business name, and that a complaint about anything other than fraud on the name, phone number or URL will not be reviewed.
- If you believe the business does not exist at all, report it from the listing instead: in Google Maps select Suggest an edit, then Place is closed or not here, then Offensive, harmful, or misleading, then Submit.
- On the form, choose Title as the content, paste the listing's Google Maps link, and quote the exact name you object to with how it misleads. For several listings, add each link with Add additional field or upload a spreadsheet; Google suggests 10 to 100 at a time.
- Select Submit and keep the case ID from the confirmation. Google says it cannot guarantee any action and will not update you on the complaint's status.
Check it worked
In the Google Maps app, tap Contribute, then View Your Profile, scroll down and tap Edits. On a computer, open Google Maps and click Menu, then Your Contributions, then Edits. Each suggestion shows Pending while Google confirms it, Accepted once it is added to Maps, or Not Accepted if Google could not verify it. Google gives no time frame, and says a recently approved edit may not show on the map yet.
A complaint sent through the redressal form gets no status update, so the only check is the listing itself. Search for the listing again later to see whether the name changed.
If the edit comes back Not Accepted
Google says Not Accepted means it could not verify the edit. Submit a new edit with a photo of the business's sign if you did not add one (remember it is public under the account's name), and change nothing but the words that break the rule.
Keywords in the category or address
The same Suggest an edit route covers a listing's category and address. Google's guidelines say not to use categories solely as keywords, and not to put keywords or web addresses in the address lines.