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Google Business Profile Bulk Upload Errors and How to Fix Them

A bulk upload is how agencies and multi-location businesses add or update 10 or more locations at once. Each row is checked against Google's rules, and a location with errors won't appear on Google Maps until it's fixed.

Finding the errors

After an import, Business Profile Manager shows which locations have problems. To see every error across the account at once, download your locations as a spreadsheet: Google marks the fields that need fixing. Correct them in that file and import it again.

Google groups the causes into four kinds: data that isn't formatted the way Business Profile expects, required fields left blank, details that don't agree with each other (such as a map pin outside the address's country), and policy changes that turn data accepted in the past into an error now.

Common errors and their fixes

Exceeded the daily upload limit

Cause: Business Profile limits how many locations one Google Account can upload in a day, so a large first upload can stop partway.

Fix: Submit Google's bulk verification contact form and quote this error in the "Describe your issue" field, then try again later.

Characters that aren't allowed

Cause: Some fields reject characters such as < and >. They can also come from corrupt data or from the spreadsheet app itself.

Fix: Remove them. If you can't see where they come from, download your locations, clear the affected cells, type the details again, and check the app you're saving the file with.

A web address in the store code

Cause: Store codes can't contain URLs such as google.com.

Fix: Use a short internal code for each location, such as STORE-012, with no links.

Too many characters

Cause: A field is longer than its limit, for example a business description over 750 characters or a website over 256.

Fix: Shorten the text in that field.

Too many digits or punctuation marks in the name

Cause: A business name can't contain more than 6 digits or more than 6 punctuation marks, which usually means a store number, slogan or location has been added to it.

Fix: Use the business's real-world name only. Put store numbers in the store code, not the name.

P.O. Box in the address

Cause: P.O. Boxes aren't allowed as a location's address.

Fix: Use the street address customers visit.

Administrative area doesn't match the country

Cause: The state, province or region isn't one that exists in the country given for that row.

Fix: Correct the administrative area, or the country if that's the wrong one.

Invalid country code or postal code

Cause: The country code isn't valid or supported, or the postal code isn't in that country's format. Spreadsheet apps often remove leading zeros from postal codes.

Fix: Use the two-letter country code, such as US, GB or AU, and keep postal codes as text so zeros stay. See keeping leading zeros in Excel.

Latitude or longitude out of range

Cause: Latitude must be between -90 and 90 and longitude between -180 and 180, each with at least 6 digits after the decimal point. A pin placed outside the address's country is also flagged.

Fix: Fix the coordinates, or remove them and let Google place the pin from the address.

Phone number in the wrong format

Cause: The number doesn't follow the format for the location's country, there are more than 2 additional phones, or the location has neither a primary phone nor a website.

Fix: Use a local number in that country's format, keep to 2 additional phones, and make sure every location has a phone or a website.

Invalid website

Cause: Websites must start with a protocol such as https://, be 256 characters or fewer and use only allowed characters. Google's own example of a bad value is a bare name with no http:// or www.

Fix: Use the full address, including https://, that goes straight to that location's page rather than a redirect.

Invalid categories

Cause: There's no primary category, a category isn't supported in that country or no longer exists, or there are more than 9 additional categories.

Fix: Pick categories from Google's list for that country: one primary and at most 9 additional.

Required fields missing

Cause: A required field is blank on some rows, such as a location with no business name.

Fix: Fill in the store code, business name, address, country, primary category, and a phone or website on every row.

Careful with blank columns

When you update existing locations, a column that has a heading but empty cells deletes that information from those profiles. Remove columns you don't mean to change from the spreadsheet before importing, rather than leaving them blank.

Checklist before you upload

A unique store code on every row, with no links
The business's real-world name only: no store numbers, slogans or locations
Street addresses, not P.O. Boxes
Two-letter country codes, with matching states or regions
Postal codes kept as text, with leading zeros
A local phone number in the country's format, or a website
Websites starting with https://, linking straight to the location
One primary category and at most 9 additional, all valid in that country
Coordinates in range with 6 decimal places, or left out
No < or > characters anywhere
No blank columns you don't mean to clear

Collecting locations from a client?

Send them a form instead of the spreadsheet. The Google Business Profile bulk upload template requires a store code, name, address, country and category on every row, checks phones and websites, and keeps postal codes as text, so most of these errors never reach Google. For 10 or more locations, see bulk verification.

Try the Google Business Profile template

Related Guides

Relevant Templates

Import Builder is an independent product and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Google LLC. Google Business Profile and Google Maps are trademarks of Google LLC. Errors and fixes as described in Google Business Profile Help, October 2026.