Map and geolocation errors — a map failing to load, a pin in the wrong location, distance-based search returning incorrect results — usually trace back to an API key issue with the mapping service, or a mismatch between stored address data and how the mapping service interprets it.
Check the browser console for an API-related error
Open your browser’s developer console (F12 or Cmd+Option+I) on a page showing the map. An error referencing the mapping service’s API, often mentioning a key or quota issue, points directly at the connection rather than the underlying location data itself.
Map & geolocation integration errors
A broken map or geolocation search traced to an API key, quota, or address formatting issue.
- Full backup taken before we start
- If we can’t fix it, you get your money back
- We never ask for your own password
This or something else?
| A map isn’t loading, showing pins incorrectly, or geolocation search isn’t working | This fix covers it |
| The issue is directory listing submissions themselves, not map display | Directory listing submission errors |
| You want a mapping service integrated for the first time, not an existing one fixed | Still covered by this fix, treated as an initial setup rather than a repair |
| The mapping service itself is reporting a billing or quota issue on your account | Worth confirming this directly with the service — that’s an account-level matter outside what a configuration fix resolves |
What you are seeing
- A blank space where the map should display
- Pins appearing at incorrect locations
- Distance or proximity search returning inaccurate results
- A console error referencing the mapping service’s API
Common causes
- An expired, restricted, or incorrectly configured API key
- The mapping service’s account reaching a usage quota or billing issue
- Address data stored in a format the geocoding process doesn’t correctly interpret
- A domain restriction on the API key not matching the site’s actual, current domain
- Two plugins each trying to load their own, conflicting version of the same mapping library
What we do
- Check the browser console for the specific API error
- Verify the API key’s configuration, including any domain restrictions
- Check the mapping service account for quota or billing issues
- Correct address data formatting if that’s contributing to inaccurate geocoding
- Test map display and geolocation search after correction
- Verify pins display at correct locations for a sample of listings
What is included
- The specific map or geolocation error identified and corrected, where within our control
- Verified correct map display and pin placement
- Tested geolocation search accuracy
- The pre-fix backup, kept for 30 days
Not included
- Resolving a billing or quota issue on your mapping service account directly — that’s between you and the provider
- Correcting fundamentally incorrect address data supplied for a listing — that’s your data to correct
- Directory listing submission issues, a separate, related fix
- Ongoing monitoring for future API-related issues
Questions about this fix
Why would a domain restriction on an API key cause this?
Many mapping services let you restrict a key to specific domains for security — if the site's domain changed (a migration, adding www) without updating that restriction, the key stops working even though nothing else changed.
Could this be a billing issue on my mapping service account?
Yes, genuinely possible — many mapping services require billing to be set up even for usage within a free tier, and a lapsed or unconfigured billing setup can silently stop the service from working.
Will incorrect address data cause a pin to show in the wrong place even with a working API?
Yes — if the address itself is ambiguous or incorrectly formatted, the geocoding process can place a pin somewhere inaccurate even though the underlying API connection is functioning correctly.
Is this urgent if it's affecting how customers find physical locations?
Worth prioritising if visitors rely on the map to actually find you or a listed business, since an inaccurate or missing map has a direct, real impact.
Do I need my own account with the mapping service, or do you provide one?
This uses your own account and API key — we configure the connection, but the underlying service account and any associated cost remain yours directly.
Related fixes
If this is the second time this year
A bad update breaking the site is a symptom of updates not being tested first. Care plans run every update on a staging clone before it reaches your live site, which is the actual fix for this happening again.
Your access, your rules
Create a separate admin account for us and delete it when we are done. For anything else, we get in touch and agree a method — never a form field on this site, never by reply to an email.
We back up first, always
Before anything is touched we take a full backup and keep it for 30 days. If a fix goes wrong, we put the site back exactly as it was.
If it is not what you bought
If the problem turns out smaller than what you ordered, we refund the difference. If it is bigger, we stop and send a quote before doing any extra work.
If we cannot fix it
You get back what we received. Diagnosis is on us — you only pay when the problem is actually solved. The payment processor takes its fee before the money reaches us, so we never hold it and it is not ours to return. That is true here as everywhere else.
If it comes back
Reply within seven days of delivery and we put it back on the bench at no cost. The fix is not finished until it holds.
What we are responsible for
If something goes wrong with a fix, our responsibility is limited to what you paid for it. We take a full backup first so mistakes can be undone, and we tell you before doing anything outside what you bought.