## **🔍 Overview**

When creating a press release in Search Atlas, you may encounter an error when trying to include a Google Maps link. This usually happens because Google Maps URLs contain special characters or tracking parameters that the press release editor does not accept. This article explains the correct link format to use so your press release publishes without issues.

## **⚠️ Why Google Maps Links Cause Errors**

Google Maps URLs come in several formats, and not all of them are compatible with the Search Atlas press release editor. The most common causes of link errors include:

- **Long dynamic URLs** — These contain many parameters (such as **@**, **!**, and **1m** fragments) that can break the link field validation.
- **Shortened URLs (maps.app.goo.gl)** — These redirect URLs may not be recognised as valid by the editor.
- **Embedded iframe code** — Pasting raw iframe HTML from Google Maps is not supported in the link field.
- **Copied browser address bar URLs** — These often include session-specific parameters that cause validation failures.

## **✅ How to Get the Correct Google Maps URL**

Follow these steps to obtain a clean, compatible Google Maps link:

1. Open **Google Maps** in your browser and search for the location you want to link to.
2. Once the location is displayed, click the **Share** button (the arrow icon) on the location card.
3. In the Share panel, select the **Copy link** option. This generates a clean, shortened link in the format **https://maps.app.goo.gl/XXXXXXX**.
4. If the shortened format does not work in the editor, switch to the **Send a link to your phone** tab, copy the URL shown there, or use the **Embed a map** tab to find the plain URL within the iframe code (the value inside **src="..."**).
5. Paste only the plain URL (not any surrounding HTML) into the link field in your press release.

## **🛠️ Adding the Link in Your Press Release**

Once you have the correct URL, follow these steps inside Search Atlas:

1. Navigate to **Left sidebar → Authority (Press Releases)** to open the press release editor.
2. Select the press release you are working on, or create a new one.
3. Highlight the text you want to hyperlink, then click the **Insert Link** icon in the editor toolbar.
4. Paste the clean Google Maps URL into the URL field.
5. Click **Apply** or **Save** to confirm the link.
6. Preview the press release to verify the link appears and resolves correctly before publishing.

## **💡 Best Practices for Location Links**

- Always test your Google Maps link in a private browser tab before adding it to a press release to confirm it loads the correct location.
- Use a descriptive anchor text such as **"View our location on Google Maps"** rather than pasting the raw URL as visible text.
- Avoid copying URLs directly from the browser address bar — always use the **Share → Copy link** flow in Google Maps.
- If you need to link to a specific business, search for the business by name in Google Maps rather than navigating by coordinates, as name-based links tend to produce cleaner URLs.

## **🆘 Still Seeing an Error?**

If you have followed the steps above and are still experiencing a Google Maps link error in your press release, If you need further assistance, open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and type **human teammate** to be connected with a member of our team.

## **Additional Notes**

Extract the URL from the iframe src attribute: copy only the URL between the quotation marks after src=, starting with https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=. Do not include the surrounding quotes or any other part of the iframe tag.