Why is Google Places API not returning the location next door?

Question

I'm using the Google Places API to search for Burger King. I create a query for any place with "Burger" in the name, for the location at which I work.

Burger King is not in the results, but a Burger King exists next door.

How do I report this location (which easily comes up if I search for "Burger near me" at google.com)? Is there something I am doing incorrectly which makes the search results leave out Burger King?

Additional notes:

• I run the same code on a different location and it seems to find a Burger King up there.
• The result set consists of 20 legitimate locations with the word "Burger".
• After writing this, I'm going to try looking for "King" instead and will come back to confirm that it's just some 20-cap that could hinder results.
• Burger King is two words, so maybe that's the problem?

Answer 1

Search in a smaller area.

This is an effect that results from too many results in an area. You can try this with Starbucks in Los Angeles or Seattle and find the same behavior.

If the result set returned is greater than the 20 cap, then you will be missing any results beyond that. This can include the "location next door".

What we are doing instead is now searching at smaller areas wherein the result set is less than 20 to ensure that we get accurate results. By searching in a smaller area (to get a smaller result set), I can see the Burger King next door.