How to Find Coordinates in Google Maps and Share Them

In practice, that short answer covers most cases. However, the real work starts after you have the numbers. You need to write them in the right format, share them so nobody ends up in the wrong place, add them to your website, or fix your business pin. At Talha Aslan and team, we work with local businesses every week, and most location problems we see happen in this second stage. For example, a swapped latitude and longitude can send a customer to another continent.

This guide walks through the desktop, Android and iPhone steps, the formats Google Maps accepts, how precision works and the best ways to share a location. If you need to convert a coordinate into another format along the way, keep our free coordinate converter open in another tab.

What are latitude and longitude, exactly?

Put simply, a coordinate describes any point on Earth with two numbers. The first number is latitude. It tells you how far north or south of the equator you are. The second number is longitude, and it tells you how far east or west of the prime meridian you are. So you can describe a place in one line, even when it has no street address.

Google's Maps help page gives the valid ranges clearly. Latitude must fall between -90 and 90, and longitude between -180 and 180. If you see a number outside those ranges, something went wrong in the typing. In addition, the minus sign carries direction. Southern latitudes and western longitudes take a minus sign. That is why every point in the contiguous United States has a negative longitude.

• Latitude: north or south position; London sits at roughly 51.5.
• Longitude: east or west position; London sits close to 0, slightly west.
• Order: latitude comes first, then longitude.
• Separator: a comma and a space between the two numbers.

In short, coordinates are a universal language for places where an address falls short. Think of a rural plot, a brand new street or the back entrance of a large site. In each case, two numbers beat a long description.

How do you get Google Maps coordinates on a computer?

On desktop, the fastest way to get Google Maps coordinates is a right-click. The steps below follow Google's official help page. Menus can look slightly different over time, but the logic stays the same.

1. Open Google Maps in your browser and zoom in on the spot you want.
2. Right-click the place or area on the map.
3. A small pop-up opens, and the coordinates sit at the top in decimal format.
4. Click the numbers to copy them, then paste them wherever you need.

Above all, pay attention to the zoom level here. If you right-click from far away, a single pixel covers a large area. Therefore, zoom in close before you mark a door, a parking entrance or a loading dock. Also, switch to satellite view if the building outline is unclear. Then right-click exactly on the entrance.

On the other hand, you can also right-click a business name and see coordinates. Keep in mind that those numbers show where the business pin sits. If the pin is in the wrong place, the coordinates you copy will be wrong too. We cover that situation later in the section about fixing a Business Profile pin.

How do you get coordinates on an Android phone?

In the Android app, you get Google Maps coordinates with a touch and hold instead of a right-click. Google's help page puts it simply: touch and hold an area of the map that isn't labeled. In other words, press on empty map space, not on a shop name or a road label.

1. Open the Google Maps app.
2. Touch an unlabeled area of the map and keep your finger down for a moment.
3. A red pin drops on that spot.
4. The coordinates appear in the search box at the top, and you can copy them from there.

If the pin lands in the wrong spot, then move the map slightly and try again. A finger is a much rougher pointer than a mouse. For that reason, pinch to zoom in first and only then touch and hold.

Also, when you swipe up on the panel at the bottom, you may see a Plus Code line for that spot. According to Google, you can tap the Plus Code on a dropped pin's panel to copy it and then paste it into any messaging app. We explain Plus Codes briefly in the format table below.

How do you see coordinates on an iPhone or iPad?

In the Google Maps app on iPhone and iPad, the steps are almost the same as on Android. The difference lies in where the numbers show up. According to the official help page, you drop the pin and then open the place sheet at the bottom of the screen.

1. Open the Google Maps app.
2. Touch and hold an unlabeled area to drop a red pin.
3. Swipe up on the place sheet at the bottom of the screen.
4. Find the coordinate line and copy it.

Note that Apple Maps is a separate product with its own interface. This guide covers the Google Maps app only, and we suggest you keep the two apart. For instance, when you ask a customer to copy coordinates, name the app you mean. That small detail saves a lot of confusion on the phone.

Finally, one more practical point: an outdated app can show menus in different places. Google's sharing help page also recommends that you keep the app updated. So if the steps above don't match your screen, check for an update in your app store first.

How do you find the coordinates of where you are standing?

Sometimes you don't search for a place at all; you want to know exactly where you are. Reporting a broken-down car, giving a meeting point in the countryside or showing a contractor the corner of a plot are typical examples. In Google Maps, your position shows up as a blue dot.

• Tap the blue dot: on Android, swipe up in the location panel to reach the Plus Code section and copy it.
• Drop a pin on the blue dot: the touch and hold method gives you the decimal coordinates of that spot.
• Use your browser: the Use my location button in our tool asks for browser permission and shows the result in decimal, DMS and UTM at once.

In our tool, the location stays on your device and never reaches our server. Still, we recommend you check why any site asks for location permission before you grant it.

Keep in mind that phone location isn't always exact. Indoors, between tall buildings, or when location services rely on network data only, the dot can drift. So before you share something important, check visually that the blue dot really matches where you stand.

How do you search Google Maps by coordinates?

Searching by Google Maps coordinates is the reverse process, and it's even easier. You paste the two numbers into the Google Maps search box; the map jumps to that point and drops a pin. This works the same way on a computer, on Android and on iPhone.

That said, the result depends on how you type the numbers. Google's help page highlights three rules:

1. Enter latitude first, then longitude.
2. Use a period as the decimal separator, never a comma.
3. Keep latitude between -90 and 90 and longitude between -180 and 180.

Example scenario: a supplier sends you "51.50073, -0.12463". When you paste that line into the search box, the map goes to Big Ben in London. You could also write the same point in degrees, minutes and seconds, and Google Maps would still recognize it. Consequently, whatever format you receive, try a direct search first.

Otherwise, if the search fails or lands somewhere unexpected, the problem is almost always the separator, the order or the minus sign. The next two sections deal with exactly those mistakes.

Which coordinate formats does Google Maps accept?

The same Google Maps coordinates can appear in several formats. Google's Maps help page shows three for the search box: decimal degrees, degrees minutes seconds and degrees decimal minutes. Beyond those, you will also meet UTM and Google's own Plus Code system. The table below sums up the differences.

The first three examples come from Google's help page, and the Plus Code example comes from Google's Plus Codes help page. The UTM row shows Big Ben as our tool converts it. We have covered the math between degrees minutes seconds and decimal degrees in a separate guide, so we won't repeat it here.

Why does a comma instead of a period send you to the wrong place?

Many languages, including German, French and Turkish, use a comma as the decimal mark. Google Maps, however, expects a period in decimal degrees and uses the comma to separate the two numbers. Its help page explicitly marks "41,40338, 2,17403" as incorrect. To the search box, that line looks like four numbers, so it can't tell what you mean.

Example scenario: a customer copies coordinates from a spreadsheet set to a European locale. The cell reads 51,50073. Next, the customer joins it with the longitude and sends it by text, and the courier's app can't find the spot. The fix is simple. First, change each decimal comma to a period. Then separate the two numbers with a comma and a space.

• Correct: 51.50073, -0.12463
• Wrong: 51,50073, -0,12463
• Risky: 51.50073 -0.12463 (no comma; it often works, but not every app behaves the same)

If you work with international partners, always share coordinates with a period as the decimal mark. It's the safest common ground. For the same reason, our tool shows the international notation on its own line, next to the localized one.

What happens if you swap latitude and longitude?

Swap the two numbers and the map goes somewhere completely different. Google expects latitude first. In the Big Ben example, if you type "-0.12463, 51.50073", latitude becomes -0.12 and longitude becomes 51.5. That point sits in the Indian Ocean, just south of the equator, thousands of miles from London.

In practice, this mistake often appears when you copy from certain software or data files. Some geographic data formats store points as longitude first, then latitude. If the person opening the file doesn't know that, they keep the order and the map shows the wrong country.

Next, you can use a simple sanity check. For the contiguous United States, latitude stays roughly between 24 and 50, and longitude is always negative. For the United Kingdom, latitude falls roughly between 49 and 61. If your first number breaks that pattern, the order is probably reversed. Set up a similar rough check for your own region once, then share it with your team.

The minus sign carries the same risk. For example, Big Ben's longitude is negative because it lies west of Greenwich. Drop the sign and the pin moves east of London. Therefore, always double-check the sign on addresses abroad.

How many decimal places do you need?

The number of decimal places decides how small an area a coordinate describes. One degree of latitude equals roughly 111 kilometers, or about 69 miles. That is a rough sample calculation: Earth's circumference divided by 360. Each extra decimal place cuts the area to one tenth.

For longitude, one degree shrinks as you move from the equator toward the poles. As a result, the same number of decimals covers a narrower east to west strip in London than in Singapore. For everyday use, the difference doesn't matter.

Our practical advice: use five decimals when you share a door or an entrance. Google's local business structured data documentation also asks for at least five decimal places in geo latitude and longitude. Six or more decimals can suggest a precision that phone location simply doesn't deliver.

How do you convert coordinates with our tool?

Google Maps gives you decimal degrees. However, an official form may ask for DMS, an engineer may want UTM, or your handheld GPS may display decimal minutes. In those cases, a converter beats manual math because it removes typing errors. Here's how it works:

1. Open the coordinate converter and choose Convert mode.
2. Paste the line you copied from Google Maps, for example 51.50073, -0.12463. A map link works too.
3. The tool shows the same point as decimal, DMS, decimal minutes and UTM; press the copy button next to the row you need.
4. To measure the distance between two places, switch to Two points mode and add the second coordinate.
5. Open the point on a map with the map button to check the result.

In the Big Ben example, the tool returns 51°30'02.63"N 0°07'28.67"W as DMS. If you want to see the math step by step, read our guide on how to convert DMS coordinates to decimal degrees. That way, you can also verify the tool's result by hand.

How do you share Google Maps coordinates as a link?

There are three ways to share a location, and each has its place. The simplest is to send the two numbers as text; the other person pastes them into the search box. The second is the Share option in Google Maps. On a computer, the Share menu for a map or for directions offers a link, social media options and an embed option.

The third way is to build your own link. Google's Maps URLs documentation gives this pattern for a coordinate search: https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=51.50073%2C-0.12463. Notice that the comma appears as %2C. The documentation states that you must encode the comma this way. Also, you don't need an API key for these links.

• Plain text: the most universal option; it opens anywhere but isn't clickable.
• Share link: opens the map in one tap; on desktop you take it with the copy link option.
• Maps URLs pattern: the most durable option for websites, email templates and QR codes.

After you build a link, open it once to test it. On a phone with Google Maps installed, the link opens in the app; otherwise it opens in the browser. In short, the goal of sharing Google Maps coordinates is simple: one tap, and the other person lands on the right pin.

How do you build a directions link from coordinates?

Sometimes you want to show not only the spot but also the way there. The Maps URLs documentation offers a separate pattern for directions. The path starts with /maps/dir/?api=1, and the destination parameter holds the end point. It accepts a place name, an address or latitude and longitude with the comma encoded as %2C.

Here's a sample link: https://www.google.com/maps/dir/?api=1&destination=51.50073%2C-0.12463&travelmode=walking. It plans a walking route to Big Ben from wherever the person opening it stands. If you leave out the starting point, the app tries to use the user's current location.

The documentation lists these values for the travelmode parameter:

• driving: directions by car.
• walking: directions on foot.
• bicycling: directions by bike.
• two-wheeler: directions for motorized two-wheelers.
• transit: directions by public transport.

You can place this link in a booking confirmation, an email signature or an event page. For instance, a clinic whose parking garage sits a block away can send drivers a directions link built on the garage entrance coordinates. Then patients drive straight to the garage instead of circling the main building.

What is the best way to share your business location with customers?

Specifically, if your business has a Google Maps listing, sending your Business Profile link usually beats raw coordinates. The profile link shows more than a point. It also shows your name, hours, reviews and phone number, so customers know they have the right place.

Still, coordinates add the detail a profile can't. Google itself names one such use for Plus Codes: pointing to a specific entrance when a building has several. Example scenario: your workshop sits inside a large industrial park, and its door faces a back street. The profile link brings customers to the main gate of the park. The extra entrance coordinate then guides them right to your door.

• Share your Business Profile link for general introductions.
• Add a separate coordinate for the entrance, parking or loading area.
• Explain in one sentence what each point is.
• Open the coordinate on the map yourself before you send it.

Sharing your location is only one part of visibility on the map. We cover what else helps you reach more customers there in our guide on how to do Google Maps SEO.

What should you check before adding a location to your website?

First, your contact page is one of the places where coordinates help most. In Google Maps, the embed option in the Share menu gives you HTML code for your page. That code shows visitors an interactive map. However, an embedded map can affect page speed. We discussed that trade-off in our article on whether embedding Google Maps slows down a website.

There's also a lighter alternative, so you don't have to embed anything. Instead of embedding the map, add a button with a directions link built from the Maps URLs pattern. The page then loads fast, and visitors who want the map switch to the app in one tap.

For search engines, structured data matters. Google's local business structured data documentation lists geo, latitude and longitude among the recommended properties and asks for a precision of at least five decimal places. Our tool also produces a geo snippet you can copy. You'll find the general logic in our guide to schema markup and structured data.

Finally, make sure the coordinates on your site match your Business Profile pin and your address. Three sources with three different points leave both customers and search engines unsure.

What should you do if your Google Business Profile pin is in the wrong place?

If your pin sits on the next street, across the road or in the middle of the neighborhood, customers go to the wrong place. Google's Business Profile help page recommends that you adjust the pin manually in this case. Menu labels vary by language and interface version, so read the steps below as a general path.

1. Sign in with the Google Account that manages your Business Profile.
2. Open the profile editing area and go to the location settings.
3. Choose the edit option next to your business location.
4. Use the option to adjust the pin, then move the map until the pin sits on your building.
5. Confirm the change and save.

Google says profile changes usually take about 10 minutes to show up, and in some cases up to 30 days. Those times can change, so check the current details on Google's page about how to manage your business address.

Here, Google Maps coordinates also work as a check. First, take the coordinates of your door with the right-click method. Then compare them with the coordinates of the profile pin. If the two values differ at the fourth decimal place, the pin may sit several meters or more away.

Which mistakes should you avoid when fixing a pin?

Fixing a pin looks simple, because it takes a minute. Even so, some mistakes can trigger a review of your profile or create new problems. Google's address guidelines point the way.

• Don't move the pin to a busier area: the pin must show where the business really is; pulling it toward the center in hope of better rankings breaks the rules.
• Skip descriptive locations: Google doesn't want phrases like "across from" in the address; it asks for complete, official address details.
• Don't misuse the hidden address setting: hiding the address only fits service-area businesses that don't serve customers at their own address.
• Avoid changing everything at once: editing name, address and pin on the same day can make the review take longer.

Also, someone else may have moved your pin without your knowledge. If so, follow the steps in our article on what to do when your Google Maps business info was changed by someone else. If you run several branches or locations in different countries, check each pin separately. We explain that setup in our guide on managing Business Profiles and local SEO across countries.

How do you report a wrong location if you don't own the business?

You notice that a place sits in the wrong spot on the map, but it isn't your business. In that case, you use the suggest an edit feature in Google Maps. Google says users can add or edit information about a place or business, fix where packages go and change pin locations.

There are limits, though. According to Google, this option isn't available in every country and region. Also, at first your edit is visible only to you. There's no guarantee about whether or when Google publishes it.

1. Open the misplaced place on the map.
2. Go to the suggest an edit option on its place sheet.
3. Pick the location or pin correction and move the pin to the right spot.
4. Submit the suggestion and track it in the contributions area on your phone.

This route doesn't replace a correction by the owner through the Business Profile. If the business is yours, always use your Business Profile dashboard. And when you report a mistake on someone else's listing, only suggest a location you know is correct.

Why does your phone location drift sometimes?

For example, the blue dot sometimes lands a few meters off, sometimes a whole street away. That happens because your phone combines several signals to estimate its position. Outdoors, satellite signals are strong and the result is usually good. Indoors, in an underground garage or between tall buildings, the signal weakens.

On a computer, things differ even more. Most desktop browsers have no satellite receiver, so the position often comes from network data. As a result, the spot your computer calls "your location" may point to another district. We explain this in detail in our article on why your IP address shows the wrong location.

• Take important coordinates outdoors with location services on.
• If the circle around the blue dot looks wide, wait a moment; accuracy can improve over time.
• For an exact spot, drop a pin on the place you pick visually rather than relying on your own position.

In short, "where I am" and "the place I marked on the map" aren't the same thing. If the point you share will stand in for an address, choose the second method.

How do you protect your privacy when sharing coordinates?

Likewise, a coordinate with five decimals can point to a door within about a meter. For a business, that's a big plus; for a home address, it can be a risk. So think about who receives your personal location, through which channel and for how long.

For example, instead of posting your home coordinates in a public listing, you can name only the neighborhood. If needed, use two decimals; based on the table above, that describes an area of roughly one kilometer. Then send the exact coordinate privately, and only once an appointment is confirmed.

• Share only your business location on public pages.
• Reduce precision for homes and personal locations.
• Turn off live location sharing once the job is done.
• Hide coordinate and address lines in screenshots when you don't need them.

For businesses, the opposite applies: a consistent, open location builds trust. Even so, never add staff home addresses or similar details to your contact page.

Which method should you use, and when?

Next, let's pull everything together into one decision list. Next time, you can pick the right method in seconds.

• Get the coordinates of a point: right-click on a computer, touch and hold on a phone.
• Open coordinates someone sent you: paste them into the search box; latitude first, period as decimal mark.
• Convert to another format: use a converter for DMS, decimal minutes or UTM.
• Send customers a clickable location: the Maps URLs search or directions pattern.
• Website: a light directions link plus geo structured data with five decimals.
• Wrong business pin: adjust it in your Business Profile, then verify it with coordinates.

Working with Google Maps coordinates takes seconds, but one small typo can send a customer to the wrong address. So make it a habit to open every coordinate yourself before you share it. For the current official steps, see Google's help page on latitude and longitude. For link patterns, the Google Maps URLs documentation remains the most reliable source.