Google Maps serve businesses by including their listings, however destructive competitors and their agents can challenge listings as spam, writes James Effarah, owner of a Boise advertising company.
Dreamstime.
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The Boise location has been seeing a lot of false information on Google Maps recently. Business names have actually been changed, opening hours have been falsified, and worst of all, organisations still in operation are being marked as completely closed.
So, what is going on here?
Basically, this is a relatively new malicious or “black hat” strategy that some search-engine optimization (SEO) firms have actually been carrying out against their customers’ competitors.
Ever considering that Google rolled out its Regional Guides effort to allow individuals to contribute and recommend edits to Google Maps, there have been several opportunities for malpractice. One chance is the ability to clean a service completely off the map– the Google Map, that is.
Why is this possible?
There are many variables in play here, however Google Maps is first and primary a legal organisation directory site. This means that although your organisation is legitimate and in operation, its Google business listing might be maliciously flagged as spam if its name, address or telephone number is not exactly the like your legal company paperwork.
James Effarah.
Google has been decreasing its threshold for misinformation on its ever-so-popular Maps services, and even the tiniest disparity might be grounds for removal of your listing if someone, or a group of individuals, report you.
Who would do such a thing?
Individuals attempting to minimize the competitors for their own gain, that’s who. Nowadays, your Google organisation listing is the primary source of preliminary contact with your consumers. Damaging something so essential to your service need to be thought about vandalism, but due to the digital nature of your online listings, many federal government entities do not see it that way.
With this lack of repercussion, lots of digital marketing firms are including this technique to their toolbox of SEO tactics to assist their customers grow their online presence. They “tidy up” the map for their customers by identifying competitors and reporting them for even the tiniest disparities. Because many companies have a few “high level” Google accounts, their suggested edits carry more weight than the typical Google reviewer. In many cases, they can have a rival’s listing eliminated immediately.
How can you protect your Google organisation listing?
Make sure your information is 100?curate. If your legal company entity’s name is ABC LLC, that is precisely how it must be listed on your Google listing. If you are fretted about not having enough keywords in your name to rank well, consider filing an Assumed Organisation Name with the Idaho Secretary of State’s Office with your keyword-rich name. This will secure you from anyone attempting to report you for “keyword stuffing” your Google listing.
Another precaution you can take is to make certain all of your other service listings are exactly the like your Google listing. Check to ensure your Facebook, Yelp, Yahoo, Bing, and any other regional directory sites your business may be noted under are accurate, utilizing your Google listing as your default.
If you require support with any of this, consult a regional SEO expert for guidance.
James Effarah is owner of the Boise Ad Agency, an SEO company. Reach him at [email protected] or by means of LinkedIn or Twitter
