Today in the Google Maps for Business Group, Maps Guide Jen provided public instructions on filing a Mapspam report:
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TOPIC: Report Spam on Google MapsÂ
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== 1 of 1 ==
Date: Thurs, Jul 10 2008 12:00 pm
From: Maps Guide Jen
To file a spam report with the Google Maps team, please reply to this
thread with the following information:
- Your search terms
- A link to your search results
- A short description of why you believe this is spam
If we don’t ask for additional information, you can assume that your
report has been read and is being investigated.
Kudos to Google for a necessary step. But never one to be happy with a half full glass when it could very easily be more half full, I would suggest that:
1)These instructions be included in the Google Maps Help files
2)That there be an obvious link in the Maps Results that allow reporting of bad results and capture some of the information that Google needs to diagnose the issues involved
3)There should also be a more discreet reporting option for those users that would prefer to make the report privately.
Even more importantly, Google needs to allocate the human resources to Maps to be sure that the Map’s records are truthful and accurate and that these reports DO get read on a regular basis. Obviously the Maps Staff are spread pretty thin and a poster to the group never really knows that the posts have been read AND that the report is being investigated. The Group goes weeks on end without hearing from a Guide and often obvious spam is not always dealt with quickly.
In the end the burden of the process should be squarely on Google’s shoulders and they need to step up to that responsibility. The above statement of procedure is a GREAT first step but it is just a first step.
Update 7/10/08:Â Google has now removed the Earthlink listings. As of 6:29 pm EST, the Australian Locksmith Mapspam in still in place.
Update 7/10/08:As of 10:00 EST the Australian Locksmith Mapspam has been removed.
In early May, Imamnotadoctor.com reported that there was widespread mapspsam from Earthlink in Google Maps. Maps Guide Jen noted on his blog that it had been a bulk upload abuse and that the listings had been removed.
They are now back and in large volume. On the search Business Internet DSL San Leandro Ca it dominated the listing:
In exploring Maps it appears that there are over 3000 listings nationwide with a listing for every central switching office in the US where they have a DSlam:
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Google has handled Mapspam reporting in an ad hoc fashion since it was first identified as a problem in Maps almost a year ago. Despite Google’s recent efforts at tightening up the LBC interface, reports of large scale Mapspam seem to keep coming in. There has never been a formal reporting form on Google’s site for mapspam nor a Google defined procedure for alerting Google to a specific Mapspam instance. Google does read Local Blogs looking for reports and the Google Maps for Business Group has provided a venue for highlighting mapspam. But from where I sit their efforts have been minimal.
Google rarely responds to the mapspsam posts in the groups and often seems to ignore them so one can never be sure if they have been read and if the reported spam will be removed. I received several emails last week that reinforced my belief that Google needs to formalize the process of Mapspam reporting, provide specific tools for the process and aggressively police the index:
Hi Mike
I have been trying to report a company spamming the google local business directory for months now.
When you search for a locksmith anywhere in Sydney, dr lock (www.drlock.com.au) is listed in sydney over 500 times. For example search on Locksmith Parramatta Australia.
I can assure google that there is no locksmiths in Australia that have over 500 offices. It it makes no sense for a locksmith to open 20 shops in the same suburb. I would of thought that it would raise some eyebrows at google…..
A group of local locksmiths including myself are looking to hire someone who can bring this to google’s attention.
Is this a service you provide? We are happy to pay for your time and effort to remove this guy from google maps.
I have filled in the spam form a few times, and i have also been emailing back and forth someone at google in Australia…..
I have also posted about 5 articles in google business forums in the hope that someone will see them
here is the emails i have been sending and receiving. They have been to someone in the adwords department as they are the only email address for google that i could find in Australia.
It would be nice if there is a form dedicated to naming and shaming people who spam in this way. I would think that surely google know it is impossible for a locksmith business to open up 40 shops in the one suburb, or 500 in the one city
i appreciate an help or direction with this problem
Thank you
In the end a locksmith from Australia shouldn’t have to contact me for help with this problem. He shouldn’t have to wave money at me and I should not have to write about it. It shouldn’t take several months and endless fruitless efforts on his part to find a solution to an obviously unfair situation.
It is time for Google to step up to the bar and provide typical business people with an obvious means to report these problems and a clear cut procedure for dealing with it. The time for me to be the industry watchdog has passed and Google needs to accept full responsibility for solving this problem. That means:
1)Providing an obvious reporting mechanism
2)Responding aggressively to reports and removing the reported spam
3)Google should be proactively searching for and removing Mapspam on their own initiative
4)Continue to make it more difficult form Mapspam to enter the index.
Here is a screen shot of the Australian Locksmith Mapspam that the emailer is complaining about:
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