Comments on: Google Maps: Widespread Hijacking of Business Listings Confirmed http://blumenthals.com/blog/2008/09/18/google-maps-widespread-hijacking-of-business-listings-confirmed/ Developing Knowledge about Local Search Thu, 09 Feb 2012 14:13:01 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Matt http://blumenthals.com/blog/2008/09/18/google-maps-widespread-hijacking-of-business-listings-confirmed/comment-page-1/#comment-548684 Matt Thu, 12 May 2011 04:45:53 +0000 http://blumenthals.com/blog/?p=810#comment-548684 Don't bother reporting a problem. Google never responds and on the rare occasion that they do, they are completely useless. I have been trying to cvonvince Google Places to give me back control of the Places listing for one of my sites for almost half a year and have provided proof that the site is mine. The best answer they could provide was that I have to convince the hijacker to give me back control .... lol. There is a pretty simple solution to Google Places (Local Listings) hijacking which is extremely common and causing substantial financial losses for many business owners. Google just has to cross reference listing claims against WHOIS records. I know some people will bring up private listings but no reputable company will care if people find out who is behind their site. A simple confirmation e-mail sent to the admin contact on file with the registrar of the site will solve all problems. Why Google wouldn't do this is bizarre and just plain stupid. If anyone knows any solutions to regaining control of hijacked listings, please advise. mattguest72 at gmail.com Don’t bother reporting a problem. Google never responds and on the rare occasion that they do, they are completely useless. I have been trying to cvonvince Google Places to give me back control of the Places listing for one of my sites for almost half a year and have provided proof that the site is mine. The best answer they could provide was that I have to convince the hijacker to give me back control …. lol.

There is a pretty simple solution to Google Places (Local Listings) hijacking which is extremely common and causing substantial financial losses for many business owners. Google just has to cross reference listing claims against WHOIS records. I know some people will bring up private listings but no reputable company will care if people find out who is behind their site. A simple confirmation e-mail sent to the admin contact on file with the registrar of the site will solve all problems. Why Google wouldn’t do this is bizarre and just plain stupid.

If anyone knows any solutions to regaining control of hijacked listings, please advise.

mattguest72 at gmail.com

]]> By: guy http://blumenthals.com/blog/2008/09/18/google-maps-widespread-hijacking-of-business-listings-confirmed/comment-page-1/#comment-545893 guy Wed, 23 Feb 2011 20:02:12 +0000 http://blumenthals.com/blog/?p=810#comment-545893 Robert is right most of this companys are the same whan u try to Find a locksmith u gating the same price ... and the Record is the same Robert is right most of this companys are the same whan u try to Find a locksmith u gating the same price …
and the Record is the same

]]> By: Google Maps Review Policy in need of Review Rant! | Understanding Google Maps & Local Search http://blumenthals.com/blog/2008/09/18/google-maps-widespread-hijacking-of-business-listings-confirmed/comment-page-1/#comment-542894 Google Maps Review Policy in need of Review Rant! | Understanding Google Maps & Local Search Mon, 20 Dec 2010 19:35:40 +0000 http://blumenthals.com/blog/?p=810#comment-542894 [...] week’s reports of hijackings of legitimate business listings in Maps highlighted wide spread abuse of both Google’s community edit AND the reviews [...] [...] week’s reports of hijackings of legitimate business listings in Maps highlighted wide spread abuse of both Google’s community edit AND the reviews [...]

]]> By: Mike http://blumenthals.com/blog/2008/09/18/google-maps-widespread-hijacking-of-business-listings-confirmed/comment-page-1/#comment-500553 Mike Mon, 28 Jun 2010 14:07:40 +0000 http://blumenthals.com/blog/?p=810#comment-500553 Matt The "report a problem" link on the Places page or the info bubble is the best way to get someone to take a look.. Matt
The “report a problem” link on the Places page or the info bubble is the best way to get someone to take a look..

]]> By: Matt H http://blumenthals.com/blog/2008/09/18/google-maps-widespread-hijacking-of-business-listings-confirmed/comment-page-1/#comment-500427 Matt H Mon, 28 Jun 2010 02:12:56 +0000 http://blumenthals.com/blog/?p=810#comment-500427 In Australia, you got to see "driving lessons" market. There is so much spam going on there. 2 companies are fighting it out and Google don't do anything about it. You think if they had a look, that they would see how much spamming is happening. Mike, can you show me if there is a way to "flag" a local listing for Google to manually check? In Australia, you got to see “driving lessons” market. There is so much spam going on there. 2 companies are fighting it out and Google don’t do anything about it. You think if they had a look, that they would see how much spamming is happening. Mike, can you show me if there is a way to “flag” a local listing for Google to manually check?

]]> By: Google Maps UGC: End User Edits Now Require Google Review | Understanding Google Maps & Local Search http://blumenthals.com/blog/2008/09/18/google-maps-widespread-hijacking-of-business-listings-confirmed/comment-page-1/#comment-490269 Google Maps UGC: End User Edits Now Require Google Review | Understanding Google Maps & Local Search Wed, 26 May 2010 04:45:26 +0000 http://blumenthals.com/blog/?p=810#comment-490269 [...] industry standard. While it has always been unnerving and has lead to criminal activity, abuses and horrendous spam, it was never totally clear whether allowing unverified edits lead to a net quality gain the index [...] [...] industry standard. While it has always been unnerving and has lead to criminal activity, abuses and horrendous spam, it was never totally clear whether allowing unverified edits lead to a net quality gain the index [...]

]]> By: NZ Florist Facing 7 Years for Hijacking Local Listings of Competitors in GMaps | Understanding Google Maps & Local Search http://blumenthals.com/blog/2008/09/18/google-maps-widespread-hijacking-of-business-listings-confirmed/comment-page-1/#comment-448802 NZ Florist Facing 7 Years for Hijacking Local Listings of Competitors in GMaps | Understanding Google Maps & Local Search Fri, 11 Dec 2009 15:44:45 +0000 http://blumenthals.com/blog/?p=810#comment-448802 [...] shortly after Google introduced community edits for Maps. In September of last year there was widespread hijacking of florists by an affiliate spammer. Readers of this blog will remember my hijacking of the Microsoft’s [...] [...] shortly after Google introduced community edits for Maps. In September of last year there was widespread hijacking of florists by an affiliate spammer. Readers of this blog will remember my hijacking of the Microsoft’s [...]

]]> By: Local Business Profiles: How to Improve your Local Business Listing Ranking | Atlantic BT http://blumenthals.com/blog/2008/09/18/google-maps-widespread-hijacking-of-business-listings-confirmed/comment-page-1/#comment-404878 Local Business Profiles: How to Improve your Local Business Listing Ranking | Atlantic BT Fri, 10 Jul 2009 19:52:02 +0000 http://blumenthals.com/blog/?p=810#comment-404878 [...] is if your listing is verified or not.  If you do not claim your listing, you are susceptible to profile hijacking.  Profile or listing hijacking means that someone acts like they are your listing and changes the [...] [...] is if your listing is verified or not.  If you do not claim your listing, you are susceptible to profile hijacking.  Profile or listing hijacking means that someone acts like they are your listing and changes the [...]

]]> By: » Claim Your Business In Google Maps Before Someone Else Does Search Engine Optimization Journal - SEO and Search Engine Marketing Blog http://blumenthals.com/blog/2008/09/18/google-maps-widespread-hijacking-of-business-listings-confirmed/comment-page-1/#comment-350276 » Claim Your Business In Google Maps Before Someone Else Does Search Engine Optimization Journal - SEO and Search Engine Marketing Blog Thu, 19 Mar 2009 16:43:44 +0000 http://blumenthals.com/blog/?p=810#comment-350276 [...] their own affiliate sites. Finding unclaimed businesses these days is not terribly hard either. Mike Blumenthal on his blog he reported: The spammers, using the end user edit tools, would change the phone number [...] [...] their own affiliate sites. Finding unclaimed businesses these days is not terribly hard either. Mike Blumenthal on his blog he reported: The spammers, using the end user edit tools, would change the phone number [...]

]]> By: Google Maps vs Locksmith Spammers: Spammers winning? » Understanding Google Maps & Yahoo Local Search http://blumenthals.com/blog/2008/09/18/google-maps-widespread-hijacking-of-business-listings-confirmed/comment-page-1/#comment-333414 Google Maps vs Locksmith Spammers: Spammers winning? » Understanding Google Maps & Yahoo Local Search Wed, 25 Feb 2009 12:09:41 +0000 http://blumenthals.com/blog/?p=810#comment-333414 [...] little hard to love. They aren’t Mom and Apple Pie, they aren’t florists who we can all identify with when things go wrong. The industry is hypercomptetive and they have been at the forefront of cracking all sorts of [...] [...] little hard to love. They aren’t Mom and Apple Pie, they aren’t florists who we can all identify with when things go wrong. The industry is hypercomptetive and they have been at the forefront of cracking all sorts of [...]

]]>