Comments on: Google Maps: Spammers find a way

By: Chris Tucker

Chris Tucker — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 02:42:32 +0000

Matthew Hunt, they do it because it Works.
As seen by my previous posts, and Mike Blumenthals response, it takes forever, IF Google ever does anything about it.
And, when and IF Google does anything, these spammers “blame it on a Bad SEO Company” and beg for re inclusion!
Or, worse yet, they abandon THAT URL, and start all over again with a new one.

I liked the poster that said “Google was built on providing good information”
or something to that effect ?
Well, Google is being manipulated by spammers with tese Local Listings.
It used to take a well seasoned web site with lots of backlinks to be in business, not anymore, thanks to Googles dumb decision to make sure we all don’t get a cold Pizza ?

A Crook can be in businees on TOP of the local search in days.
Actually, Internet devotees like ourselves get penalized in some ways, for even posting on Blogs like these I believe.
Think about it ?
When Google crawls these Blogs, there are SEO guys in timbucktoo, and wine makers in California, LOL
Hardly relevant to a person where I am at.
Make you a deal Mike Blumenthal ?
I will post away on your Blog, but ya gotta make it relevant to what I do,, and where I do it, LOL

I know that is a bit extreme, but I am almost afraid to post anywhere on the Internet NOT relevant or Local to me anymore, lest Google find an “excuse” to shove me further down the local listings, in favor of NEW Google Local Spammers with zero Internet posts.

I will jump for joy when I wake up one day to read this Headline.

“Google Puts An End To Google Local Listings”

IMHO, it is out of control, and spammers know it.
Poor Google has created a Monster, and I believe unintentionally.
Google Local Spammers know Google dont have the manpower to constantly police them.
Now I can imagine what the old Americal West must have been like ?

By: Matthew Hunt

Matthew Hunt — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 02:00:40 +0000

Doing keyword stuffing on anything is so short lived. I have no idea why anyone would waste their time doing it. If you have a SMB you need to really plan for long term, this is type of strategy is so short term.

By: Mike Blumenthal

Mike Blumenthal — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 01:35:43 +0000

@Chris

It has taken a number of months but filing a “report a problem” on the info bubble in Maps has resulted in the removal of spam in markets that I cater to. It takes too long but it did seem to eventually work.

By: Chris Tucker

Chris Tucker — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 16:32:46 +0000

Thanks Mike!
I am still trying to figure out if a Local Seo Company is behind all this, or it was the local competitor who “thought up” using one of MY JPEG File Names as his “Company Name” to intentionally confuse Google ?
I have called twice to this Local SEO Company, they said they would call back, and never did.
I find it “very interesting” that my competitor is using 2 phony addresses, one of which is a phony address used by a local mold remediation company he represents!
I even called this mold remediation company, to inform them someone was using their address.
The guy said “Oh, that is a phoney address the SEO Company TOLD me to use”.
What, if anything, can I do about this Mike ?

By: Mike

Mike — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 12:59:50 +0000

Chris

This is much more likely to be an artifact of google’s clustering technology. Since a November upgrade, there are a number of cases of “conflated” listings where citations etc from one show up on another totally different listing particularly when there is confusion about the company name.

By: Chris Tucker

Chris Tucker — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 07:11:29 +0000

LOL, here is one that takes the “cake”.
I created a google map with before and after pics of my work.
Naturally, I name the files tile-roof-cleaning-tampa-fl jpeg 1.05 am 2-3 2009, etc.
Well, a local competitor created a listing using one of my file names as his “company name”
He claimed no knowledge of this listing, LOL
here is the complaint thread, Google has done Nothing.
http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/maps/thread?tid=2465b58cd988576f&hl=en

He is using several different names, phoney keyword loaded addresses, etc.
Worst of all, my stolen contentis still being associated with his url !

By: aimClear’s 2009 Daily Training Link Library » aimClear Search Marketing Blog

Fri, 01 Jan 2010 22:25:39 +0000

[...] Google Maps: Spammers find a way, Mike Blumenthal [...]

By: Why You Should Claim Your Local Business Listing

Why You Should Claim Your Local Business Listing — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 01:09:54 +0000

[...] There have been numerous reports over the last six months of unclaimed listings being hijacked by map spammers where an established local businesses listing is “claimed” and then the listing is pointed to [...]

By: PureSheer

PureSheer — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 17:16:47 +0000

@Mike, @earlpearl

An offline instance will be sent tomorrow to Mike.

Thanks, guys !

By: Mike

Mike — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 17:06:59 +0000

The only way is to get control of the original LBC account in which the data was entered