The recent spate of mapspam at Google left a lot of questions about the future of local:

•Will spam define local’s future?
•How should Google respond to verified reports of Mapspam?
•Is Google’s abuse reporting mechanism adequate?
•When and what technical changes will Google make to prevent future abuse?
•How can the integrity of maps data be guaranteed?
•How should the growing number of small businesses using search marketers pick the right company and interact with them?
•How effective is maps-based marketing?
•Can Google maps expand to fulfill the legitimate business need expressed in spam?

It is this last question I address at SearchEngineland: What should Google about Mapspam?

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