Mike:

I’m glad you are bringing these issues to a larger audience than within the more limited google groups for business owners. Your reference to a host of comments and complaints in the adjacent post summarizes and gives a reasonable feel for the volume of problems that business owners experience.

One aspect of this that is most problematic is that the structure of google groups for business owners is “sort of a tease”.

As noted above in your references, business operators are writing into google groups and addressing these letters to a google employee.

Unfortunately, in many cases the answers aren’t being provided and never in my recollection, by a google employee.

Once in a while a group member not associated with Google uncovers a solution and publicizes it for others to see.

That happened in the case of coupons, wherein if one offered a coupon without an expiration date it would get published, while many kept complaining that every time they publised a coupon it never got published. I personally tried a coupon last summer that never got published. It had an expiration date. Now if I want a short term coupon I need to take two steps. Publish the coupon without an expiration date. That enables it to get published. Then go in and edit the coupon to establish an expiration date.

Ahhhhhh. If only google had explained that a long time ago. I suspect they’ve known the answer all along.

With this latest commentary, you and I have discussed the potential correction to Top Hat’s problem. I hope that works. You discovered this solution a while ago. I’m trying to assist the second group you referenced with a link.

The answer “may” lie with the patent work Bill Slawski provides to all of us in describing “how the search engines are thinking”. It might well lie with what Bill described in his plusbox patent writings wherein the engines are crawling organic results for this address information.

In any case, the problem that often arises in Google Groups for business owners is the following:

Many members in that group read through the information and direct their postings to the Google staff members as did the Top Hat person above.

BUT…..google staff members rarely respond…and don’t respond in a way that describes how google works or how to solve the issues.

It is a tease. Its incredibly frustrating. It skirts the issue of responsability.

In any case I’m happy you are bringing some of these issues to greater light. There are many instances where erroneous information is presented, there are many instances where the complaint about erroneous information has been brought up countless times, and unfortunately they simply sit unless and until some third party member of groups, or you in this blog bring light to the issues.

I understand that google doesn’t want to explain its algo’s. I respect the right that they have to privacy.

Regardless, their’s and other engines patents are being brought to light at seobythesea and other sources. The competing engines certainly have the skill and manpower to disect these patents.

In light of the fact that there is some clarity and some level of revelation with regard to google’s patents to the public……they could at least make some effort to respond to questions and help some of these posters/commentators at google groups.

Meanwhile we will see in a short period if these “corrections” we have discussed work for the second group you referenced.

It is a challenge, isn’t it 😉

Dave

Dave, I join you in toasting Mike for writing about these issues.

I have dealt with so many small business owners who are confused about one issue or another regarding operating on the web (not necessarily about Local Search) and it is so frustrating for them when they try to get answers to their problems but aren’t sure where to ask, who to trust, what to do.

I think it’s a real shame that if local business owners eventually do make it to Google Groups in their quest for answers, they are unlikely to receive transparent, effective assistance so that their problems can be solved.

I really appreciate what Mike is doing in documenting, in a rather sane and thorough manner, what some of these issues are. I hope that local business owners are finding their way here so that they might see their
challenges outlined in a realistic and informative way.

Mike – that brings up a question. What do you do when you discover something like this indexed material for the Dance studio? Clearly, they’ve got pages they either need to delete or alter. Do you ever call these folks if you think you can help them?

Also, I wanted to ask about this:
“my experience indicates that those signals only reinforce the information from the Top Hat website populating Google’s PlusBox. ”

I read this as you saying that correcting the information will reinforce the incorrect information in the Plus box. I can’t be reading that right. Can you explain?

Thanks!
Miriam

Miriam:

I agree. I think Mike is doing a great service with regard to commenting on G Maps and Y local.

and yeah….;) I do feel better, Mike

Oh, cool! I really hope you 2 will do an update on this if/when you are able to see any change.

Fascinating stuff.
Miriam

Hi Robert

Sorry to make so public an analysis but I thought your problem was so typical and Google’s response so inadequate. Given that they invented the site: command, they should have alerted you to the problem. Would you mind describing how you previously attempted to contact Google and what measures you had taken to try to solve the problem?

Please keep me posted if this resolves your issue (in 6 to 8 weeks :)).

Are you going to get those other sites to change your address as well? If you don’t mind waiting at this point, it would help resolve any ambiguity about what Google is doing.

Mike