Mike Blumenthal

Last week Matt Cutts implied that I was endorsing Mapspam tactics when he noted: Mike: I find it odd to beat up Google for not taking enough action on mapspam, then beat up Google on the other side when we start taking stronger action on mapspam….. During a few parts of the interview I felt …

IPhone’s Hold on Users Not Exclusive – ALEX MINDLIN, NY Times Nearly half of iPhone users changed carriers in order to use the device, according to a survey by Rubicon Consulting…. The survey also found that 36 percent of iPhone users regularly carried another mobile phone as well, most often a BlackBerry Yahoo: Mobile Will Dominate PCs …

Last week I interviewed a lawyer from LA that had been banned from Maps for multiple listings with invented addresses. I followed up with some examples of the Mapspam that were dominating the Local OneBoxes in the legal and plastic surgery industries in Southern California. Matt Cutts & Maps Guide Jen responded that this type …

Maps Guide Jen, in a comment posted in response to the article The Longtail of Local Search Mapspam, has indicated that multiple listings at a single address are not acceptable: …I think it’s fair to say that we don’t want to see search results where multiple listings show up for the same business location. Those types …

Sometimes a “rebranding” doesn’t quite convey the message that you intended. It is unclear whether this lawyer creates these accidents or tries them in court or is perhaps a stunt driver. I suppose it could be all three.   Web    Maps    Results 1 - 10 of about 495,000 for Motorcycle Accident Specialist San Francisco CA. (0.25 seconds)  Motorcycle Accident Specialist maps.google.com 18 Crow Canyon Ct # 325 San Ramon, …

Google Maps has rolled out a number of upgrades to Maps this past week. This just came in from Maps Guide Brian at the Google Maps Current Issues Group: Looking for your saved locations?  Sign in to your Google Account and click on the drop-down arrow directly to the right of the Search box!   Some …

Ok I promise that this will be the last twisted Google Local OneBox result for a while. Searching on Brain Injured Beverly Hills CA I get the following OneBox: Local business results for brain injured near Beverly Hills, CA Brain Injury Lawyer  – www.salehiassoc.com 12400 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1300, Los Angeles - (800) 428-0304 Directions and more » California Brain Injury Lawyer  – www.californiaamputationlawyers.com …

After mucking around in the bowels of local search marketing for laywers in LA, I had an interesting interchange with Miriam Ellis of SEOigloo.  Me: But what client in their right mind would choose a lawyer based on the search “LA Dog Bite Attorney”? It seems to cater to the underclasses. Miriam: Somehow, it reminds …

Update 05/13/08 Google has removed some but apparently not all of the examples below. In the conversation about Lawyers’ mapspam EarlPearl and Stephan Espinosa both wondered what type of spam panzermike and other lawyers were placing into Maps. I decided to delve into the moshpit that is the proxy for on-line legal marketing in LA …

On May 7, 5:52 pm, “Maps Guide Jen” notified a poster, panzermike, at the Google Maps for Business Group that his business listings had been banned from Maps for the “foreseeable future”: Hi panzermike, I had a look into your account. Your listings aren’t appearing because removed them from Google Maps. At this time even …