{"id":11456,"date":"2011-10-19T11:46:15","date_gmt":"2011-10-19T15:46:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blumenthals.com\/blog\/?p=11456"},"modified":"2011-10-19T11:46:15","modified_gmt":"2011-10-19T15:46:15","slug":"half-truths-and-local-seo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blumenthals.com\/blog\/2011\/10\/19\/half-truths-and-local-seo\/","title":{"rendered":"Half Truths and Local SEO"},"content":{"rendered":"

I found this post<\/a> in the Google Places forum of interest. I hear many stories in the Local SEO world of half truths being used to confuse or obfuscate what is being done. What is your take in this case?<\/p>\n

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Can ezlocal delete my places page when I stop using their services even though I am the one that created it prior?<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
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cmoo<\/a><\/p>\n
Level 1
\n10\/18\/11<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n
Topic of your question (reviews, categories, duplicate listing, etc.):I am a small business owner and I had created a places page a couple years ago.\u00a0 last year I hired ezlocal to manage it, but want to stop using their services now.\u00a0 They informed me that if I terminate with them, they will delete my account and I will have to start my places page all over.Can they do this even though it was created by me with my username\/pw long prior to me allowing them to manage it?Is there anyway to prevent them from deleting my account without having to basically pay them off every month?<\/p>\n

Thanks<\/p>\n

CM<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Replies 1 – 9 of 9<\/h5>\n
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jim.jaggers<\/a><\/p>\n
Level 8
\n10\/18\/11<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n
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You said you created the Places page before hiring EzLocal.\u00a0 What happened to the account you originally created it in?\u00a0 Is the Place page still in that account?\u00a0 Do you still control that account?<\/div>\n
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mblumenthal<\/a><\/p>\n
Top Contributor
\n10\/18\/11<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n
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They may have claimed the listing into their own account or a different account than you originally created.If that is the case then you need to determine what they mean by delete.<\/div>\n
1)In Google Places delete can mean one of two things. So it may not be as bad as they threaten.<\/div>\n
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In the first option provided under the delete button:\u00a0Remove this listing from my Google Places account, Google simply returns the listing to Places\/Maps index and it can be claimed by someone else<\/div>\n
In the second option under the delete button:\u00a0Remove this listing from Google Maps, Google suspends the listing and no longer shows it in Places\/Maps.<\/div>\n
You should ascertain exactly what they are referring to. If it is the second, come back to the forum and report them to \u00a0Google via this post.<\/div>\n
2)If they did recreate the listing in a different account the ideal solution is for Ezlocal to turn the account over to you.<\/div>\n
You should call EZLocal and ask them for the user account and password to dashboard for your business listing. They should do so as they are only acting on your behalf in relation to Google.<\/div>\n
3)If they refuse to do so or if they delete it via the first method above, you can still manage the listing in the first account that you created.<\/div>\n
It sounds as if they are leveraging your lack of knowledge to attempt to get you to stay on as a customer. It seems inappropriate.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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1 of 2 people found this answer helpful.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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cmoo<\/a><\/p>\n
Level 1
\n9:40 AM<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n
I did speak with them and they meant “remove” it from Google places\/maps.\u00a0 They claim that since they are partners with Google, they have the right to do that.It was a places page that I created and have username\/PW to it, but when I hired them on, I gave them the username\/PW so that they could maintain it.Now, I still can log in and make edits, etc. because the username\/PW is still the same.\u00a0\u00a0 Initially, I am thinking that if I change the PW, which I can do, then that may lock them out.Also, I want to report this to Google because it sounded fishy, but not sure how to outside of this discussion forum.<\/p>\n

Google did call me a few of months ago to verify the listing.\u00a0 So, I guess I am still listed as the owner on their end???<\/p>\n

Thanks for you feedback.<\/p>\n

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0 of 1 people found this answer helpful. Did you?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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mblumenthal<\/a><\/p>\n
Top Contributor
\n9:43 AM<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n
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They claim that since they are partners with Google, they have the right to do that<\/em>.<\/p>\n
This is total BS. They have no special relation with Google in regards to YOUR Places listing.<\/div>\n
Yes, you should change the password as soon as possible.<\/div>\n
If you contact me via my profile, I will see what I can do.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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0 of 4 people found this answer helpful.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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thecordman<\/a><\/p>\n
Level 1
\n10:08 AM<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n
@cmoo My name is Jorge and I am a customer service representative here at EZlocal. To clear things up for you when a business decides to terminate their contract with us here, the first thing we do is release the places page that we built for you, we do not delete the listing off Google Maps. From there you can claim the listing back into your possession and manage it from your own account.Not knowing your business name or anything, it’s hard to comment on this situation but in some cases we will get the business owners login information to make sure that the information we are using and distributing to the search directories all matches.@mblumenthal we do not claim to be a partner with Google in regards to their Places Listing. The misunderstanding there is that we are in fact a Google Adwords Certified Partner.If you contact me via my profile, I will see what I can do.<\/p>\n
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1 of 1 people found this answer helpful. Did you?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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cmoo<\/a><\/p>\n
Level 1
\n10:34 AM<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n
Jorge,\u00a0 Thanks for your comments.\u00a0 That is pretty much what the sales rep told me as well and I have no problem with that, however; that is NOT what was told to me when I spoke with CS about termination.I understand that if the places page was created by you, you would have control\/ownership.\u00a0 But, the places page was entirely created by me and was already highly ranked prior to obtaining your services.\u00a0 I hired ezlocal on because of time restraints on my end to help with managing it while I run my business.\u00a0 Now that I want to take control of it back I was told that it would come off the map.\u00a0 Maybe there was a misunderstanding, maybe there is a CS rep that doesn’t completely understand, I don’t know what is going on, but I think that some folks at ezlocal just want to create a distorted perception in order to prevent services being discontinued.If it is alright, may I contact you via email\/ or off of this blog site for further info?Thanks<\/p>\n
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thecordman<\/a><\/p>\n
Level 1
\n10:38 AM<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n
Just ask for me.<\/p>\n
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ChillzDaSpine<\/a><\/p>\n
Level 1
\n10:39 AM<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n
It sounds like they took over the listing have released it, allowing you to claim the profile. They should not be required to instruct you in how to continue without them, I agree it is leveraging knowledge as that is the value of a consultant is it not?<\/p>\n
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mblumenthal<\/a><\/p>\n
Top Contributor
\n11:29 AM<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n
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@ChillzDaSpine<\/div>\n
Not if half truths are used in the sales process to deceive in an effort to create fear and uncertainty about leaving the service.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I found this post in the Google Places forum of interest. I hear many stories in the Local SEO world of half truths being used to confuse or obfuscate what is being done. What is your take in this case? ************************************ Can ezlocal delete my places page when I stop using their services even though …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":262,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11456","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-google-maps-google-local"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blumenthals.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11456","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blumenthals.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blumenthals.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blumenthals.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/262"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blumenthals.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11456"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/blumenthals.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11456\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11577,"href":"https:\/\/blumenthals.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11456\/revisions\/11577"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blumenthals.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11456"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blumenthals.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11456"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blumenthals.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11456"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}