Claim Your Business In Google Maps Before Someone Else Does

Writing by Nick Stamoulis on Friday, 26 of September , 2008 at 9:31 pm

If there is one major flaw in Google Maps it is the fact that virtually anyone can claim a business and enter in the details. Once they do, they can put what ever details they wish. There are probably more unscrupulous people on the internet than there is in your local neighborhood and some of these have discovered the concept of hijacking unclaimed businesses in Google Maps.

What these individuals do is change the business information so it promotes their own affiliate sites. Finding unclaimed businesses these days is not terribly hard either. Mike Blumenthal on his blog he reported:

The spammers, using the end user edit tools, would change the phone number to another local number, change the location of the business slightly and then proceed to add a category, the URL and ultimately the name of the business. Apparently the small move in location convinced Google’s system that all subsequent changes were legitimate. The listing would retain the ranking and reviews of the actual business but redirect to a Canadian Florist fulfillment house via the affiliate’s website.

If you have a local business then be sure to claim it. The value in terms of traffic varies, however the harm in terms of reputation could be damaging. Trying to undo a hijacked site is not all that easy either so do yourself a favor and claim it quick - before someone else does.

                      Category: Local Search Engine Marketing                      

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