Comments on: Hotel Hijacking Map Spam or Does Google Suck?

By: Mihm Responds on Call Tracking « Screenwerk

Mihm Responds on Call Tracking « Screenwerk — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 15:49:33 +0000

[...] Google Maps has not merged the two. Which, yes, is somewhat surprising—we’ve seen them merge with much less matching information in the [...]

By: Scott Thomas

Scott Thomas — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 11:48:33 +0000

I had a merged listing problem, but it has now mushroomed into a delisting (details at http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/maps/thread?tid=2a5577cf030b8563&hl=en). Since I manage both merged domains, an SEO recommended changing the merged one (less important domain) to the primary one. That was fine, but when I took the next step she recommended, deleting the duplicate, my listing vanished from local listings. When I re-enabled it, all my listings disappeared from the SERPs as well.

Since I doubt the Gov’t will bail me out, if Google doesn’t fix this fast, we’ll be in bankruptcy.

By: Marty Weintraub

Marty Weintraub — Fri, 29 May 2009 00:04:58 +0000

@SouthPier: Right, I feel your pain. Actually I was the one who discovered the Inn on Lake Superior map anomaly and engaged Mike Blumenthal, who is literally the very best. He’s the “individual” that posted to another blog and it was at our urging.

Mike brought it to Google. As you know, that case study was then chronicled in a number of other blogs, publications, etc… Since I had access to Inn on Lake Superior’s analytics, I have personal knowledge of of the financial implications of the mixed up records to them. Remember, for weeks, the mix up pointed IOLS traffic to your site. The mix up in the other direction only took place since I got it reported. For weeks, SPI received the benefit. Trust me friend, your client was not the only one seriously damaged by Google’s weak maps programs. Thanks for stopping by. We should have coffee next time you’re in Duluth. We’re right in Canal Park .

By: SouthPier

SouthPier — Thu, 28 May 2009 23:54:13 +0000

As the individual responsible for maintaining South Pier Inn’s Google Maps listing, this was tremendously perplexing, especially since it took weeks before it was finally corrected. Even submitting error reports electronically to Google did not elicit a fast response. Everything on our Local Business Center console appeared correct, and even making some changes to try and “shake loose” the combined listing yielded no results. I spoke with the Inn on Lake Superior and they had taken similar measures. It was not until a Google employee became aware of the issue thanks to an individual who posted a blog on Google with the problem. And yes, as InternetStrategist pointed out, this issue seems to have been encountered by many other types of businesses as well. Fortunately, the issue has been corrected at this point; I’d hate to know the guests we lost because of this vector problem.

By: InternetStrategist

InternetStrategist — Sun, 24 May 2009 18:23:12 +0000

This issue affects more than hotels. A mobile mechanic I used noticed a sudden very noticeable decrease in business and found out his Google listings including the multiple outstanding reviews he had were hijacked by another mechanic. Google made him wait for a postcard to confirm he was the true business owner and did restore his reviews and listing.

A separate but related issue is the inaccuracy of the maps databases. All businesses need to verify their map location – especially those in rural areas. The database Google, Yelp and some other Local Search businesses use is highly inaccurate. It is very common for addresses to be listed in the wrong city, wrong zip code, or wrong map location.

By: AnneS

AnneS — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 18:18:09 +0000

The real owner sees the correct information that they entered into their LBC when they log in. The South Pier Inn owner has been directly contacted and they are “working” on it from their end. As far as claiming the record, the real owner appears to have done just that when they view their LBC record.

By: Pavlicko

Pavlicko — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 12:34:41 +0000

Glad this is starting to get some good attention. I’ve been seeing this more and more – not just address changes, but information like – ” no longer in business ” or ” closed “, etc. somehow being placed in google map listings, most of the time completely unknown to the business. Google needs to get their crap together.

By: Ryan

Ryan — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 02:19:47 +0000

While this wouldnt fix the issue raised in this post, half of the spam (not hijacking), could be resolved by weighting *verified* listings above non verified. Silly Google.

By: Marty Weintraub

Marty Weintraub — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 01:48:34 +0000

@Mike @ MiriamEllis, Thanks for your comments. I notice the the hue and cry was not quite enough to get Google to fix it today. We appreciate your insight, support and friendship.

By: MiriamEllis

MiriamEllis — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 20:40:18 +0000

Thanks for writing this up, Marty. The more attention brought to the serious problems with Google’s local index, the better. As Mike says in his article, it does look more like hijacking than merging, and this makes the landscape of local competition turn suddenly dark for business owners. Errors in Google’s system combined with dyed-in-the-wool criminals taking malicious action are making doing business on the web extremely risky and scary for local business owners, and it just shouldn’t be this way. Glad to see you writing about this and joining the call for bringing justice and fair practices back to the local business world.