A Horror Story: Check Your Google Local Listings - This Could Happen To You!
A rather nasty problem surfaced in the Google Business forum. I wanted to share it here so folks are aware. (Excuse the scary title, but it's Halloween week and this is pretty horrific!)
There are lots of reasons to check your live listing as well as your dashboard. Google edits, occasional bugs, user edits and this... Competitor sabotage and customer stealing, by putting their ad and phone # on your listing. (Although hate to call the crappy images above and below ads, but they are.)
Now granted this is a locksmith, so hopefully, other mainstream businesses would not face this type of competitor sabotage.
BUT I've seen this happen in other industries and there was even a course proudly offered (by a person I won't name) teaching how to steal customers by squatting an ad with phone # via an image on your competitor's listings. (Same concept, still GMB listings, different delivery method.)
So here is the thread at the Google Forum and below it my warning about how a similar but even worse black hat trick is played. Along with research, I dug up for Google that surfaced some other profiles doing the same thing.
Trinity Locksmith Wrote:
<a href="https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!category-topic/business/hGF0MuQpG2I">how to stop bacigalupo locksmith from posting his advertising on my pictures profile</a>
The situation above I believe was user uploaded images. That's kinda straight forward.
IT GETS WORSE! Like a good detective I followed the trail, err... Google profile.
Look what I found on the review page of the guy that did the images above:
<a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/103609184490972944832/reviews">Felipe Deborbon Reviews - Google+</a> MUST CLICK & SEE WHAT'S INSIDE!.
123 Reviews. Almost all are competitive sabotage by advertising on other locksmith's listings.
HERE IS THE TRICKY PART. He leaves a 5 star rating, most often with no review. Just 5 stars. The business owner loves it and does not question it. BUT with the review, he uploads one of these image ads (if you can even call this crap an ad.)
Some of the reviews aren't images. They are text ads in the reviews like:
"1000% SCAMS CALL ONLY TO REAL LOCKSMITH_3052OO I I OO FOR SERVICE"
Here is a single 3 line review. Can't believe this passed the filter.
"_3O5_2OO11OO_EMERGENCY LOCKOUTS 24 HOURS ALL SOUTH FLORIDA IN MINUTES _3O5_2OO11OO_EMERGENCY LOCKOUTS 24 HOURS ALL SOUTH FLORIDA IN MINUTES _3O5_2OO11OO_EMERGENCY LOCKOUTS 24 HOURS ALL SOUTH FLORIDA IN MINUTES"
Now you wouldn't think the review filter would even let reviews like that by. Not with all caps and phone #s. But I guess that's why he formatted the # oddly - to bypass the filters.
You certainly wouldn't think TODAY's review filter would let those caps and that wording fly right? Here is a review he placed on a Condominium listing, just 2 weeks ago.
"LOOK original locks "ALMET" (ORIGINAL GRAND LOCK) CALL BACIGALUPO LOCKSMITH __3O5_2OO I I OO__."
Here are 3 more profiles - same guy. He Posted 51 - 73 more defacing ads per profile:
<a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/104204697883103742127/reviews">Ronald Western - Google+</a>
<a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/115755549016905360733/reviews">RAUL ZU?IGA - Google+</a>
<a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/102177775575948876397/reviews">Westtelly Zurruniag - Google+</a>
Tim Capper, one of our Google Top Contributors escalated the thread above to Google management and I bumped it a couple times to add those additional profiles. I'm sure there are more and I'm sure the very capable Google spam team will be able to track any additional related profiles down easier than I could.
And hopefully outing this very sleazy practice, will give Google the opportunity to plug a few more holes that unscrupulous business owners and marketers use to.
I told Google:
"The guy doing the defacing & competitive sabotage, seriously needs to be banned.
Not just from GMB or Google, but from ever using the Internet again!"
So next time you check your client's live listing to be sure the data is correct, peek at the images too. Hopefully this is not a widespread practice. But I've seen it a few times before and I bet at least 100 businesses and consultants (with who knows how many clients each), took that course teaching how to do something very similar with image ads on competitor's listings. And you know how black hat tricks like this can spread. Like the plague!
EDITED TO ADD: Yikes! See new reply in post #3 below. And new example Post #13
<meta property="og:type" content="article"><meta property="og:title" content=""><meta property="og:description" content="">
<meta property="og:image" content="http://www.localsearchforum.com/attachments/google-local-hall-shame/2653d1446051029t-horror-story-check-your-google-local-listings-dont-let-happen-you-competitorimages4.jpg">
There are lots of reasons to check your live listing as well as your dashboard. Google edits, occasional bugs, user edits and this... Competitor sabotage and customer stealing, by putting their ad and phone # on your listing. (Although hate to call the crappy images above and below ads, but they are.)
Now granted this is a locksmith, so hopefully, other mainstream businesses would not face this type of competitor sabotage.
BUT I've seen this happen in other industries and there was even a course proudly offered (by a person I won't name) teaching how to steal customers by squatting an ad with phone # via an image on your competitor's listings. (Same concept, still GMB listings, different delivery method.)
So here is the thread at the Google Forum and below it my warning about how a similar but even worse black hat trick is played. Along with research, I dug up for Google that surfaced some other profiles doing the same thing.
Trinity Locksmith Wrote:
<a href="https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!category-topic/business/hGF0MuQpG2I">how to stop bacigalupo locksmith from posting his advertising on my pictures profile</a>
The situation above I believe was user uploaded images. That's kinda straight forward.
IT GETS WORSE! Like a good detective I followed the trail, err... Google profile.
Look what I found on the review page of the guy that did the images above:
<a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/103609184490972944832/reviews">Felipe Deborbon Reviews - Google+</a> MUST CLICK & SEE WHAT'S INSIDE!.
Here's a screenshot of just 1 tiny part in case Google removes by the time you see this.
There are pages and pages like this.
'There are pages and pages like this.
123 Reviews. Almost all are competitive sabotage by advertising on other locksmith's listings.
HERE IS THE TRICKY PART. He leaves a 5 star rating, most often with no review. Just 5 stars. The business owner loves it and does not question it. BUT with the review, he uploads one of these image ads (if you can even call this crap an ad.)
Some of the reviews aren't images. They are text ads in the reviews like:
"1000% SCAMS CALL ONLY TO REAL LOCKSMITH_3052OO I I OO FOR SERVICE"
Here is a single 3 line review. Can't believe this passed the filter.
"_3O5_2OO11OO_EMERGENCY LOCKOUTS 24 HOURS ALL SOUTH FLORIDA IN MINUTES _3O5_2OO11OO_EMERGENCY LOCKOUTS 24 HOURS ALL SOUTH FLORIDA IN MINUTES _3O5_2OO11OO_EMERGENCY LOCKOUTS 24 HOURS ALL SOUTH FLORIDA IN MINUTES"
Now you wouldn't think the review filter would even let reviews like that by. Not with all caps and phone #s. But I guess that's why he formatted the # oddly - to bypass the filters.
You certainly wouldn't think TODAY's review filter would let those caps and that wording fly right? Here is a review he placed on a Condominium listing, just 2 weeks ago.
"LOOK original locks "ALMET" (ORIGINAL GRAND LOCK) CALL BACIGALUPO LOCKSMITH __3O5_2OO I I OO__."
Here are 3 more profiles - same guy. He Posted 51 - 73 more defacing ads per profile:
<a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/104204697883103742127/reviews">Ronald Western - Google+</a>
<a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/115755549016905360733/reviews">RAUL ZU?IGA - Google+</a>
<a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/102177775575948876397/reviews">Westtelly Zurruniag - Google+</a>
Tim Capper, one of our Google Top Contributors escalated the thread above to Google management and I bumped it a couple times to add those additional profiles. I'm sure there are more and I'm sure the very capable Google spam team will be able to track any additional related profiles down easier than I could.
And hopefully outing this very sleazy practice, will give Google the opportunity to plug a few more holes that unscrupulous business owners and marketers use to.
I told Google:
"The guy doing the defacing & competitive sabotage, seriously needs to be banned.
Not just from GMB or Google, but from ever using the Internet again!"
So next time you check your client's live listing to be sure the data is correct, peek at the images too. Hopefully this is not a widespread practice. But I've seen it a few times before and I bet at least 100 businesses and consultants (with who knows how many clients each), took that course teaching how to do something very similar with image ads on competitor's listings. And you know how black hat tricks like this can spread. Like the plague!
Have you ever had any horror stories like this
with client reviews or client images?
with client reviews or client images?
EDITED TO ADD: Yikes! See new reply in post #3 below. And new example Post #13
<meta property="og:type" content="article"><meta property="og:title" content=""><meta property="og:description" content="">
<meta property="og:image" content="http://www.localsearchforum.com/attachments/google-local-hall-shame/2653d1446051029t-horror-story-check-your-google-local-listings-dont-let-happen-you-competitorimages4.jpg">
Comments
Post a Comment