Google Maps contains about 11 million illegitimate local listings, with hundreds Industry Email List of thousands more being created every month, The Wall Street Journal reported this week. These fake listings push real businesses higher in local search results, impacting their ability to reach customers and making unsuspecting users easy targets for scammers. Google Industry Email List says it's aware of the problem and plans to do more to fight spammers and scammers who take advantage of local listings.
It's not in the company's interest to jeopardize user trust, but as many marketers point out, there are benefits as local businesses turn to paid ads to Industry Email List regain their visibility in searches. "Vertical restraint" scams and spams Industry Email List trade names First, take a look at the problem. Majority of auto repair, towing, electricians, contractors, lawyers, mover sand other categories of services are not located at addresses displayed in Google Maps, according to Industry Email List an expert survey conducted by the WSJ. Internally at Google, according to the paper, these categories are called "coercion verticals," because of their propensity for scams designed to trap victims when they are most vulnerable.
These fake businesses flood local search results by creating fake profiles in Google My Business (GMB), the free service that powers business listings in Google Search and Maps. This dilutes search visibility for legitimate business listings, deprives them of Industry Email List potential customers, and puts users at risk of being scammed. Google's failure to remove fake business listings and verify real ones is a frustration for many business owners and marketers. Joe Youngblood , an SEO Industry Email List and digital marketer, spoke about the issues legitimate businesses face with Google My Business. has several real companies