gmbIn April 2015 I wrote Why Does Google Keep Calling My Business? I get these calls almost daily. There is no doubt in my mind that the scammers are making a fortune on promising business owners “top rankings” in local search for $150/mo or charging people for verification or something ridiculous.

Existing problems

 

  • Google My Business is a bit of a nightmare. What is it called? Google Maps? Google Local? Google Plus? Every business owner I meet calls it something different. They have 7 Gmail accounts set up trying to manage it. Then, they have no idea how it might rank as the algorithm for it seems to change every 3 weeks. Some people have even filed lawsuits against Google. Then, just when you think you have it figured out, it changes. Is it tied to Google Plus? Does your page have a YouTube channel, can it be merged? I spend way too much time keeping track of what is going on at Google My Business and am on top of it, but, no business owner on earth wants to deal with this catastrophe. This presents an opportunity. Of course, scammers take advantage of this opportunity.
  • The calls have gone on for several years and Google has done little about it. It is September 2015. This year I have definitely received well over 150 calls to my business line asking me to “verify my Google page”, etc. I don’t even like answering my phone any more. 

Finally, signs of life from Google

I’m not completely confident that reporting robocalls will help but Google announced that they added to their safety center a page to report robocall scams. They also offer up suggestions on how to deal with and prevent the calls. And, CNN Money says they have launched lawsuits against a handful of companies making the calls.

Hopefully they end soon.

Len
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On September 21, 2015   /   SEO: Local Search   /   Leave a comment

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