Does Google call your satellite offices and ask what's down the street?
-
Is this a real thing? Do they actually do this? Should I be concerned and train my receptionists to know their surroundings?
-
Never experienced and heard this before. In first sounds like a scam, then I have gone through many online communities to ask this. I found that yeah Google does calling for verification of your local addresses.
-
As a marketing agency, everyday we are bombarded by "Google listing verification checks", which are a telemarketers way for lead generation. They don't even realize they are calling an online marketing agency until they ask more questions. I wouldn't call it a SCAM, just poor solicitation.
-
We are a marketing agency in a fairly "corporate park" type area and have not ever had this happen to us. From some of the above responses I guess it is legitimate though? We are in the U.S. and will keep an ear out for this if it ever happens to us.
-
whow, in spain there are a lot of problems with all a new commerces in the same place
-
-
Hey Slumberjac!
Whew ... that was an alarming experience you helped the client through. Well done! Thanks for sharing your story.
-
Hi Donald!
Thanks for sharing these anecdotes with us all. Good ones!
-
Yes,
Google have been trying to stop people gaming their "local search" feature.
People are listing their business as "somewhere customers can visit" with opening hours etc, when in fact it is a home address or they are not at that address at all.
I had a client that didn't give Google the information they wanted when they called and they deleted their Google + listing that had 100+ genuine reviews! I had to ring Google and we had to take pictures of outside and inside the office to prove they were at that address.
It is now listed again! PHEW
Google are being quite aggressive with their approach so I would make sure your listing is accurate and staff are ready to answer any questions about your location and business hours.
-
Miriam,
I had trouble getting a client verified. I got google on the phone, they did ask me specific questions about what was across and down the street. After answering, they verified my clients business right on the phone. I asked if they were using google street view to verify my answers, the google representative said he could not answer that question. The final verification was they called my client to make sure the number was legit.
With that said, I never had them call me directly for verification purposes. Any call I get claiming to be google representatives has always been spam.
Thanks,
Don
-
That's a good guess, EGOL. Google definitely does call, and there have been instances in the past where failure to answer the phone with the exact name on the listing have resulted in being "caught" for spam, and many other scenarios I've seen. I like your intuition here about why Google might be asking what is down the street. I think they should also add, "And how's the weather outside your building today, hmm?"
-
Sounds rather aggressive.
Yes. It is also aggressive to fake a location. Might be criminal in some situations.
Perhaps Google does this in response to competitor reports, and, in which they can't confirm the presence of an office through public information.
-
it was 2015 and they were questioning the DC office only
-
Hey Marketing CH and Kevin,
Interesting! First I have heard of Google asking what is across the street/down the block from a business. Sounds rather aggressive. Might be worth posting in the Google My Business forum to see if you can get verification from Google that they are, indeed, asking for this specific type of info.
-
Hi Kevin, thanks for your response! How long ago did this happen? Did they ask for info about all of your physical locations? Or just your main office? Thanks in advance!
-
Yes, Google has called our main line asking for information across the street, down the block, etc. We had to prove we occupied our address, which is our sales office in DC. We currently have 6 addresses, with 4 physical locations,1 sales office and another obtained in the acquisition of another business.
-
What? This is the first time ever I've heard this, sounds like a total scam to me.
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Google My Business search results for multiple listings
I am wondering how people set up their Google My Business listings to appear in the search results similar to this business, Hulme Orthodontics. I attached an image below that'll give more details. I am working with a client that has two locations similar in distance to Hulme Orthodontics, and I have tried everything and have come up with no answers as to how I can properly get Google to format the search results in this way. I assume that there is no actual way to manage this and that Google decides this on their own. However, if anyone has any insight regarding this manner, that would be much appreciated! Thank you for your help! UsEr3rK
Local Listings | | DylMar1 -
What's the best way to identify duplicate listings?
I'm doing manual duplicate research for an account and wanted to know if anyone had a resource to share on how to find duplicate listings for GMB and other citations. https://searchengineland.com/definitive-guide-duplicate-research-local-seo-238719 Ive been working off of this article from Joy Hawkins, but she mentions using Map Maker to search a phone number, but Google has since shut Map Maker down. Maps doesn't seem to work the same way, as I've searched a phone number which I know has duplicate listings and they don't come up. Any tips on a better tool or process?
Local Listings | | formandfunctionagency0 -
How do I treat multiple buildings on the same college campus on Google for local SEO?
Should I delete them? Simply give them a different address like "City, State, Zip"? I see the benefit of having key buildings on campus in Google Maps, but I don't want those to affect my accuracy score and, thus, my local rankings for SEO.
Local Listings | | GabeGibitz1 -
Is there is any benefit to linking to the Google page from RFQ contact page?
I have a Request for Quote contact page is there any benefit to linking from the Google + page? or the other way?
Local Listings | | ScottImageWorks0 -
Google not finding my site
I built a website, http://deeprootshgc.com. I submitted the site to google and have set up analytics. When I search for the site, deep roots home and garden center, I get their facebook page, manta and everything but the actual URL. Any thoughts?
Local Listings | | MarkBolin1 -
Best practice for local SEO when two offices handle different services?
Our agency has three main services - SEO, PPC and web design. We're in the process of setting up a new office in a different city where our PPC team will be based, while SEO and web will stay in the original office. How do we handle local SEO/Google My Business listings in this situation? Geo-targeted service pages and two separate GMB listings?
Local Listings | | CustardOnlineMarketing0 -
Google custom url options - Brand Name or Keyword
Hi All, Recently we were given the option to choose from two custom urls for a car dealership's G+ page:
Local Listings | | EEE3
+brandname
+locationdealershipbrand Made up example:
+scottford
+nyford My gut tells me to choose the +brandname option, but curious to see if anyone had any other input about how the "location + dealership brand" custom url choice could impact local search results, if at all. (I was surprised that it even came up as an option because to me it echoes EMDs...) Thoughts? Thanks!0 -
NAPtastic: Google updated G+ page to "correct" street spelling, but not Maps
A client's G+ page updated from "Jimmy" to "Jimmie" Rd. The change is technically correct according to the legal county road name, though the Places, G+, and indeed even the printed inscription on the Google map itself all say "Jimmy." So, too, does virtually all of the NAP instances around the web. Question - should we update Business Registration Managers with the updated address info and assume the Google change will also eventually filter to other Google assets, or make no changes? Weird, right? Here's the Place: https://www.google.com/maps/place/Georgia+Square+Collision/@33.9357517,-83.4885575,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0x57927ad08d139333 Thanks!
Local Listings | | PerfectPitchConcepts0