Competition leaving bad reviews on our places page, what to do?
-
I have flagged the reviews as not useful from multiple IPs. I have attempted reporting the review as well. Google does nothing. It's very obvious that the review(s) are fake. Often all the other reviews of the person's profile are for different cities and all 5 stars for businesses that they are most likely doing SEO work for. Are (blackhat) SEOs using bad reviews as a technique to keep the competition out in your business/market? What did you do about it?
-
In all my years doing local search marketing the only bad reviews I have been able to get removed on Google are those that include profanity or "inappropriate content" and even those have required many email exchanges with Google.
Have you read this: http://www.google.com/support/places/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=187622
Also remember to make it easy for your clients to post review by placing you places link on email campaigns and social media profile pages.
Good luck!
-
Thanks! we figured as much, and already have a positive review since this bad one. I was just wondering if there was an easier fix
-
Thanks! we figured as much, and already have a positive review since this bad one. I was just wondering if there was an easier fix
-
The best way to fight evil is with good. Focus your energy and efforts on getting / encouraging your clients to leave positive reviews for your company.
-
Sorrry, I got it worng, than. No idea about google places
-
Zsolt, I believe the reviews are being left on the Google Places page, not on the website itself.
-
Maybe you can try restricting those people from leaving review with a htaccess. If they are clever they can still get arounf the restriction but the have got a harder time to do so. I don' know how it can be done technically but maybe you can restrict someone with a given mac address, so that a given computer will never be able to access your page again. Ban profiles and forbid e-mail addresses in the cms. I haven't got any better advices, these are machine algorythms so they do not see the face of the commenter. They can ve identified due to their ip, computer or e-mail.
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 Places For Display Homes
Hi all, We have a client who is looking to get their Display Homes on Google Places. The main issue is as they are display homes, they do not get post delivered to them yet. So the old 'postcard verification' is not going to work, but its the only option we are getting. I would normally say, this might not be possible. Unfortunately one of their key competitors has somehow got all their Display Homes verified - so I was looking for some insight as to how this is possible? Am I missing something here? Thanks! J
Image & Video Optimization | | Jon_bangonline0 -
Use Google Places or Google +Local?
Hello everyone, My name is Zachary Russell, and I run a Philadelphia based WordPress Development and SEO firm, ProTech Internet Group. I have been doing work lately, and have been neglecting the fact that my own site needs work, I have now changed that. I have done a complete redesign and started repurposting content to have a well-rounded content strategy that can appeal the the widest possible audience. My issue I'm having now is this: I have both a Google Places page and a Google +Local page for my business , Obviously duplicate listings are a problem, but I don't know which one to get rid of. They both have 0 reviews and limited +1s, I just don't know which one I should delete, and which one I should push to get more reviews moving forward. Also, moving forward, would it make sense for me to have a Google +Business and a Google +Local page?I don't know if this would cause any conflicts either. Thanks for your help and have a happy new year! Zach Russell President, ProTech Internet Group
Image & Video Optimization | | Zachary_Russell0 -
Place pages
Anyone else having problems with google place pages? Create a page and then have it become merged with someone else's place page. Try to correct it to no avail? Try to delete it only to find that it still shows up?
Image & Video Optimization | | casper4340 -
Help - Google places,a service my competitor has used...
I was just doing a bit of detective work on a competitors website and noticed they had employed the services of an SEO company. Anyway, i went on this SEO companies website and discovered they offer a service called "Google places". Now I have an idea what google places is (my company is registered with it) but how are SEOs using Google places as a method for SEO? And how can I copy this service to do this for my own website?
Image & Video Optimization | | copywritingbuzz0 -
Google Places Local Submission
Hello We're going to upload a bulklisting to Google Places for multiple locations. However, there are existing Google places listings for these locations. The bulklisting is being used to undertake a refresh of all the existing data. How do we go about updating the existing data i.e. do we have to delete the existing information prior to submitting the bulkload, or does a new submission over write the existing data. In addition, how does Google Places verify a bulkload submission i.e. do they make contact with the designated business owner. How long does such a process actually take (roughly!). I know some of this is touched on in the Goolge Places help section, but it is not clear and I don't want to get this wrong for obvious reasons. Thanks in advance for your assistance. Rgds Neil
Image & Video Optimization | | mccormackmorrison0 -
Will linking to my citation sources help google recognize them / credit my places account?
Or will those sources be discounted by google then similar to how google discounts link exchanges? I have noticed some pages, like mapquest, don't really have a directory, so google might not be aware of their content unless it is linked too??? In this type of a case, would it help to link to mapquest's search results? then the citation will get picked up by google? Example: http://www.mapquest.com/?hk=6-i30tP49i
Image & Video Optimization | | adriandg0 -
Why does google places keep deleting the categories i set?
I have probably set them for each of my storage locations over 20 times now. They stick for a week, only to find them have all been deleted once again. Also, why are my competitors able to choose custom categories, where as I am not?
Image & Video Optimization | | adriandg0