Google + pages and SEO results...
-
Hi,
Can anyone give me insight into how people are getting away with naming their business by the SEO search term, creating a BS Google + page, then having that page rank high in the search results. I am speaking specifically about the results you get when you Google: "Los Angeles DUI Lawyer".
As you can see from my attached screenshot (I'm doing the search in Los Angeles), the FIRST listing is a Google + business. Strangely, the phone number listed doesn't actually take you to a DUI attorney, but rather to some marketing group that never answers the phone.
Can anyone give me insight into why Google even allows this? I just find it odd that Google cares so much about the user experience, but have the first result be something completely misleading. I know it sounds like I'm just jealous (which I am, a little), but I find it disheartening that we work so hard on SEO, and someone takes the top spot with an obvious BS page.
-
Good Morning!
Unfortunately, the results you are seeing are consistent with a tweak Google made a few weeks back that has brought up some extremely low quality one boxes. The tweak is surfacing many old, spammy results like the one you've highlighted. Here are two good discussions of this weird phenomenon:
The above forum thread in 8 pages long, and I recommend you read the whole thing, as it includes many examples and, also, some things people have tried in regards to reporting the bad results.
Then, I would also suggest you read Mike Blumenthal's article in which he ties this tweak to the Hummingbird Update. Very smart:
http://blumenthals.com/blog/2013/09/28/hummingbird-local-knowledge-graph-shitty-search-results/
And, if you'd care to read more on this topic, you might want to take a glance at:
http://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/webmasters/NMh_bk5MXX0
The problem is very widespread. Google is aware of it and I expect they will turn the dial again at some point to improve what is currently a very poor search experience. There may be some hope in reporting a specific instance, as you will read about in Linda Buquet's forum thread, but for the most part, this may just be one of those sit-tight situations that we have to endure until Google takes action. Hang in there.
-
In the second column of the Google+ listing, you may have noticed the Report A Problem link.
There are several options provided plus "Other". "Place does not exist or is private" may be the best choice but you have options.
I agree that tactics like these stain SEO and the SEO industry. Every industry needs feedback like you've provided!
-
If you see the new bar in your Google+ account that asks you to claim your custom URL then do that and if not here is the URL to get started with Google+ custom URL https://support.google.com/plus/answer/2676340?rd=1.
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
-
SEO page descriptions on mobile - how to hide while preserving the juice for SEO?
Hi everybody, On our pages we have crafted good text paragraphs for SEO purposes. On desktop everything is fine but on mobile the paragraph of text pushes the main content really low on the page. Is there a way of hiding the text while preserving the SEO juices and not getting penalised by Google for spamming techniques? I'd appreciate any recommendations on how to deal with this. Thanks very much!
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | Firebox0 -
I was wondering, do you know when you see updated results for a sporting event in the google search.
I was wondering, do you know when you see updated results for a sporting event in the google search. Are those the result of structured data?
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | mycujoo0 -
Why do Local "5 pack" results vary between showing Google+, Google+ and website address
I had a client ask me a good question. When they pull up a search result they show up at the top but only with a link to their G+ page. Other competitors show their web address and G+ page. Why are these results different in the same search group? Is there a way to ensure the web address shows up?
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | Ron_McCabe0 -
Taking Back Google+ Page Managed By Advertiser
The Google+ Page that appears under local listings in Google for a company I work for, was setup by an advertiser, such as Yellow Pages. I'm not sure how they got control of it, but apparently somebody at this agency set it up, and verified the url. The G+ page is now outdated, and needs to be updated. More importantly, I have to manage the page, and not this third party. I sent a request to Google to transfer ownership. My question is, has anybody had any luck in getting control of a Google+ page which was setup by the wrong party, back? As a backup, I've initiated a plan of creating a new Google+ page with the account info from the WMT's account of the url. I figure, that might have more authority than a page erroneously setup by a third party. My hope is it would eventually replace the Google+ page the currently shows in local returns. Any thoughts or comment would be appreciated.
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | alrockn0 -
Multi-Location SEO: Sites vs Pages
I just started with a new company that requires multi-location SEO for its niche product/service. Currently, we have a main corporate website, as well as, 40+ individual dealer websites (we host all). Keep in mind each of these dealers consist of only 1-2 people, so corporate I will be managing the site or sites and content strategy. Many of the individual dealer sites actually rank very well (#1-#3) in their areas for our targeted keywords, but they all use the same duplicate content. Also, there are many dealer sites that have dropped off the radar in last year, which is probably because of the duplicate and static content. So I'm at a crossroads... Attempt to redo all of these location sites with unique and local content for each or Create optimized unique pages for each of them on our main site and redirect their current local domains to their page on our site Any advise regarding which direction to go in and why. Why is very important. It will be very difficult to convince a dealer that is #1 with his local site that we are redirecting to our main site, so I need some good ammo and reasoning. Also, any tips toward achieving local seo success will be greatly appreciated, too! Thank you!
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | the-coopersmith0 -
Does having a video rich snippet keep your result from being top 5 in Google?
It makes sense to me that Google wouldn't want a rich result above the fold in a SERP that would compete with their PLA's. All my videos are on my product pages, so the queries that produce them always have PLAs in the SERPs. I've been run a few tests on this and it seems as though these snippets keep my result below the fold on the SERP (position 5-10). Thoughts on this? Experience?
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | RobbieWilliams0 -
Indexation of content from internal pages (registration) by Google
Hello, we are having quite a big amount of content on internal pages which can only be accessed as a registered member. What are the different options the get this content indexed by Google? In certain cases we might be able to show a preview to visitors. In other cases this is not possible for legal reasons. Somebody told me that there is an option to send the content of pages directly to google for indexation. Unfortunately he couldn't give me more details. I only know that this possible for URLs (sitemap). Is there really a possibility to do this for the entire content of a page without giving google access to crawl this page? Thanks Ben
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | guitarslinger0 -
How Many Results Does Google Show From The Same Domain?
Hi, From a few years ago I know 'double listings' were considered prime real estate. These days I can see triple listing, google places, PDFs all from the same domain. Im confused as the what the standard is now. I have been asked for some reverse SEOing to push down some bad press (keyword is the brand name) and am curious to know whether I still can get some high results by making a sub domain, optmising some more internal pages etc. Thanks.
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | DigitalLeaf0