Unusual Google+ Local listing ranking well
-
If you search for locksmith Phoenix, this Google+ page is ranked #3 in the local results: https://plus.google.com/117543374216451236579/about?hl=en
The phone number is a VOIP number, they don't appear to have many/any citations, no reviews, etc. They've listed the Yelp search results page as their website. Strange.
How are they ranking so well? Is Google ranking them well because it's associating them with Yelp.com?
Any thoughts?
-
Meant to say it's def Yelp that's boosting the rankings.
I've investigated and reported lots of cases of using high authority directory pages to help fake spam pages rank.
For a long time an atty ranked in 2 spots in the 7 pack for Los Angeles Personal Injury Attorney. One of the most competitive local phrases out there. One listing linked to the Lawyers.com search page for "Los Angeles Personal Injury Attorney" the other one linked to the Avvo.com search page for "Los Angeles Personal Injury Attorney".
Think about it. All those pages are filled with local NAPs and local keywords. +++ High authority.
BTW this is now against the GMB guidelines since I made a big case out of the LA atty and some other cases. But of course some are still getting away with it.
-
Associating with Yelp is my first thought too, but it seems unlikely.
If I had to guess, maybe a competitor or disgruntled employee destroyed an existed listing that had strength a ranked well? If that's the case, this listing should drop off soon.
-
I think there is a locksmith spam ring doing this.
I've helped a couple locksmiths in the Google forum with the exact same problem and all these spammy locksmiths are linking to Yelp category pages.
In 2 cases they were linking directly to a Yelp page of the locksmith that was reporting them.
I'll add this example to the ones I've escalated to Google management.
-
Very strange. That Yelp page is simply a listing of locksmiths in Phoenix. This company is not listed in the top ten.
No address other than "Phoenix, AZ" listed for this company. You can search for the exact company name and not find them.
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
-
Questions about optimization for Google Images
Hello all, I've got a few quick questions about optimization for Google Image search. Would be great if someone could help me out with these. Is it possible to track and seperate visitors that reach my website through the images presented in the SERP's? Should we avoid changing high ranking pictures on important keywords? If we need to change the pictures what would the best strategy be? Replace the original filename and alt tag of the picture? Keep the orignal pictures but change the location of the pictures to a new post on our website? Thanks in advance!
Image & Video Optimization | | buiserik0 -
Google Local landing pages
Just wondering what the best way to handle the landing page from a google plus local profile is. I had changed it to page that I created for the specific location with a citation with correct NAP, but realized that in OSE that my root domain lost almost all its G+'s. I'm torn and just looking for some advice. I've done quite a bit of work trying to correct citations, adding citations, and reading reading reading to learn more about Google Local but the results have been pretty rough.
Image & Video Optimization | | jonnyholt0 -
How do I improve positioning in Google Images?
Looking around in Webmaster tools today and I noticed we have hundreds of thousands of impressions in Google Images, but a very low CTR. I understand normal SEO, but what about increasing rank in Google Images? It is hard to get links straight to an image, and we already use proper alt tags. Any other ideas?
Image & Video Optimization | | EcommerceSite0 -
How do you handle local SEO when a business has had multiple names?
Hi, Here is a quite simple question... that comes from a real life example. When a local business, with one phone number and one business location, has been promoting itself with up to 4 different names over the years. How do you handle local SEO? Do you try to update all pages (and directories) on the Web to the new name? Do you keep the existing records as they are and find some ways to show Google - and people - that those are all the same business? Thanks, Adrien O'Leary
Image & Video Optimization | | AdrienOLeary0 -
Google + Local for client with no physical address and multiple phone nos
Hi I have a client who is service-based and goes out to his local customers' homes to conduct his business. He operates from home so does not want to show his home address, he also has a number of local telephone numbers that divert to his mobile. I was wondering which type of category to put his business into, my ideal would be local business but for that I need to add the address the question is can I still hide the address the way you used to in the old format or is there other recommendations to optimise his local placement?
Image & Video Optimization | | AllieMc0 -
New site, SEO well considered, no traffic :/ What next?
Hi There! We've built whatphone.com.au with SEO at the top of the list but things are not going as expected. Yes, there's still a lot of work to do, but I was hoping to get some guidance on what to do next to make sure we keep the right focus. This is what we've done to date: Added lots of unique and relevant content, particularly to our blog (and will continue to do so on a weekly basis) Ensured internal linking is strong Optimised each product page around product name (and relevant internal links pointing to it) Ensured the code is clean (ok, we are not a 100% but in a good place) URL structure, metadata, page titles, file names and alt tags following best practice Named the company and registered our domain around one of main keywords we are currently targeting "what phone" What we're working on: Link building Site speed Social signals Rich media (videos, more images) Not a bad effort right? No love from an organic traffic perspective 😕 Ok, the site / domain is no older than 2 months old, it's a very competitive industry, and no inbound links yet, but come on! Questions: Are there any benefits of engaging external providers to help with link building? I'm talking about outsourcing from elancer or similar.. Or is this playing with fire? Have we missed something obvious here? Any help will be greatly appreciated! PS: we currently have some issues with our pricing tables, but will fixed as soon as possible..
Image & Video Optimization | | whatphone0 -
Why do seomoz rankings not match mine in google for the same keyword?
SEO moz lists my site http://holmesbailbonding.com as listing 2nd for raleigh bail bonds but when I search I am getting different results even with a cleared cache. Just wondering what factors contribute to this and what I need to be doing more of to get my site to rank for Raleigh Bail Bonds in raleigh, nc. Thanks,
Image & Video Optimization | | MaddDogg0 -
Does Local SEO affect international ranking ability?
I'm 90% sure that local SEO doesn't have an affect on international rankings (it doesn't logically make sense that it would) but I wondered if someone could verify that assertion for me, either from experience or by pointing me in the direction of a resource/article that states it. Have searched high and low but can't find anything thanks j
Image & Video Optimization | | jamesjackson0