Google My Business ‘Trolling’ Opportunities
Below are all the ways that disgruntled customers, bitter employees, and unethical competitors can cause havoc to your Google My Business listing. Not the most uplifting of topics, but it’s well-worth the read because your business is certainly susceptible to vulnerabilities that Google My Business poses.
Uploading inappropriate photos
Anyone can upload a photo to your Google My Business page, whether it’s with a review or a general upload.
Answering customers’ Google My Business “questions” falsely or incorrectly
Users are able to answer questions about your business, but they can do it in a way that hurts your business. You can’t remove bad questions (or answers). All you can do is flag them.
Google Maps “suggest an edit” edits
If competitors do it enough, they can make an impact on what Google interprets as what’s listed on your listing. I.e. someone could keep marking your address as incorrect when it really is & confuse Google.
Providing incorrect “Know this place?” answers
Google may ask whether you have an easy to access parking lot and a wheelchair-accessible entrance. You do but your nemesis says you don’t. They can mark it incorrectly & Google will often take their word for it.
Moving your map pin to an incorrect spot
If your competitor moves your building’s location pin to a false spot, an incorrectly placed marker can mess up your rankings, according to Search Engine Journal.
Re-posting bad reviews or ratings
Even if you get an illegitimate review removed, which is a miracle in and of itself, little to nothing stops the ‘bad guy’ from posting the same review again, under the same name or a different name.
Posting 4-star reviews
You’ve got great reviews, almost a 5-star rating but your competitor doesn’t agree with it & they start spamming you with 4-star reviews. Because a 4-star review by nature isn’t extreme, it’s less likely to get filtered by Google, and you’re less likely to suspect that it’s the work of your nemesis.
Putting “thumbs up” on negative reviews, over & over
There seems to be no limit to how many times you can do a thumbs-up. Thumbs-upped negative reviews may make some people think twice before calling you. And even worse, those reviews may rise to the top when your Google reviews are shown by “Most Helpful” at the top.
If you need help keeping the bad guys away from your Google My Business listing or at the very least, clean up your current situation, Upright Communications is here to help! Contact us to see how we can keep these ‘trolls’ at bay.