What is Google My Business Spam?
Google My Business Spam is when someone adds inaccurate or fake information to your Google My Business listing. This can include incorrect business hours, fake reviews, or adding your business to a category it doesn’t belong in. This can be frustrating and confusing for customers, and it can damage your business’s reputation.
Types of Google My Business Spam
There are a few different types of Google My Business Spam, including:
Fake Business Listings
A fake business listing is when someone creates a listing for a business that doesn’t exist. This listing may contain fake information, such as a fake address or phone number. The goal of the spammer is to either promote their own business or to get people to call them so they can sell them something. To spot a fake business listing, look for things like typos, fake reviews, and a fake address or phone number. If you see any of these, the listing is likely fake, and you can report it to Google.
Listings with Fake Reviews
A listing with fake reviews is when someone writes fake reviews for a business on Google My Business. The goal of the spammer is to either promote their own business or to damage the reputation of the business they’re writing the fake reviews for. To spot a listing with fake reviews, look for things like a high number of reviews, all positive or all negative reviews, and reviews that look fake. If you see any of these, the listing is likely fake, and you can report it to Google.
Duplicate Google My Business Listings
A duplicate Google My Business listing is when someone creates more than one listing for the same business. This is against Google’s guidelines and can lead to the suspension of your account. To spot a duplicate listing, look for things like the same address and phone number being listed more than once. If you see this, the listing is likely a duplicate, and you can report it to Google.
If you see anything that looks suspicious, your listing has likely been spammed. You can also check your Google My Business Insights to see if you’ve had a sudden influx of views or reviews, as this can be another spam indicator.
How can you report it?
If you come across a listing that you think is spam, you can report it to Google. To do this, go to the listing and click on the “Report a Problem” link. Then, select “This is a fake business” and follow the instructions.
How can you remove spam from your Google My Business listing?
If you find that your listing has been spammed, there are a few things you can do to remove the spam and restore your listing. First, you can report the spam to Google. You can also remove any incorrect or fake information yourself, as long as you are logged in to your Google My Business account. Finally, you can reach out to Google my business support for help restoring your listing.
What can you do to prevent being spammed?
There are a few things you can do to prevent your listing from being spammed. First, be sure to claim your listing and verify your business with Google. This will help ensure that only you can make changes to your listing. You can also keep an eye on your listing and report any spam you see. Finally, be sure to keep your listing up-to-date with accurate information to make it less likely that someone will want to spam it.
