Google Maps is a great tool for local businesses, but can be a complete headache when it creates multiple or duplicate listings for your business.  This makes the job of obtaining a “Lucky 7-Pack” position very hard.  Your companies value-added information, reviews, photos and more can be split between multiple accounts making optimization very difficult.

Most of the time this is caused by Google’s algorithm pulling in the same or similar information from multiple reliable sources.  This can also occur when the local merchant does not realize he/she already has a Google Local Business Center Profile and creates another.  Any way it happens the outcome is never good.

The main problem in having numerous listings is the division of information, reviews, and possibly URLs, and even photos and videos.

Google states, when you find out that you have duplicate listings you should follow the following steps:

I personally have followed the above instructions numerous times successfully.

The Small Business Online Coach states that 30-40% of his clients have some sort of duplicate content.

PLEASE NOTE: The above method only works for unverified listings.  If you believe that your listing has been owner verified without your consent please go to the Google Maps Help Forum and start a thread asking one of the Google Maps Employees to possibly give you a helping hand.

I have encountered a few cases where one of my customer’s LBC listing had been verified by someone else, possibly a competitor or a spammer.  I reported the listing using the More > Report a Listing tab on the profile page then played the waiting game.

If I was a competing small business I would not be happy about this update one bit.  It is only a matter of time before Google places advertisements at the bottom of those listings.  They could potentially place the new “enhanced listings” there to attract the reader’s eye to their restaurant.  The addition of rich snippets is very important to these Nearby Places listings too.  If your business has 5 ratings that average 3 stars and a few of your Nearby Places have solid 5 star ratings you actually might loose a customer.  This is opening the doors for automated content aggregation companies to take a leap into the local scene by signing a content partnership with Google.  This allows Google to take rich content provided by companies like CitySearch, Yelp, InsiderPages, and yes… even DemandForce. and have it get merged into your businesses local profile.

Simply put, as Google’s Local listings get more advanced with algorithmic changes the map muddlers  keep finding ways to temporarily beat the system.  Don’t worry about them, their listings won’t survive for ever.  I have compiled some local map spam screen-shots so everyone out there can attempt to spot and report these bogus listings.

For the lovers of the iPhone, it’s like daddy and mommy are getting a divorce. If that wasn’t the case–if Apple and Google weren’t calling it quits–why would Apple buy a mapping company?

Steve, tell us it isn’t so!

The tight integration between the iPhone and Google, especially its mapping products, is a big part of why people love their iPhones. Hearing the Apple has bought its own mapping company, Placebase, is unsettling.

The deal, which supposedly happened in July, added talent to a supposed “Geo” unit inside Apple. Nothing wrong with that, but before Apple starts messing with Google Maps on iPhones, it needs to think very seriously about the consequences.

If a new Apple mapping product is to replace Google Maps, it needs to be done by offering customers a choice of mapping providers. If Apple is good enough, people will switch and eventually the rest can be moved over by force, if necessary. But, only after Apple Maps does everything that Google Maps does–and then some.

There are reasons why this may be a much ado about very little. Apple can find plenty of location-based applications or features to add to iPhone and Mac OS that could run on top of Google Maps. New mapping apps might use new Apple technology while the existing ones could remain on Google Maps and be improved upon.

There doesn’t have to be a conflict here, but we’re sure Apple and Google aren’t as chummy as they once were. Apple’s penchant for secrecy makes matters worse and leads to speculation that perhaps exceeds reality.

As for Placebase, the Los Angeles startup was founded to sell a mapping system to businesses, which is hard to do when Google offers such a service free. GigaOm has a nice story that explains what founder Jaron Waldman hoped to accomplish. Here is an example of Placebase and its PushPin Java API in action at a site called PolicyMap.

Waldman’s LinkedIn profile says he now works at Apple, after four years at Placebase.

There is a strong possibility that Apple didn’t actually buy Placebase, just hired Waldman (and others?) when the company failed. That’s the rumor inside the mapping business and makes as much sense as anything else. Regardless, Waldman’s arrival at Apple demonstrates that the company is seriously interested in mapping.

There is much to be done in the mapping space and Google has brought tremendous value to the iPhone with its cool mapping application. Apple is rarely a stupid company, so I have to guess it will think long before dumping Google Maps for something created in-house.

While Apple may someday offer a mapping platform of its own, the company would be wise to remain tied to Google until it has something truly incredible to offer.

Google Maps will be much easier to add value to than for Apple to beat.

Source:

PC World