Ginny Marvin says, “On Wednesday, Google took legal action against a search marketing firm for allegedly making illegal automated calls to small businesses and falsely claiming to be working for or with the search giant. According to the suit, the action comes more than a year after Google first contacted the agency to stop the alleged behavior.

The suit, filed in the US District Court of Northern California, claims that the firm, Local Lighthouse, based in Tustin, California, made extensive and misleading use of Google’s trademarks and that the agency’s sales agents were making misleading claims to confuse small businesses about the relationship between the two companies.

The Timeline

Google says it first sent Local Lighthouse a letter on July 29, 2014, after receiving complaints about incessant unsolicited automated telephone calls, misrepresentations about the company’s relationship with Google and false guarantees of first-page placement on Google search results — a tactic Local Lighthouse apparently pitched as “Front Page Domination.” Google says it also demanded a copy of the firm’s sales script at that time“.

Google Sues SEO Firm For Making False Partnership Claims In Illegal Robocalls

Marketing Land

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