Miriam Ellis says, “Change happens fast! Recently, I came across a local retail store that was violating Google’s naming guidelines on the company’s Google My Business listing. As a tiny experiment, I used a Google account I had never used before for any Maps tasks, recommending that Google correct the name. It took 48 hours for my suggestion to be implemented and for me to receive a thank-you email from Google. Just like that.

I like this particular business and didn’t want them to get in trouble with Google, but you can’t count on all your neighbors (or their marketers) to have the same civic-minded motivations. Negative SEO in the form of nefarious local listing edits to your name, address, and phone number (NAP) is a genuine threat to traffic, leads, and sales, requiring due vigilance.

Google makes changes and we adapt. Google plays Pomp and Circumstance for its announced “graduation” of Google Map Maker to Google Maps and respected Local SEOs like Joy Hawkins and Phil Rozek take a minute to sing the blues and then look around for solutions to the changes”.

Moz Local Brightens Map Maker Shutdown Blues with Google NAP Change Alerts

MOZ

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