Best practice for flagging keyword-stuffed business names

[chriscc]

Hi! First post here.
Several competitors rank above me in local search and I believe the reason is that they include in their "Name", a bunch of location keywords (which they don't use in their normal trading name, storefront etc).
I am sure you all encounter this a lot. I am wondering what is best practice for dealing with this - should I "make a suggestion" about a name change? Is there something I should do directly on Google maps? Or should I do my own thing and ignore them?!
Thank you!

 

[Linda Buquet]

Hi Chris,

Welcome to the forum!

Yes I would def try to get those names changed. It's just leveling the playing field and taking away their unfair advantage!

The easiest way to do it is right on maps: suggest an edit. But I don't know any more how often those get reviewed or how fast/if they get changed.

MapMaker might be a better/faster option but it's more complicated. We have a couple experts here that I hope will weigh in soon to offer the best suggestion for you.

 

[JoyHawkins]

Chris,

Regardless if you make the edit via Maps or MapMaker, it all goes to MapMaker moderators to review unless the business has a hidden address. You can post your edits on the MapMaker forum if you haven't had them reviewed in 7 days. I wouldn't ignore them See http://www.joyannehawkins.com/ultimate-guide-fighting-spam-google-maps/ for more details.

 

[chriscc]

Thank you Linda and Joy, much appreciated.
I have made a few edits to the most egregious examples (those with several locations shoehorned into their name), and will see what happens
Thanks!