GBP with almost zero info/optimization, shows up on Local Pack

[JeffClevelandTN]

Any idea as to how a GBP with such little info would actually be shown (or auto-created) by Google? There is almost no info associated with this: no address, no phone, no website, no photos, no reviews, now hours of operation, etc.

The even more frustrating part is that it actually ranks on the Local Pack in the top 3, for a rather large area on our client's Local Grid reports, for "Walk in clinic near me". Why would such a completely unoptimized GBP with no website, be displayed above a number of other nearby competitors with very robust GBPs and highly optimized websites?

As our office is not located in the same city as our client, I'll have to request an employee of our client to actually go by the physical location which I pulled from Google Street View to see if the business is even open. If not, I'll work thru the process to report the business as closed. But otherwise, would like to hear other's feedback. Thanks!

 

[Phil Rozek]

Great question, @JeffClevelandTN. I'm not seeing that business on either of the aggregators (InfoGroup and LocalEze), so there goes that theory. Turns out there's a UPS drop-off inside the pharmacy in that building. So my guess is at one point the "Walk In Clinic" GMB was owner-verified by someone who used UPS to get the verification postcard. I think that's where any potential spamming stopped working - presumably some time after March of 2018, when that Street View was photographed. Given that a hidden address isn't much use to a potential walk-in patient, what probably happened then was the page got soft-suspended and then Google wiped the address field. Why Google wouldn't have removed it altogether is above my pay grade. If the Street View is 4 1/2 years old, I get why the "business" is still showing up and still looks operational, even if it's not.

Anyway, if you (or I) mark that business as closed, there's a 95% chance Google will remove it right away. Google almost always removes bare and unclaimed pages lickety-split.

 

[JeffClevelandTN]

Thanks @Phil Rozek! Sounds like your experience is to report as "closed" versus "doesn't exist"?

 

[Phil Rozek]

@JeffClevelandTN, I've had success with both, and you might end up trying multiple requests. I've had the most success with "Offensive, harmful, or misleading" (emphasis mine), followed by "Doesn't exist here."

If you get the page marked as permanently closed, you can probably follow up with "Doesn't exist here" and get it removed on the spot.

 

[carolyn2]

Under the heading of "how does this happen", I have seen GBPs pop up out of nowhere and the only thing I could find was a lot of citations for it. As Phil said above, if you can suggest an edit that would be the likely way to get it removed. Good luck.

 

[JeffClevelandTN]

Hey @Phil Rozek, forgot to share and say thanks!

 

[Phil Rozek]

@JeffClevelandTN, my pleasure. That's great news. What was Google's turnaround on that?

 

[JeffClevelandTN]

@JeffClevelandTN, my pleasure. That's great news. What was Google's turnaround on that?

Hey Phil, it took 20 days, just short of three weeks.

 

[Phil Rozek]

@JeffClevelandTN, interesting. Given how shaky that page was, I thought there was an 70% chance they'd approve it same-day, as often happens. Shows how much I know!

 

[JeffClevelandTN]

@JeffClevelandTN, interesting. Given how shaky that page was, I thought there was an 70% chance they'd approve it same-day, as often happens. Shows how much I know!

No worries Phil! I've submitted a couple other similar requests recently, they are going on two weeks now. It will be interesting to see if they take around three weeks also.

 

[Phil Rozek]

@JeffClevelandTN, yeah, they could take 3 weeks - or 3 months. Sometimes these approvals take months, as I'm sure you've seen.