GMB Call Tracking Number Showing Up on Other Listings

[FriarTuck00]

We have started using a call tracking number in clients GMB listings, as recommended by people here. However, we are now seeing that tracking number show up in listings on sites like Infogroup, Neustar/Localeze, Foursquare and Hotfrog. We are using Moz Local, which seems to be pushing out this incorrect number. Has anyone else experienced this? Is this just a natural consequence of using a tracking number for GMB listings?

 

[JoshuaMackens]

We have started using a call tracking number in clients GMB listings, as recommended by people here. However, we are now seeing that tracking number show up in listings on sites like Infogroup, Neustar/Localeze, Foursquare and Hotfrog. We are using Moz Local, which seems to be pushing out this incorrect number. Has anyone else experienced this? Is this just a natural consequence of using a tracking number for GMB listings?

I chose to cancel Moz Local vs not using a tracking number.

I'm also curious to see what others are doing for this currently.

 

[Tyson Downs]

Yes, that number will proliferate.

I've read Whitesparks post on it, and I tried the tracking number.

It then started showing up across the web as their phone number.

It doesn't matter if you use Moz or not. Other 'directories' will see this number and trust that it is right because it is on the Google listing and it will populate across the internet.

If NAP Consistency is important to you, I wouldn't recommend doing it.

Moz uses GMB as a verfication of your business information (as well as FB). There is no way to 'unhook' it from your Moz account.

 

[JoyHawkins]

I just checked a handful of our clients to make sure nothing had changed on this aspect. We don't use any 3rd parties for citations (Yext, Moz Local etc) but if you do, I'd suggest unhooking the connection to GMB. I don't believe you need to cancel to do this.

There are a few 3rd party directories that I've seen scrape Google's info (Darren noticed this too) but I've found they are super low quality directories that don't matter and are extremely unlikely to drive any traffic or calls.

None of the major sites or data aggregators are scraping this from Google for any clients I checked.

 

[JoyHawkins]

Okay Darren Shaw just confirmed with a Moz engineer that if you change your primary number in GMB, it will make its way to Maps, and if that's how you've verified your listing on Moz, then Moz will pick it up and start distributing it to the rest of the Moz network.

 

[Tyson Downs]

Okay Darren Shaw just confirmed with a Moz engineer that if you change your primary number in GMB, it will make its way to Maps, and if that's how you've verified your listing on Moz, then Moz will pick it up and start distributing it to the rest of the Moz network.

Yes, I confirmed this months ago, and commented on Darren's blog post where he recommended using a tracking number in GMB.

You can get more details here:

Can You Use a Call Tracking Number in Google My Business? - Whitespark Local Insider - Whitespark

 

[Tony Wang]

I've only used a call tracking number on gmb for 2 listings, I think it's been less than 6 months.

The problem with Moz is that they sync with gmb, so they will grab that number. As soon as I saw that happen, I contacted them about it. Turns out you can request they sync with fb instead of gmb, which allows everything to stay tidy. We'll see how that turns out.

Tyson, do you know for a fact that other directories will grab the number from google? I mean it makes sense if they do, but I've never seen indication they do that.

 

[Tony Wang]

Oh sorry, missed all the latest comments starting with Joy. So I think we're safe with directories scraping Google. My workaround with Moz stands.

I actually posted this on the Google+ forum last month, had forgotten about it.

 

[JoyHawkins]

I knew I'd seen it somewhere before

The directories I've seen grab tracking numbers from Google include:

realwordofmouth.com
placesmap.net
alignable.com
birdeye.com


Nothing major I'd be concerned about.

 

[MiriamEllis]

Hi Everybody!
This is Miriam from Moz and I want to start by thanking FriarTuck00 for asking about this. Since Darren debuted this call tracking concept, it has gained in popularity, and we’re hearing from customers that they’d love us to support it. Members here are correct in that we utilize both Google and Facebook as verification sources, and that we distribute customer-approved data from these sources to our partners. What we’re doing right now is actively evaluating the best possible way to enable our customers to leverage a call tracking strategy while maintaining our good relations as a Google partner and, also, being good stewards of data quality.

This thread has highlighted for us just how important this topic has become in 2018 and Moz is dedicated to finding a solution that works for everybody. Thank you for speaking up. We hear you!

 

[FriarTuck00]

Hi Everybody!
This is Miriam from Moz and I want to start by thanking FriarTuck00 for asking about this. Since Darren debuted this call tracking concept, it has gained in popularity, and we’re hearing from customers that they’d love us to support it. Members here are correct in that we utilize both Google and Facebook as verification sources, and that we distribute customer-approved data from these sources to our partners. What we’re doing right now is actively evaluating the best possible way to enable our customers to leverage a call tracking strategy while maintaining our good relations as a Google partner and, also, being good stewards of data quality.

This thread has highlighted for us just how important this topic has become in 2018 and Moz is dedicated to finding a solution that works for everybody. Thank you for speaking up. We hear you!

Thanks @MiriamEllis

 

[JoshuaMackens]

Really wish I had known about unhooking from Google before. I would have continued to use Moz Local had I known.

I even asked Moz Local and their response was that I would just have to cancel.

I was already disappointed that their response was "just quit using us" and now even more disappointed that there was a viable work around but it wasn't discussed during support. Weird.

 

[MiriamEllis]

Hi Joshua. I’m very sorry to hear about your experience with Moz. Local Search is already confusing enough, and it’s never been our intention to just walk away from a customer without trying to navigate their issues.

We’d be happy to reengage to see if we can find a good solution for you. Let me know if you’d like to discuss further with someone from Moz. I can set that up!

 

[JoshuaMackens]

Hi Joshua. I’m very sorry to hear about your experience with Moz. Local Search is already confusing enough, and it’s never been our intention to just walk away from a customer without trying to navigate their issues.

We’d be happy to reengage to see if we can find a good solution for you. Let me know if you’d like to discuss further with someone from Moz. I can set that up!

I think this thread fixed it for me for now. If that changes I'll let you know.

Thanks!

 

[MiriamEllis]

Okay, thank you, Joshua. Please don't hesitate to reach out to me if I can be of any help in future.

 

[Tony Wang]

So, looks like I was a bit premature, or didn't fully understand how the Moz Local thing worked. When they told me I could use FB and not Google, to verify a business, I assumed all would be fine with my GMB call tracking #'s.

However, it turns out that they still look at the GMB data no matter what, so if they ever have trouble "connecting" with FB, then they'll rely on the GMB data. When it happens, your call tracking # could get pushed out pretty quickly.

In my case, they sent me a notice that there was a data discrepancy, so that's how I caught it, but I don't know if I want to rely on that warning email.

@MiriamEllis , any progress on a solution?
@JoshuaMackens and anyone else that has stopped using Moz for this reason, what was your solution? Manual submissions?

Does anyone know how Bright Local works? Do they synch with GMB and or FB the same way?

 

[JoshuaMackens]

I haven't had to use data aggregators since this topic. I'm also curious to see if @MiriamEllis and Moz have found a solution.

 

[Tony Wang]

@JoshuaMackens you don't use aggregators to maintain data on all your clients? Do you just claim/submit a listing initially, and then leave it alone or maintain it manually?

 

[JoyHawkins]

We have used both BrightLocal & Whitespark for data providers but I submit the listing initially (don't pay to renew) and then just check it periodically a year or 2 later to make sure the data stayed correct.

 

[whitespark]

What Joy said. We don't just do a submission-only at Whitespark. We do a comprehensive NAP variation discovery phase, then find any incorrect listings on the aggregators, clean them up, AND add new listings if you're not already on any of the sites. Also, we don't have recurring fees. You can learn more here: https://whitespark.ca/citation-audit-and-cleanup-service/