One more Nail in the Coffin for Google Local Dupe Research - Michael Cottams Tool

[Linda Buquet]

Google just killed Michael Cottam's Local Dupe Finder.

When I say killed it, I mean for the purpose most serious pros used it for.
To discover and LOOK AT duplicate Google+ pages - typically used for ranking troubleshooting.

For anyone unaware of what I'm referring to, here is a post I did that illustrated the power of Michael's Google Local Dupe Finder:
<a href="http://www.localsearchforum.com/google-local-important/32034-gmb-dupe-finder-spam-hunter-infinitely-better-than-map-maker.html">GMB Dupe Finder & Spam Hunter - Infinitely Better Than Map Maker</a>

Paul Gordon reported at the forum yesterday:
<a href="http://www.localsearchforum.com/google-maps/38198-google-places-api-now-returns-google-maps-url-rather-than-google-url.html">Google Places API now returns a google maps url rather than a google+ url</a>

I did some checking and found a post from Michael announcing the API problem, which affects his tool AND our ability to hunt down duplicate listings.

Michael's post: <a href="http://www.michaelcottam.com/google-places-api-quietly-divorces-google/">Google Places API Quietly Divorces Google+</a>

Then found a post from Mike Blumenthal about Michael's post and the issue:
<a href="http://blumenthals.com/blog/2015/11/03/google-places-api-drops-g-page-in-results/">Google Places API Drops G+ Page in Results</a>


So one more nail in the coffin for dupe hunting.

And one more nail in the coffin for Google+, at least as far as how it relates to Google Local. G+ in general is still viable, kinda.

 

[Linda Buquet]

One by one are research tools are being crippled or taken away.

Maybe we should all just start calling support and say: "Could you please do duplicate research for me and give me a list of all related G+ L listings for this business, since Google hides them now and we can't easily find them."

 

[Scott Rawlins]

All I can say is.....

 

[CodyBaird]

Do you pros think Google is doing this intentionally?

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

[Linda Buquet]

Yes I do Cody.

But not to keep data from us and certainly not to hurt our dupe research. The API team is probably are not even tuned into Michael's tool or our need for dupe research.

But I think they are just doing everything they can to distance Local from Google+.
If they don't want to show the G+ page in search results, why would they want it to be shown on 3rd party sites that use their API.

And I think the main reason they are distancing from G+ PAGES is that they are just taking the data from the page and showing in various ways: In the Knowledge Graph, Local Finder and maps.

 

[Margaret Ornsby]

This one still works
PlePer Tools - Searching for duplicate listings in Google, Facebook, Foursquare, Factual and Yelp

 

[Linda Buquet]

Nope it's the same Margaret.

Sorry maybe was not clear enough.

They both still work, the distinction is, they no longer take us to G+ Local pages like before. So you can't see at a glance the description, etc. You just can no longer get to the page.

Even on Pleper (which also pulls from the API, which is what caused the change) it links you to the maps result. NOT the G+ L page as before.

 

[stankolev]

I found a temporary solution for Pleper. The tool became slower, but at least work for now.

 

[Linda Buquet]

How did you get it to go to the G+ L page? That's the issue here. Not whether it works, but whether it takes you to G+ L.

 

[stankolev]

G+ page is in the source of maps page. For now this is the only place I found where from CID can be found G+ page.

Any other suggestions are welcome...

 

[Margaret Ornsby]

Ooh ooh ooh - he's right.
The plus.google link is there again.
Yay!
So you get both the maps link and the local page link. Thx stankolev!

 

[Linda Buquet]

Awesome, thanks Stan!

So are you saying the API still does not give you the G+ L page, so you are pulling CID from the maps listing then converting that into the G+ L link?

 

[stankolev]

No, API still does not return G+ id/page.

Not exactly convert, the script visit maps.google.com/?cid=blabla and extract G+ ID, after that with G+ API check if it is verified or not.

 

[Linda Buquet]

Cool Stan. I'm planning to do a new stand alone post tomorrow about your solution.

 

[stankolev]

Cool Stan. I'm planning to do a new stand alone post tomorrow about your solution.

[video=youtube;8iwBM_YB1sE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iwBM_YB1sE[/video]

 

[Linda Buquet]

Here is a new thread with the latest on dupe research and I shared Pleper as well as Joy's awesome tips.

Critical Google Local Dupe Research Tips: New Tool & New Trick