Service-area business cleanup

[bradleybradley]

Hello folks,

I'm starting down the road of fighting bad info in my competitor's GMB listings. I have a service-area business that I operate out of my home home, and per Google's rules I have hidden my address (since I don't have signage nor do I accept walk-in customers).

I see that almost 100% of my competition have their home addresses listed, and of course there are no signs and our business is most definitely not a walk-in type of thing.

From this it seems that I need to report basically all of them for listing their home addresses when they shouldn't. Is this right? It feels like I'm about to slash and burn a forest or something...

If this is the case, is GMB "suggest an edit" the right approach? I see that I can "remove this place" and select "private place or home" as a reason.

My goal isn't to wipe them off the planet, so "removing this place" seems a bit harsh.

Is there a better way? Am I on right path here?

 

[leilamartin]

My competitors also do that. I just ignore it, put my head down and do the best I can to make sure we "SHINE"

 

[Niki Gross]

With all due respect, it sounds like the only difference in you and the competition is that you've hidden your address and they have not. Isn't it possible they are not aware that Google is now allowing SABs to hide their addresses? If you are operating out of your home what is there to prevent them from taking the same action against you?

 

[Wirenut]

With all due respect, it sounds like the only difference in you and the competition is that you've hidden your address and they have not. Isn't it possible they are not aware that Google is now allowing SABs to hide their addresses? If you are operating out of your home what is there to prevent them from taking the same action against you?

They are breaking the rules (which may be leading to an unfair advantage), he is not. They can report him, but nothing should happen.

 

[bradleybradley]

With all due respect, it sounds like the only difference in you and the competition is that you've hidden your address and they have not. Isn't it possible they are not aware that Google is now allowing SABs to hide their addresses? If you are operating out of your home what is there to prevent them from taking the same action against you?

Hi Niki,

These other companies that are listing their addresses are not only breaking the rules, but they are appearing on the map. Being on the map conveys something about proximity to a prospective client, even though proximity doesn't matter in that way to a service biz. My competitors and I all drive to our clients' locations

Me and those who follow the rules don't have a pin on the map. I think it's fair to say that having a pin is a competitive advantage over those who do not.

I agree that they may not be aware of Google's rules, or even that they have a GMB listing. As I stated in my original post, I don't want to just slash and burn the forest down, which is why I'm looking for an ethical way to report these violations to Google

 

[Niki Gross]

Hi Niki,

These other companies that are listing their addresses are not only breaking the rules, but they are appearing on the map. Being on the map conveys something about proximity to a prospective client, even though proximity doesn't matter in that way to a service biz. My competitors and I all drive to our clients' locations

Me and those who follow the rules don't have a pin on the map. I think it's fair to say that having a pin is a competitive advantage over those who do not.

I agree that they may not be aware of Google's rules, or even that they have a GMB listing. As I stated in my original post, I don't want to just slash and burn the forest down, which is why I'm looking for an ethical way to report these violations to Google

Facepalm. I forgot about the map pin! Thank you for correcting my assumption.

 

[bradleybradley]

No problem whatsoever! I wish Google would become aware that certain industries never have storefronts and then hide the map altogether when people search for them!