Since mapmaker is down how do I report spam?

[bajaseo]

This company is making exact match business name fake listings. It is also using other competitor links to help rank those fake listings. As far as I know this is against Google terms and conditions. Can someone delete these fake listings?

https://plus.google.com/116780532530109251913/about?hl=en

https://plus.google.com/110045955045850661711/about?hl=en

https://plus.google.com/109609954726719745243/about?hl=en

https://plus.google.com/105092094086927220387/about?hl=en

https://plus.google.com/108005980083137322688/about?hl=en

https://plus.google.com/110377644601246321231/about?hl=en

https://plus.google.com/105543834859918798824/about?hl=en

https://plus.google.com/111455897013176414107/about?hl=en

https://plus.google.com/107580432356816381904/about?hl=en

https://plus.google.com/101325769646579180641/about?hl=en

https://plus.google.com/102304330118626214393/about?hl=en

https://plus.google.com/116039896192453461410/about?hl=en

https://plus.google.com/105954922564979234434/about?hl=en

https://plus.google.com/105612836984691967711/about?hl=en

https://plus.google.com/112969170148797938409/about?hl=en

 

[Linda Buquet]

Thanks for reporting Bajaseo (And for posting in the right forum.)

I could not research very many, but the ones I checked were all using the Yelp trick. Some were linking to a Yelp search results page, for that city and some were using a legit company's listing.

First of all, I'm curious, how did you find all of these? What common thread did you use to find that these were all connected, because they sure seem to be. They have many of the same footprints, but I don't see anything searchable that I could use to discover all these interconnected listings in different cities. So I'm just really curious what method did you used to research and find them all?

Help a fellow spam fighter out and tell me your secret?

Even though edits are frozen, I would assume the spam team is still working. So you can report all of them for spam right on the listing using edit details. Let me know if you don't know how. FYI that works now even for the ones with address hidden. I know it didn't before, but so you know, it works now.

Plus, please post at the Google business forum and then give me a link to the post and I'll escalate it because this is considered network spam. I think there is some big spammy agency that's doing tons of listings like this. I've reported lots of fake locksmith listings that were using this Yelp Trick and I'd like to help Google catch these guys.

 

[CodyBaird]

Common follower on a number of these pages is Mani Kumar https://plus.google.com/112234872781734254377

 

[CodyBaird]

And Caylin Bouler - https://plus.google.com/100743184875320345148

 

[Linda Buquet]

Thanks Cody. Great detective work!

I never look at posts, but should so you taught me a lesson there.

Forgot to mention I checked MM on several of these. No history. All look pretty new.
Compared the MM contributors on 3 but didn't see any overlap or anything.

But wore out my carpal on this one and Dragon's not working. So can't do more on this one.

 

[bajaseo]

Hey Linda thanks for looking into it as this is affecting my client's business right now. I was checking my client's ranking in south Los Angeles and these guys kept popping up so I started searching every city in Los Angeles county and sure enough same pattern everywhere. I reported them a few days ago and still nothing from Google yet. Guess we will have to wait for mapmaker to be activated again which is really unfair to my client. Another way you can find listings connected is by checking the name of the photo they uploaded to the business page and searching for it on Google. I found many of these were using same photos.

 

[Todd McCall]

I'm impressed by the level of detective work some of you are capable of in sniffing out who is up to something and what they're strategy might be. I'm pretty proud of myself if I notice a flagrant violation like using an exact name match for business name.

To the OP's question, I've been using Edit Details for now.

 

[Linda Buquet]

I'm impressed by the level of detective work some of you are capable of in sniffing out who is up to something and what they're strategy might be. I'm pretty proud of myself if I notice a flagrant violation like using an exact name match for business name.

To the OP's question, I've been using Edit Details for now.

Todd is right. Use EDIT DETAILS as I said above.
Map Maker edits only are on hold, the spam team is not!

HERE IS HOW REPORT SPAM WITH SCREENSHOTS.
In your post at the Google forum, by ehg.

Thanks Helmut, great job. I'm going to copy and use that all the time!

 

[bajaseo]

Reported since last Friday and still nothing. What should I do to help Google notice?

 

[CodyBaird]

My advice is be patient. I've had to wait a much longer than a week in the past. The web is a big place to monitor and spam is a rampant as ever IMO. Maybe some of the other TC's have different advice.

 

[JacobMaslow]

These are linking to a Yelp page.

naturally, the Yelp page is "optimized". All have a very passionate Yelp audience.

Looked at one at random and he had 68 positive Yelp reviews and 31 were published. Users are very enthusiastic about their appliance repair.

I used to sell appliances. Do not recall that many customers being that happy when an appliance breaks. Parts are very overpriced and repair people mark it up even further and then charge for labor.

I would report these listings to Yelp. Include any documentation (common users endorsing in several listings etc) you can find.

Yelp won't automatically flag someone for leaving reviews for multiple businesses. Someone can visit multiple restaurants in different cities.

Appliance Repair is a different story.

This company is making exact match business name fake listings. It is also using other competitor links to help rank those fake listings. As far as I know this is against Google terms and conditions. Can someone delete these fake listings?

https://plus.google.com/116780532530109251913/about?hl=en

https://plus.google.com/110045955045850661711/about?hl=en

https://plus.google.com/109609954726719745243/about?hl=en

https://plus.google.com/105092094086927220387/about?hl=en

https://plus.google.com/108005980083137322688/about?hl=en

https://plus.google.com/110377644601246321231/about?hl=en

https://plus.google.com/105543834859918798824/about?hl=en

https://plus.google.com/111455897013176414107/about?hl=en

https://plus.google.com/107580432356816381904/about?hl=en

https://plus.google.com/101325769646579180641/about?hl=en

https://plus.google.com/102304330118626214393/about?hl=en

https://plus.google.com/116039896192453461410/about?hl=en

https://plus.google.com/105954922564979234434/about?hl=en

https://plus.google.com/105612836984691967711/about?hl=en

https://plus.google.com/112969170148797938409/about?hl=en

 

[Linda Buquet]

So sorry, I got really behind due to RSI. I actually have to think carefully about every click and pick and choose my battles wisely.

So I never got this escalated to management.

Please provide the link to your post at the G forum so I don't have to search. If I recall you used a diff name there and I don't remember what it was.

 

[JacobMaslow]

I have always been Jacob Maslow

This was originally submitted by BajaSEO (were you directing to him?) but there are dozens of G+ that are using, as you mentioned, the Yelp scam.

The Yelp Pages are pretty suspicious as well. Lots of reviews and none are written by native English speakers.

So sorry, I got really behind due to RSI. I actually have to think carefully about every click and pick and choose my battles wisely.

So I never got this escalated to management.

Please provide the link to your post at the G forum so I don't have to search. If I recall you used a diff name there and I don't remember what it was.

 

[Linda Buquet]

I have always been Jacob Maslow

This was originally submitted by BajaSEO (were you directing to him?) but there are dozens of G+ that are using, as you mentioned, the Yelp scam.

Yes to bajaseo the originator of this thread and the one that posted at the G forum.

 

[mborgelt]

I agree with Cody on being patient. I typically don't expect anything less than a 2-3 week turnaround for these type of issues. Sometimes we are surprised and get things like this addressed more quickly but often that is not the case.