UPDATE: Google Local Duplicate Discovery - Now that Our Best Google Tools are Gone

[Linda Buquet]

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If you work in Local Search, you know that duplicate listings almost always cause ranking problems.
PLUS duplicate claimed listings are a violation and can even cause suspension.

So being a good dupe hunter is part of the job and one of the 1st things you should research for a potential new client.

But the tools we used to use for this are now gone, or don't work efficiently.

- New Google Maps does not surface most duplicate listings.

- Classic Maps USED to be good for dupe research. Then it stopped surfacing about 40% of the dupes. And now Classic is gone. (For all practical purposes.)

- So then +Local Search was our go to tool and it worked really well. +Local is now gone too.

That leaves us with Map Maker a tool that is lacking so many features for dupe research that it will leave you crippled with RSI if you have to use it for researching a bunch of listings.

Joy explains all the steps needed to just do basic dupe research with MM:

<a href="http://imprezziomarketing.com/seo-blog/google-2/step-by-step-guide-to-finding-duplicate-google-plus-listings-on-mapmaker-part-1/">Step-By-Step Guide to Finding Duplicate Google Plus Listings on MapMaker (Part 1)</a>

(Apologies, I was sure I shared Joy's post when it 1st came out but I can't find it so wanted to be sure and share it here, in this new dupe solutions thread.)


There is a better way than fighting with Map Maker!

<a href="http://www.localsearchforum.com/google-local-important/32034-gmb-dupe-finder-spam-hunter-100-times-better-than-google-map-maker.html">GMB Dupe Finder & Spam Hunter - 100 Times Better Than Google Map Maker</a>

That post is in the Google Local IMPORTANT sub forum because dupe and spam research is critical. BUT I wanted to be sure I pinned a post here in the dupe sub forum since many of my previous posts about dupe research refer to tools that have now been deprecated by Google.

Hope that tool helps your research efforts!

 

[Linda Buquet]

I have not had time to research in detail but Joy discovered the tool does not show CLOSED listings which can also hurt rankings so are critical to discover.

So may still need to do a quick double check in MM to see if there are any of those.

See post # 6 - 10 here.

<a href="http://www.localsearchforum.com/google-local-important/32034-gmb-dupe-finder-spam-hunter-100-times-better-than-google-map-maker.html#post63112">GMB Dupe Finder & Spam Hunter - 100 Times Better Than Google Map Maker</a>