Google Local Listings and Foreclosed Homes Addresses

[cmax99]

Hey has anyone tried using foreclosed home address for google local listings??

Spread your thoughts here.....

 

[Techxan]

You have to be able to receive mail at the chosen address, and your customer's may look up the location and see it is a foreclosed home. Your competitors will report you if you do this and they find out.

Last but not lest, if you build your citations with this address, and someone buys the house and uses it as their business, there will be two businesses using the same address, and you will have to re-do all of your citations.

You do not have to do ths anyway, just add a suite number to your street address. It will be unique to Google, and the card will come to you.

 

[netmoney1]

^^^Right on the money.

You don't want potential customers to look up the address and have G maps show a residential address.

Not to mention the hassle of getting mail, etc.

Something that someone I know does: He rents a VERY cheap office space. They are out there - a small box room for $100 a month - look in neighboring small towns. I actually looked the other day and there was a small 150 sq/ft "box" that a local medical building was leasing out. $120 a month. In a nice business section.

This is what he does: Lets assume the address is 100 Business St, Suite 250. He then generates unlimited addresses:

100 Business St, Suite 250-1A
100 Business St, Suite 250-1B
100 Business St, Suite 250-1C
100 Business St, Suite 250-1D
100 Business St, Suite 250-1E
100 Business St, Suite 250-1F
100 Business St, Suite 250-1G
100 Business St, Suite 250-1H
100 Business St, Suite 250-1I........all the way to Z.....

then repeat...

100 Business St, Suite 250-2A
100 Business St, Suite 250-2B
100 Business St, Suite 250-2C
100 Business St, Suite 250-2D
100 Business St, Suite 250-2E
100 Business St, Suite 250-2F
100 Business St, Suite 250-2G
100 Business St, Suite 250-2H
100 Business St, Suite 250-2I........all the way to Z.....

then repeat...

etc....

Seems to be working well for him...plus I would think that $100 a month is well worth it rather than chasing mail at various locations all over.

 

[Nigel Farage]

Your competitors will report you if you do this and they find out.

This is what he does: Lets assume the address is 100 Business St, Suite 250. He then generates unlimited addresses:
100 Business St, Suite 250-2I........all the way to Z.....

then repeat...

It's a good idea in theory, but in the real world it doesn't work for two reasons. The more "aggravated" a situation becomes, i.e the more fake businesses that get packed on to the head of a pin, the worse it looks overall and the greater the number of competitors that will have a problem with someone using the fake address to game the system and derive an unfair advantage.

And Google isn't stupid, and Google isn't blind. In addition to well-paid employees, there is also an unpaid network of volunteers that process complaints from small business owners and these volunteers have the authority to delete GP/G+ entries and they can forward more aggravated situations like the one described above to actual Google employees to be dealt with.

In one case, the unpaid volunteer received an honest business owner's complaint about a situation just like this one and their response was that the situation was not clear enough to warrant deletion. They held open the possibility that all those businesses at that location were legit and there was not enough evidence to warrant deletion.

So, the complaining business owner's response was to do a video "walk-through" starting from the street and parking lot outside the business, which established that it was the same as what was being displayed in the GP/G+ listing due to the the Google Maps photos showing the same buildings, street signs etc...

He proved he was at the same address.

Then he walked in, posed as a regular, "off the street" customer and asked the receptionist about "Business A" and it's Owner, if they were in, if they were ever in, if they did business there, etc... and the receptionist honestly replied that he only showed up about once a week to pick up his mail.

Note: Google's Terms of Service (ToS) requires that a GP/G+ mapped location must do business "transactions" AT THAT LOCATION. Maybe later I'll find & post the exact language.

The business owner posted this video for all to see, and the entire scam was dismantled within the week. EVEN LEGITIMATE BUSINESS OWNERS AT THAT LOCATION WERE DELETED. EVERYONE was required to re-create their GP/G+ listing.

Google structures the situation so that EVERYONE loses, and everyone is hostile to the cheater, and everyone has a financial interest in "outing" these cheaters.

This is a Blackhat Forum, populated by people that want things "the easy way", "the fast way", the "get-something-for-nothing" way. And because of this, they believe in things that do not exist. When put into a situation where they have to make a decision between believing in a hard truth that forces them to do something they do not want to do, and some magic fantasy that promises that they will realize all of their dreams with little or no effort, they choose "B", and believe in the Tooth Fairy.

And then they re-tell the story about the magical Tooth Fairy, and other people just like them believe in it also. And, pretty soon, you have a forum full of retards, all standing around waiting for the Tooth Fairy to give them something for nothing. Intelligent people need to keep this in mind when reading this posts. There should be a disclaimer on some people's signature, something to replace the Rep+ system, something like

"WARNING! This Forum Member has been proven in the past to believe in the Tooth Fairy. Members are advised to read their posts at their own risk."

Challenge:

Give me an address of one of these fake, scam locations, anywhere in the continental United States, and I'll have the entire thing deleted within 2 weeks. The person submitting the address must have 1st hand knowledge of the location, and be willing to state that their belief that the fake address location is "bulletproof" and can withstand the determined efforts of someone trying to take it down.

What I'll Do:

Develop and work a list of legitimate business owners in competition with the fake businesses and contact them by both email and phone call, and send them a link with directions on how to file a complaint about the fake business(s) in order to have them taken down.

 

[netmoney1]

It's a good idea in theory, but in the real world it doesn't work for two reasons. The more "aggravated" a situation becomes, i.e the more fake businesses that get packed on to the head of a pin, the worse it looks overall and the greater the number of competitors that will have a problem with someone using the fake address to game the system and derive an unfair advantage.

And Google isn't stupid, and Google isn't blind. In addition to well-paid employees, there is also an unpaid network of volunteers that process complaints from small business owners and these volunteers have the authority to delete GP/G+ entries and they can forward more aggravated situations like the one described above to actual Google employees to be dealt with.

In one case, the unpaid volunteer received an honest business owner's complaint about a situation just like this one and their response was that the situation was not clear enough to warrant deletion. They held open the possibility that all those businesses at that location were legit and there was not enough evidence to warrant deletion.

So, the complaining business owner's response was to do a video "walk-through" starting from the street and parking lot outside the business, which established that it was the same as what was being displayed in the GP/G+ listing due to the the Google Maps photos showing the same buildings, street signs etc...

He proved he was at the same address.

Then he walked in, posed as a regular, "off the street" customer and asked the receptionist about "Business A" and it's Owner, if they were in, if they were ever in, if they did business there, etc... and the receptionist honestly replied that he only showed up about once a week to pick up his mail.

The business owner posted this video for all to see, and the entire scam was dismantled within the week. EVEN LEGITIMATE BUSINESS OWNERS AT THAT LOCATION WERE DELETED. EVERYONE was required to re-create their GP/G+ listing.

Google structures the situation so that EVERYONE loses, and everyone is hostile to the cheater, and everyone has a financial interest in "outing" these cheaters.

This is a Blackhat Forum, populated by people that want things the easy way, the fast way, the get-something-for-nothing way. And because of this, they believe in things that do not exist. When put into a situation where they have to make a decision between believing in a hard truth that forces them to do something they do not want, and some magic fantasy that allows them to realize all of their dreams with little or no effort on their part, they choose "B", and believe in the Tooth Fairy.

And then they re-tell the story about the magically Tooth Fairy, and other people just like them believe in it also. And, pretty soon, you have a forum full of retards, all standing around waiting for the Tooth Fairy to give them something for nothing. Intelligent people need to keep this in mind when reading this posts. There should be a disclaimer on some people's signature, something to replace the Rep+ system, something like "WARNING! This Forum Member has been proven in the past to believe in the Tooth Fairy. Members are advised to read their posts at their own risk."

Challenge:

Give me an address of one of these fake, scam locations, anywhere in the continental United States, and I'll have the entire thing deleted within 2 weeks. The person submitting the address must have 1st hand knowledge of the location, and be willing to state that their belief that the fake address location is "bulletproof" and can withstand the determined efforts of someone trying to take it down.

What I'll Do:

Develop and work a list of legitimate business owners in competition with the fake businesses and contact them by both email and phone call, and send them a link with directions on how to file a complaint about the fake business(s) in order to have them taken down.

Agree with you...people want the easy way out...and G will win in the end. Simply stating that this guy uses that method. Ethical? No. Short term? Yes.

Me, personally...I had my legit listing "unverified" and I had to get a new pin a year ago because there was a "-" missing in the address for the suite extension. So, something as simple as that can trigger an issue.

 

[netmoney1]

And here is that language:

Google Places for Business quality guidelines

Google Places for Business brings users and their local businesses together, both online and in the real world. To best serve our end users (and your potential customers), we've come up with a list of guidelines for your Google Places for Business account and listings.
Your Google Places for Business Account

Ownership: Only business owners or authorized representatives may verify their business listings on Google Places for Business.
Account Email Address: Use a shared business email account if multiple users will be updating your business listing. If possible, use an email account under your business domain. For example, if your business website is http://www.google.com, a matching email address would be [email protected].
Your Business Information

Business Name: Represent your business exactly as it appears in the offline world.

• Do not include marketing taglines in your business name.
• Do not include phone numbers or URLs in the business name field, unless they are part of your business name.
• Do not attempt to manipulate search results by adding extraneous keywords or a description of your business in the business name field.

Business Location: Use a precise, accurate address to describe your business location.

• Do not create a listing or place your pin marker at a location where the business does not physically exist. P.O. Boxes are not considered accurate physical locations.Your business location should be staffed during its stated hours.
  • Exceptions to the above are self-serve businesses such as ATMs or video-rental kiosks. If adding these locations, you should include contact information for customers to get help.
• If you need to specify a mail box or suite number within your physical location, please list your physical address in Address Line 1, and put your mail box or suite number in Address Line 2.
• Use the precise address for the business in place of broad city names or cross-streets.
• Do not create more than one listing for each business location, either in a single account or multiple accounts.
  • Individual practitioners may be listed individually as long as those practitioners are public-facing within their parent organization. Common examples of such practitioners are doctors, dentists, lawyers, and real estate agents. The practitioner should be directly contactable at the verified location during stated hours. A practitioner should not have multiple listings to cover all of his or her specializations.
  • Departments within businesses, universities, hospitals, and government buildings may be listed separately. These departments must be publicly distinct as entities or groups within their parent organization, and ideally will have separate phone numbers and/or customer entrances. Businesses that operate in a service area, as opposed to a single location, should not create a listing for every city they service.
• Businesses that operate in a service area should create one listing for the central office or location and designate service areas. If you wish to display your complete business address while setting your service area(s), your business location should be staffed and able to receive customers during its stated hours. Google will determine how best to display your business address based on your inputs as well as inputs from other sources. http://support.google.com/business/bin/answer.py?answer=3038163.
• Do not include information in address lines that does not pertain to your business's physical location (e.g. URLs, keywords).

Website & Phone: Provide a phone number that connects to your individual business location as directly as possible, and provide one website that represents your individual business location.

• Use a local phone number instead of a call center number whenever possible.
• Do not provide phone numbers or URLs that redirect or "refer" users to landing pages or phone numbers other than those of the actual business.

Categories: Select at least one category from the list of available categories.

• Categories should depict what your business is (e.g. Hospital), not what it does (e.g. Vaccinations) or products it sells (e.g. Sony products or printer paper). This information can be added in your description.

Other Items of Note

Illegal activities: Fraudulent or illegal activities aren't tolerated on Google and may result in account suspension and removal of listing information from search results.
Ineligible Business Models

• Only businesses that make in-person contact with customers qualify for a Google Places for Business listing.
• Businesses that are under construction or that have not yet opened to the public are not eligible for a listing on Google Places for Business.
• Rental or for-sale properties, such as vacation homes or vacant apartments, are not eligible to be listed on Google Maps and should not be verified. Instead, verify the listing for your sales or leasing office or offices. If you have a property with an on-site office, you may verify that office location.
• You can't create Places listings for stores which you do not own, but which stock your products.
• You also can't create a Places listing for an ongoing service, class, or meeting at a location that you don't own or have the authority to represent. Please coordinate with your host to have your information displayed on their Place Page within their Description field.

Marketing, promotions, or other contests

• Any promotion, marketing, contests, or other giveaways should clearly link to the terms of the activity and provide clear guidelines and qualifications. All such promises, given or implied, should be adhered to.

 

[Techxan]

^^^Right on the money.

You don't want potential customers to look up the address and have G maps show a residential address.

Not to mention the hassle of getting mail, etc.

Something that someone I know does: He rents a VERY cheap office space. They are out there - a small box room for $100 a month - look in neighboring small towns. I actually looked the other day and there was a small 150 sq/ft "box" that a local medical building was leasing out. $120 a month. In a nice business section.

This is what he does: Lets assume the address is 100 Business St, Suite 250. He then generates unlimited addresses:

100 Business St, Suite 250-1A
100 Business St, Suite 250-1B
100 Business St, Suite 250-1C
100 Business St, Suite 250-1D
100 Business St, Suite 250-1E
100 Business St, Suite 250-1F
100 Business St, Suite 250-1G
100 Business St, Suite 250-1H
100 Business St, Suite 250-1I........all the way to Z.....

then repeat...

100 Business St, Suite 250-2A
100 Business St, Suite 250-2B
100 Business St, Suite 250-2C
100 Business St, Suite 250-2D
100 Business St, Suite 250-2E
100 Business St, Suite 250-2F
100 Business St, Suite 250-2G
100 Business St, Suite 250-2H
100 Business St, Suite 250-2I........all the way to Z.....

then repeat...

etc....

Seems to be working well for him...plus I would think that $100 a month is well worth it rather than chasing mail at various locations all over.

I think this might be problematic. You can pull it off for a few listings, but I wouldn't push it like this post suggests.

 

[netmoney1]

I think this might be problematic. You can pull it off for a few listings, but I wouldn't push it like this post suggests.

Yup, it is def an aggressive cowboy way of doing it. Personally, I wouldn't touch it with a 10 foot pole.

Personally, I do listings the right way....for legit business locations.

 

[trubnut]

Or if you are just looking for mass exposure and multiple listings, you could just go blackhat and verify by phone

 

[username1234321]

How can I verify google local business by phone?