coldemails
Newbie
- Nov 7, 2023
- 2
- 2
We are a locksmith business based in London, and have been operating for the past 10 years. When it comes to marketing our business, particularly through SEO/online, we have encountered a disturbing trend. Many competitors are employing unethical tactics to gain an unfair advantage, undermining the principles of fair competition and quality service.
Using SEO tools like Ahrefs, we have uncovered that a significant portion of our competition is using unscrupulous methods to boost their rankings. These include:
Competitors are using questionable links to manipulate their search engine rankings. These links often come from low-quality or irrelevant websites, designed solely to game the system.
We found over 250 websites that appear to be created by the same entity. These sites share the same webserver, identical content, similar logos, and nearly identical designs. This network of sites also includes fake Google My Business listings, further misleading customers.
One of the most concerning tactics is the abuse of Google My Business (GMB) listings. Many of these listings are fake, set up without a genuine physical location in the advertised area. This practice not only deceives customers but also violates Google’s guidelines. Yet, despite these clear violations, these listings often remain active, while legitimate businesses like ours struggle to get genuine GMB listings approved.
Despite these blatant violations of Google's policies, there seems to be no effective way to report these issues. The system appears to be slow and cumbersome, leaving ethical businesses at a disadvantage. This lack of enforcement is frustrating and detrimental to businesses that play by the rules.
Using SEO tools like Ahrefs, we have uncovered that a significant portion of our competition is using unscrupulous methods to boost their rankings. These include:
Competitors are using questionable links to manipulate their search engine rankings. These links often come from low-quality or irrelevant websites, designed solely to game the system.
We found over 250 websites that appear to be created by the same entity. These sites share the same webserver, identical content, similar logos, and nearly identical designs. This network of sites also includes fake Google My Business listings, further misleading customers.
One of the most concerning tactics is the abuse of Google My Business (GMB) listings. Many of these listings are fake, set up without a genuine physical location in the advertised area. This practice not only deceives customers but also violates Google’s guidelines. Yet, despite these clear violations, these listings often remain active, while legitimate businesses like ours struggle to get genuine GMB listings approved.
Despite these blatant violations of Google's policies, there seems to be no effective way to report these issues. The system appears to be slow and cumbersome, leaving ethical businesses at a disadvantage. This lack of enforcement is frustrating and detrimental to businesses that play by the rules.
