Fake Google Maps Locations Gone Wild

One thing I’ve always prided myself on as a business owner is my honesty. From the moment we started Netvantage one of our goals was to not make false promises. As such, I find it absolutely infuriating when I find “local” competitors in our space or our clients’ spaces using fake listings in Google My Business to show up in Google Maps. Perhaps just as infuriating is Google’s utter inability to police it. Regardless, it’s deceiving to customers, and that’s what really pisses me off because, y’know, I can be a customer, too.

As a business owner and an SEO, I like to do the occasional checkup by doing some searches for the cities we have offices in to see if there is any new local competition. On one recent checkup I decided to do a search for “SEO Lansing” and to my surprise, there was a listing for a company named Lewis SEO. Interestingly, they had no local address but were still showing on maps. A few quick searches on Google, and a toss into SEMrush revealed what’s likely only the tip of the iceberg, as I uncovered 152 subdomains, all of which seem to have Google Maps listings associated with them. Here’s my initial list!

“Clearly, this is the biggest SEO franchise on planet earth,” I said to myself.

I couldn’t resist. I picked up the phone and called the 517 (which is local to Lansing) number. A guy answered the phone and I told him I was driving into Lansing today and I’d like to meet at their office if someone was available to discuss my non-profit (I really do work with a non-profit, and I’d love some other SEOs to help me out!). He paused, then said he’d check to see if they had an office in Lansing, which seemed like an odd statement since I had called their “Lansing” number. After some loud keyboard typing in the background, he hopped back on the line and said they only have a “residential office there.” He went on to tell me they have these types of “offices” in a lot of cities, but that he’s located in Indianapolis and he sometimes makes it to the area if we’d like to have a meeting. I told him I was only in town briefly (also true) and said I’d have to find another time.

They go above and beyond

Any good SEO company knows that reviews for your Google My Business listing are important so I wasn’t surprised to see a review for the Grand Rapids location (wherever that may be). Continuing my curious streak, I clicked on the reviewer to see which other companies they reviewed and it appears that they’ve reviewed four of Lewis SEO’s locations throughout Michigan and had such a great experience they gave the SAME EXACT 5-star review for each location.

It’s even worse than I’d imagined!

Despite the already damning list of fake locations I had found from searching for the cities in the subdomain list above, I was even more floored when I went to Google Maps and zoomed out to the state of Michigan and did a search for “Lewis SEO”. They are everywhere! While they have no map pins, listings DO SHOW UP and you can click on them to see their localized (obviously forwarding) numbers and the city they supposedly are located in. THEY HAVE ONE FOR WAYLAND FOR GOD’S SAKE!

For those of you who are unaware, Wayland, Michigan is a thriving metropolis of 4,237 citizens.

Just for fun, please have a look for the listings in your state…you’ll be amazed. The time and effort to build this elaborate hoax of locations is truly something to marvel at! Seriously, I’m not even mad…

via GIPHY

This is a Google problem

Ultimately, I don’t mean to shame Lewis SEO here, they’re just taking advantage of a clear quality control problem Google is having with their Maps product. The bigger question is how and why Google would even allow Google Maps listings without a physical address, especially in the 3-pack. The entire idea of local search results is to provide users with access to local businesses, so how in the hell does this make any sense?

Lest you think this is some old timer screaming “Get off my lawn!” I’d implore you all to take a look at the Twitter hashtag that’s taken on a life of its own (and Google apparently pays attention to) #StopCrapOnTheMap. Lots of people having some issues with shady Google Maps listings once you start poking around. Here’s a perfect example of egregious local spam from Nathan Driver.

yeah…these look legit ?#stopcraponthemap pic.twitter.com/af55BVqL86

— Nathan Driver (@natedriver) December 28, 2018

How to kill Google Maps spam

So what can an outmatched individual do against this overwhelming tide of spam? Well, I’d dive into all of the details, but a lot of people have already picked up the torch and laid out the instructions for you. So, rather than steal their thunder in a less eloquent way, I’ll leave it to those who have come before.

• How To Fight Spam & Fake Listings on Google Maps
• The Ultimate Guide to Fighting Spam on Google Maps
• Local SEO Spam Tactics Are Working: How You Can Fight Back

Show us your SPAM!

For my money, I haven’t seen anyone go as hard with local spam as my example above, but I’d love to see bigger, or more head-scratching examples of Google Maps spam so others can experience the shock and awe.