An owner or business manager can claim a Google Business Profile on Google Maps or Google Search. When someone makes a claim on a Google Business Profile listing, if the business is already claimed by someone, the current owner will receive an email asking them to approve or deny the new claim.
False claims increased. According to some in the local SEO community, there has been an increase in the number of fraudulent requests to claim and take ownership of business listings. “I see hijackers getting a ton of owner requests, do you all see the same?” Ben Fisher asked.
In fact, other local SEOs have confirmed seeing similar content in forums. Here are some responses:
- “I may have seen a lot 3 weeks ago (a few weeks ago), but for me the requests have dropped significantly.”
- “Last week I got 5 scam requests from the same person! I’m used to about 3 a month, but I’ve also noticed an increase lately.”
be careful. So, beware of such false claims of ownership and be sure to verify that the person making the claim is the true owner or manager of the business. If you’re not sure, it’s better to deny the request than to accept it. If the wrong people visit your listing, they could delete your listing or change your website, phone number, or worse.
Why do we care. There is a lot of fraud online, especially with Google Search and Google Maps. Therefore, it is very important to stay on top of these scams so that you are less likely to fall victim to them. Stay on top of your business information and make sure it’s up to date and accurate. Never give access to your Google Places Profile to anyone you don’t know and trust.
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about the author
Barry Schwartz is a contributing editor for Search Engine Land and a member of the SMX Events programming team. He owns RustyBrick, a New York-based web consulting firm. He also runs Search Engine Roundtable, a popular search blog on very advanced SEM topics.Can follow Barry gentlemen on twitter.