Google announced yesterday that they are sick and tired of hearing complaints from their users that SEO companies are presenting to represent Google and help them claim their business on Google My Business (Google Maps).
Google said they are now "filing an action in California against one search engine optimization company for making these robocalls and confusing our users." "It’s unfortunate when a problem must be addressed in a court of law, but we believe this course of action will protect our users and discourage this practice more broadly," Brad Wetherall, Google My Business Operations Manager added.
It is true, it is a huge problem. Virtually every business I know gets a phone call a week (at least) from someone pretending to be from Google. They claim they are helping the business get verified on Google Maps.
The calls sometimes start with a recording that reads: “It’s extremely urgent that we speak to the business owner! We’ve tried to reach you numerous times. Our records indicate that your Google Business Listing has not been claimed...”
Most of us know to just hangup but some do not.
Google set up a new form to report robocalls to them, so they may take action against other companies.
Overall, for Google to file suit against a company for this action is a big deal.
Mike has a lot more on the specifics of who got sued and the lawsuit over here.
Forum discussion at Google My Business Help, Local Search Forums and Google+.
