When you’re trying to clean up a competitor’s dirty Google Business Profile page, it’s not enough just to be right: You also need to make your move at the right time.
When’s the right time to send in a “suggest an edit”? It’s (1) as soon as you notice a problem, (2) as soon as you know specifically what change(s) you’ll suggest to Google, and (3) after you’ve had a long pause from reporting other Google Maps spam.
The first point is intuitive enough. Don’t wait until a competitor is outranking you to send in your edit. Report Google Maps spam that you outrank by a country mile. Today it ranks #14 in the 3-pack, but tomorrow you may be stuck under its kilt, with nowhere to look but up.
The second point might also be intuitive. If you can tell Google exactly what’s wrong, and especially if you can point out multiple problems Google should fix, Google’s more likely to take action and you’re less likely to waste your time and street cred.
The third point may be a forehead-slapper (or at least it was to me): It seems that Google is more likely to approve edits that you didn’t submit after a lot of other edits you submitted. These first-order-of-business complaints are what I call fresh edits.
Let’s say you don’t report GBP spam every day, but rather try to clean it up in batches every few weeks or months. Let’s also assume you’ve rounded up 10 different Google Business Profile violations on 10 competitors’ GBP pages. The “fresh” edits generally are the first 2-3 problems you report, and the “stale” edits are the 7-8 problems you report last. Any of the fresh edits is somewhat more likely to be approved than any stale edit (or tired edit, or crusty edit, or whatever antonym you like).
My theory is that Google sees a “fresh” edit as more likely to come from an objective but concerned third party, rather than from someone with a competitive interest, an agenda, or a beef. It’s like calling the cops. They’re more likely to take your gripe – or serious emergency – seriously if you haven’t reported other problems in recent memory. They’re less likely to take you seriously if you’re the person who calls every time a neighbor’s dog decorates your lawn.
Maybe it shouldn’t be that way. All 10 (or 22 or 103) of your complaints may be justified. Doesn’t matter. It’s theoretically possible that Google takes action on every single problem, and it’s very likely that Google ignores them all. We’re talking about probabilities here. How you maximize your chances may determine whether you succeed in thinning the herd of spammers over time or their numbers keep growing and they trample you into the mud. In turn, that can determine how much of your hard work produces Google Maps visibility and new customers.
How should all of that influence your spam-blasting regimen? Simple:
1. Spread out your “suggest an edit” reports to Google. Don’t send in edits every day, but don’t try to get through your entire list in one day and let it languish for the rest of the year. Ring the bell a few times every couple of weeks or every month or so. In the meantime, kill a few minutes.
3. Be organized. At the very least, use a spreadsheet to keep track of the specific businesses (and possibly locations) you’ve reported, when, why, and the status of each. If possible, enlist a few Robins to your Batman. More in this post.
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What have you noticed in the timing of your “suggest an edits” reports on spammy Google Maps competitors? Any patterns as to what works, or doesn’t work? Leave a comment!
P.S. If you’ve seen this approach suggested anywhere else, please let me know, so I can give that person due credit.
It shouldn’t have to be the hard… but it is. I concur with your observations Phil, I find I need to ‘take a rest’ on reporting on some of the bad guys, then hit them early in a fresh reporting series, as you found, a few of the early reports get traction, and the next few go to ‘in review’.
As always, you are incisive and perspicacious 🙂
Definitely this is a fact. The tactic of waiting for days or weeks truly works.
It seems to help nudge the Roomba into sweeping up a few more crumbs.
Totally agree with this. I also tell me clients that it’s much better to use an aged account with ratings and reviews. I suspect Google takes those accounts more seriously. I find that when the client reports spam that won’t go away, that after I report it from my account it gets resolved (instantly sometimes).
Hey Jesse. That’s good advice. The track record does seem to help a little, though not as much as one might think. It’s probably some combination of one’s “Local Guide” level (which is pretty much a byproduct of reviews) and of having made enough edits over the years that Google ended up agreeing with.