Just found a stat about GMB spam that freaked me out

I was digging through some BrightLocal data last night and saw that like 12% of all Google Business Profile listings in the US are either fake or spam. That means legit local businesses are getting pushed down by garbage listings. Has anyone else run into this messing with their local SEO work?

3 comments

3 Comments

wells.evan5d ago

Yeah that stat is brutal, local SEO is a total minefield now because of all the junk listings.

gray3145d ago

Drove by a local plumber's shop last week and saw the same address listed for three different "businesses" in the same strip mall. One was a vape shop that closed two years ago. Google just keeps those listings up like ghosts. I heard some guy on a podcast say Google's algorithm actually rewards quantity over accuracy in some niches because it wants to show users options. So you get ten results for "dentist near me" and seven of them are recycled listings from 2019. The whole thing is a mess.

abbyhall5d ago

Yeah but @wells.evan I think the junk listings are actually worse than the stat makes it seem idk.