Google and Local Business: Understanding an Issue?
July 30, 2019
Google My Business (GMB) is a boon to many organizations, allowing them to be easily found online. However, not all businesses fit neatly into the platform’s algorithm. Search Engine Land asks, “What Do You Do if Google My Business Doesn’t Understand Your Business?” Writer Adam Dorfman observes:
“According to the most recent Moz Local Search Ranking Factors report, your GMB page is the biggest local ranking factor. It also functions as a website now, with rich content, visuals and customer ratings/reviews that make it possible for people to learn more about you without leaving Google’s search results. At the same time, Google My Business is not a perfect service. It often struggles with businesses that don’t fall into the two most common business types: storefronts where customers come to a permanent business location and service area businesses, where the business comes to the customer.”
The primary example here is the increasingly common pop-up shop—a type of business that does not maintain a permanent address. Since GMB relies on snail-mail postcards to verify listings, these entities may be unable to establish one in the first place. If they do, the app may show them as “permanently closed” when they move on to another location, implying they have gone out of business altogether. Not good for reeling in customers. Dorfman writes:
“Because of this quirk in Google’s approach, pop-up stores are generally beyond the reach of GMB. Their customers need to find them via word of mouth or via social sites such as Facebook, where they may operate pages without a verified location. In the above scenario, everyone loses. The store loses potential customers. Google loses traffic to social sites such as Facebook. And customers lose because it becomes harder to find a store that might interest them. Because Google Maps and Waze draw data from GMB listings, those popular apps cannot offer users accurate directions to these types of stores.”
Verification is important, but GMB must be able to adapt to shifting business trends. The company seems willing, but it remains to be seen how it will address this growing issue. The August 13, 2019, DarkCyber references the ease with which a person can create a fake business in Google’s online system. A plus or a minus? The answer depends on one’s point of view.
Cynthia Murrell, July 30, 2019
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