Beginning in late 2018, Google My Business has been flooded with lead-gen spam for fake personal injury law firms.
These are usually called something like:
Using the Google My Business Redressal Form:
1. Build a CSV file.
Basically, you're making a spreadsheet (assuming you have multiple spam listings to turn in. You can skip this step if you're reporting 1 bad spam listing). You can use Excel, just save the file as a CSV file when you're done instead of a XLS file. The spreadsheet should have 3 columns (some people use 4 or 5 columns and include the address and phone number). I use 3 columns and those columns are the business name, the Maps URL and the reason for removal. Be sure you're using the correct URL in your spreadsheet. It's best to find the spam using maps.google.com and pull that URL so that it looks like these in this example:
2. Go to the redressal form page:
https://support.google.com/business/contact/business_redressal_form
3. Fill out the form.
I have tested it, and it's OK to list the SPAM listing (where the form asks for the business affected). You could also put n/a there. If you have a bulk upload, attach your CSV file.
4. Wait.
You'll get an email once you've uploaded the form. You will not be getting a follow up. If they successfully removed the spam, it will be gone in 2 - 4 weeks.
When fake personal injury listings return:
For most of my clients, I end up going through the spam about every 3 weeks. I go back to my CSV file and check to see when the fake lead-gen listings have been removed, then I go scan for new ones. The people posting this use the same names all over the country, so I generally have an updated list of names to search cities for to track the spam down. At the time of this post, the spam has been going up regularly for about 16 months now and there's no sign of Google My Business cracking down on it.
These are usually called something like:
- Dallas Car Accident Lawyer Pros
- The Super Injury Lawyer Guys
- Alpha Eagle Law Firm
- The Gregarious Car Accident Lawyers
- Philadelphia Bicycle Accident Lawyers
- Tampa Trucking Accident Lawyers
Using the Google My Business Redressal Form:
1. Build a CSV file.
Basically, you're making a spreadsheet (assuming you have multiple spam listings to turn in. You can skip this step if you're reporting 1 bad spam listing). You can use Excel, just save the file as a CSV file when you're done instead of a XLS file. The spreadsheet should have 3 columns (some people use 4 or 5 columns and include the address and phone number). I use 3 columns and those columns are the business name, the Maps URL and the reason for removal. Be sure you're using the correct URL in your spreadsheet. It's best to find the spam using maps.google.com and pull that URL so that it looks like these in this example:
2. Go to the redressal form page:
https://support.google.com/business/contact/business_redressal_form
3. Fill out the form.
I have tested it, and it's OK to list the SPAM listing (where the form asks for the business affected). You could also put n/a there. If you have a bulk upload, attach your CSV file.
4. Wait.
You'll get an email once you've uploaded the form. You will not be getting a follow up. If they successfully removed the spam, it will be gone in 2 - 4 weeks.
When fake personal injury listings return:
For most of my clients, I end up going through the spam about every 3 weeks. I go back to my CSV file and check to see when the fake lead-gen listings have been removed, then I go scan for new ones. The people posting this use the same names all over the country, so I generally have an updated list of names to search cities for to track the spam down. At the time of this post, the spam has been going up regularly for about 16 months now and there's no sign of Google My Business cracking down on it.
