Google Local Search Piracy
It seems that local businesses may be hijacking their competitor's listing on Google's local results. There are rumors that businesses are buying their competitor's listing and then including their own website address. This is particularly interesting because on Jan. 30th, Google local search results began displaying much more prominently on Google's SERPs.
SEO Home reported on a thread at Digital Point Forums that claimed:
I have a client, who did not register a business listing on Google maps, but their competitor took the time to do it for them, using their own url instead of my clients of course
The listing shows as unverified, but I imagine that could stay that way for months.
You might want to check your Google map business listing to make sure someone hasn't done the same to you.
Although Google does not currently any kind of pre-emptive Quality Assurance in place, Search Engine Round Table notes that victims can fill out this form or at update the listing themselves.















