Description
Spam listings compromise the quality of your search results and thus negatively affect your ranking in local searches. Any GMB spam listing can appear in myriad forms including fake companies, fake negative reviews, keyword stuffing, ineligible businesses on Google maps, and duplicate listings. When a legitimate GMB profile is mistakenly verified more than once, the duplicate of the original is considered a spam listing. Sometimes entrepreneurs are tempted to verify their listings more than once with the notion that multiple verifications of a single listing can boost their ability to dominate the Map pack. This is however not the case since all other duplicates are listed as spam and therefore outrank your business. Spam listings affect your local SEO strategy in the sense that they affect your visibility and compromise your ranking spots. To combat the negative impacts of spam listings on your ranking, it is important to utilize Google’s provided recourses as addressed in this “Reporting GMB Spam Listing” Checklist.
