Google announced they have launched a new form to submit spam reports about Google local, maps and Google My Business related spam. Google calls it the Business Redressal Complaint Form and is for fraudulent activity. You can access the form over here.
Google said If you come across misleading information or fraudulent activity on Google Maps related to the name, phone number, or URL of a business, you may use this form to submit a complaint. Complaints submitted through this form will be reviewed in accordance with the Google guidelines for representing businesses on Google Maps.
Marissa Nordahl, Community Manager, Google My Business said in a Google My Business Help thread “If you come across a business name, phone number, or URL on Google Maps that leads to fraudulent activity, you can now submit a complaint using this form. We’ll close the Spam board on this community, so please use the new form to report spam-related issues.”
Joy Hawkins, a local SEO, posted more details in the Local Search Forums:
- Do I get a response when the report was processed? You’ll get a generic response but it will be just like social support where they tell you that since it’s not a business you manage, you won’t get an update on what happened. For this reason, I suggest setting a reminder for yourself to just check back in a few weeks.
- What if I want to report tons of locations at once? There is a spreadsheet upload option on the form – use this option.
- What if I don’t want to tell Google the business it’s impacting? Lots of business owners are reluctant to report spam because they don’t want their competitors knowing they were the ones to report it. The safest bet here is just to put NA in those fields.
- Can I use this form to report fake reviews? Not currently. You should send these requests to Google’s social support. You can tweet to them at @googlemybiz or message them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/GoogleMyBusiness/. Usually they respond in 1-5 business days.
Forum discussion at Local Search Forums, Google My Business Help and Twitter.