Google Map Pins for businesses have been moving without warning, leading to suspensions of Google business profiles. Businesses rely on Google Maps to drive consumer traffic and use Map Pins to provide geographic reach for easy contact. However, spammers and hackers have been exploiting this feature to trick customers, resulting in ranking drops or profile suspensions.
Darren Shaw from Whitepark revealed data showing how many companies have been affected by this flaw in the Google system. Many businesses reported that their Map Pins were changed, and when they tried to fix it, their ranking dropped or their profile was suspended. This issue has been ongoing for years but was discovered on a larger scale recently.
Spammers and hackers may be using this flaw to manipulate rankings and drive traffic to their own profiles. Google has not addressed the issue publicly or provided a solution. Cases of suspended profiles and reduced rankings due to Map Pin manipulation continue to increase.
Businesses have shared screenshots of their Map Pins being moved far away from their actual location, resulting in suspended accounts. Google does not notify businesses of these changes, allowing anyone to edit company details without permission. While businesses can’t edit back to their original location, a solution has been proposed to prevent such scams for a small fee.
It is crucial for Google to address this issue and provide a permanent solution to protect businesses from malicious Map Pin changes. As more cases of manipulation and suspensions arise, the need for action from Google becomes more urgent to maintain the integrity of business profiles on its platform.
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