It's gotten to the point that I have to say something.
There is no shame with these people.
If you haven't heard, Google finally pushed through a big change this morning. Google Plus and Loca Google+ is now officially out the window, with Google My Business now the official tag for local businesses.
They are now letting you put more detailed information right in your listings, which is cool. It may be tricky for awhile for those businesses that share spaces but overall, good news.
But unfortunately, it's going to bring more bad news. There are plenty of 'companies' that cold call business owners all day long waiting for one to fall for their scare tactics. I've seen this first hand with one of my clients.
My clients are an older couple that run and small business and seemingly once a month receive a phone call from a 'marketing company' letting them know that their Google Listing is not only incomplete, it doesn't even exist! Imagine my surprise!
My client is the Parisi Tailor Shop. I invite you to click this link.
They are quite obviously lying. But that's not the only disturbing part. I know they are lying, they know they are lying. But the business owner will not always know they are lying. Even if they are older or out of touch with the online landscape, they are going to understand how much Google means to their business. This is exactly why these people use Google to get their point across. They are trying to scare people into giving them money and then doing no work. Or, even worse, claiming the work previously done by someone else.
Keep your ears perked up for this. If you own a business, or have family or friends that own a business, make sure they are aware of this situation. I hear it nearly every day from business owners in all verticals.
We offer Google evaluations that are completely free and have no strings attached. We'll give you an honest evaluation on whether you actually need to put any work into your Google Listing or if you're fine the way you are. And if you do need work, we'll let you know what you realistically need done.
