Don't Let Your Google Local Business Search Listing Be Hijacked!

When someone says hijacking do you think of a terrorist barging onto a plane and flying to Cuba? Well, that's not what we're talking about here! We're talking about a nasty trick where someone steals your business identity on Google Local Business.
How does this happen? Well it's actually pretty simple. Until you "own" your Google Local Business listing anyone can come in and make changes to it as if they were you. When businesses are presented in Google the data is typically pulled in from other on line resources such as InfoUSA or YellowPages. While this is fairly bare bones information it should in most cases be an accurate reflection of your business name, location and phone number. You can find your information by searching on your business name or address in Google Maps.
So, how can my listing be hijacked? Well it's simple. Anyone can go into a Google Local Business listing and claim it as their own. The hijacker creates a Google email address and then a Local Business Account. They find the listing they want and change the phone number and the URL of the business (or add one if there isn't one). The hijacker also slightly changes the address so Google thinks it's actually a new listing. Google provides for a phone verification process and bingo your listing is high jacked. Subsequent to this your business name could also be changed and you are now gone from view by Google searchers in your locale!
While your business may still be found by other means a good number of searches may be high jacked to the "new" bushiness phone number and URL. This causes lost sales to you and potential confusion to searchers. There has been some organized attempts at this in San Diego to florists, locksmiths and Pay Day Loan operations. In the floral instance the URL was directed to a Canadian on line florist who ended up stealing quite a bit of business.
Is this happening a lot right now? No, however once the word gets out it will occur more frequently. The real worry on a local basis is your competitor changing your information (URL and phone number) to theirs. They could even change the location to theirs and you would disappear!
How can I prevent this from happening? The most important thing to do is claim your listing on Google right now. Create a Google Mail account and then a Google Local Business account. You will confirm your business listing to ensure it's accurate. Then, and this is the fun part, you enhance it. Google allows for photos, videos, your hours of operation, payment methods to all be listed. The more you do with your listing the better off you are in helping your customers find you.
Don't delay, protect your business listing