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Google Local Business Results - Sending Wrong Traffic

sean22

12:28 pm on Feb 17, 2010 (gmt 0)

10+ Year Member

I have a problem and I tried to take care of it by following instructions, but a week has passed and it remains unresolved. My website (URL) is showing up in Google “Local Business Results” under one of the listings, 1st page on Google. The problem is I don't own that business nor is my website affiliated with the business it is listed under.

I am receiving a lot of traffic from Google for a KW phrase that has absolutely nothing to do with my website. I can not emphasize this enough, there is nothing even remotely similar about my site and the service that is advertised.

I have clicked on the “report a problem” and to this today nothing has happened. Who should I contac? How can I tell Google of this problem aside from the ineffective “report a problem”?

My bounce rate is off the roof as you can imagine. I worked hard on this site, writing quality content and I am worried that my hard work is being compromised by the Google Search engine being confused. My KW is widgets-123 but Google is sending me traffic for something that does not even come close to my KW.

I managed to edit the internal info in the listing including the URL but my URL remains on the first page of Google for ABC business (Local Business Results).

How can I rectify this problem?

AnkitMaheshwari

6:13 am on Feb 18, 2010 (gmt 0)

10+ Year Member

I believe that the business under which your listing is appearing must have the physical office (through which listing was added) very close to your office location (same locality).

This must be the effect of "More about this place" option that Google shows in the listing.

sean22

9:30 am on Feb 18, 2010 (gmt 0)

10+ Year Member

AnkitMaheshwari,

Yes you are right. It is an old domain that I purchased and the site did have a physical business in the same city from which the wrong traffic is coming from.

I did thorough research of the website prior to buying it, including seeing how it looked like in years past. I also did not change KW, the website before I bought it was about Green-Widgets (a product). And it remains about Green-Widgets.

The wrong traffic is not anything even close to Green-Widgets. The listing is actually a health service and not product based.

Please tell me is this detrimental to my website. If it's nothing then I will feel relieved. Even if annoyed when reading my logs and seeing so many visitors wrongly landing on my website.

Google webmaster forum does not have a section for such issues. Is there an email, phone number of any office I can contact that is responsible for Google directory/maps/local business search?

If you were in my shoes, what would you do?

AnkitMaheshwari

10:25 am on Feb 18, 2010 (gmt 0)

10+ Year Member

sean22, the health service listing you are mentioned must also be from your locality (or the owner must have given the address next to your locality).

If you were in my shoes, what would you do?

The feature is too new and I have no experience of the same except that I too am facing this issue for one of my client's site. Currently doing some research on the net along with Hit n Trial :(

PS: [webmasterworld.com...]

sean22

6:57 pm on Feb 19, 2010 (gmt 0)

10+ Year Member

I am happy to say that Google rectified the wrong listing, and the wrong traffic has stopped coming to my site. I guess the "report a problem" does work, they just probably needed time to get to it.

Cheers to Google :)