Florist guilty of hijacking business listings on Google Maps

A New Zealand business owner has been ordered to complete 100 hours of community service after it was discovered she changed the business listings of rival companies in Google Maps to direct traffic to her own business.

But a Google spokesperson says it is the first time the company has heard of a user changing business details with malicious intent.

However, the case comes after several warnings from the SEO industry regarding the epidemic of Google Maps hijacking, which has seen several businesses lose out to competitors.

Former florist Kendra Drinkwater admitted to charges of accessing a computer system for dishonest gain, and admitted to changing business details on Google Maps between November 1 and December 4.

Google added business listings to its Google Maps feature some time ago, which allowed businesses to input information such as contact details so people looking for local services could find them.

However, many SEO experts have pointed out information can be accessed and edited by virtually anyone, leaving companies liable to hijacking attempts. Many businesses are allegedly changing contact information and address details of competitors to lead back to their own websites.

Last year Adam Lyttle, founder of marketing firm SiteClick, told SmartCompany he had noticed a rise in the number of Google hijacking cases being reported by other businesses.

One of the major problems for businesses hit by hijack attempts is they are unaware the Google Maps details are false until an employee or customer informs them.

Chris Thomas, chief executive of Reseo, says this practice has hit his business clients and the problem is becoming “blatant and out of control”.

“We’ve seen our business listings for clients disappearing. We’d write over the top of it and put our details back in, but it was pretty blatant what was happening because we’d uploaded videos and other content into those listings, so the name was changed but it was clearly ours.”

Thomas says he is pleased some action has been taken against hijackers, but also says Google needs to address the problem primarily within their own systems.

Additionally, he suggests Google isn’t living up to its name in regards to controlling the quality of its core internet search practices, and is distracted by its latest offerings such as the Android operating system and the Google Buzz social network.

“It’s a mess, and the biggest time waster to correct. There needs to be heaps more effort into correcting these things, because it wastes resources.”

“I genuinely believe Google are focusing on Buzz and these new features too much, it’s just announcement after announcement. I firmly believe their spam filters aren’t working anymore also. They need to spend less time doing that and more on focusing on what they do best.”

Google was contacted but no reply was received before publication.

A Google spokesperson says the company is aware of the case, but says it is the first attempt the company has heard of involving malicious intent. She says Google recommends businesses make sure their listings are up-to-date.

“Every hour, our users make over 10,000 corrections or additions to Google Maps, like updating the position of markers or correcting other small errors, and for the most part people are being really helpful to other users.”

“We recommend that small business owners claim their listing in the Local Business Centre to control the edits made to their listings, and if they do so, recommend they keep their listing really up to date themselves.”