[Cleanevangelist]

Guys

 if you get lots of work from google local box heads up it going to change soon. it going to be paid. they are testing it in USA at moment. It going to be call google recommended or somthing like that.

its about time they cleaned up that box with all those really old fake addresses 

lets not forget that that we will not be covered by Europe's  laws any more so google can do what it does in the rest of the word and command the top half of search with its own products.

Respects

Ian Harper

[Emil Dinev]

That would be a sad new if it were to really happen. I do get a LOT out of Google local so hoping this willnot roll out any time soon in the UK. All it will create really is another form of adwords appart from piles of cash for google

[Deep Cleaning Solutions]

No strictly true .... You are talking about 'Google Guarantee' .... Yes it will play a part but they are not going to suddenly make all GMB (Google My Business) listings paid for because it would be seen as unethical and unfair to small business. Despite what you may think, Google is still a champion of small business or at least wants to look like they are!. They have been testing this in the US for a while now and it is available in the UK and I am using it for myself and other clients.

The reason they have done this is because a lot of SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) experts have found a way to make fake GMB listings. This has been going on for years with Google either being ignorant or turning a blind eye to it. Then some SEO experts in California churned out loads of fake GMB's in the Locksmith and Plumbing services. I know these people and they churn out thousands of fake GMB's each week.

The problem is that these people seem to be smarter than the Google employees they are taking advantage of and I already know they have outsmarted them again with this new 'Google Guarantee' that is supposed to weed out fake address's.

Google has recently closed some loopholes with some fake GMB listing verification methods but there are still loads doing it.

Also it will not affect the 3 map pack ( the top 3 GMB ) that show from Google Maps on the first page of Google and only shows when you click on maps it's self and even then they show the new paid for maps with the none paid for and you can do this through Google Adwords local extensions. In most local services niches like carpet cleaning, the owners of the GMB listings are not savvy enough to take advantage of this new system anyway so it's not going to revolutionise Google Maps yet and is not mandatory.

To be honest Google has been pushing down organic results further down on page one and it was only a matter of time before they tried to monetize Google Maps and also try to solve the fake map situation. The horse has bolted on the fake GMB address problem in my opinion and the only way they can fix that is by getting rid of Google Maps listings altogether which they won't do.

 Google Guarantee is something that is worth looking into though and may make you stand out from the crowd!