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How does Google Local Business Center work? SEO company won't allow us to access account.

by BBCMember
34 replies
I've never used Google Local Business Center before. A friend of mine wants access to their account because they don't want to keep on paying a monthly fee to a company who claims the are doing SEO, but they're not. However, the company says it's "company policy" not to allow access to the account and deferred them to another site.

How can we get his business listing back in his hands?

Should we just relist the business with a different email address?

Can one email account have more than one business listed?

Thanks.
#access #account #business #center #company #google #local #seo #work
  • Profile picture of the author Paul Barber
    I would just open another gmail account and do the entry again, then you have control. Google will phone you with a code so they know you are a real person. Does that help?
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    • Profile picture of the author BBCMember
      Yes it does. Thanks. That's what I was thinking, but won't there then be two entries for the same business? Does Google allow that? If not, how do they pick which one to keep? Also, how do they determine who is at the top of the list when they list many businesses?

      Thanks.
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      • Profile picture of the author DogScout
        Originally Posted by BBCMember View Post

        Yes it does. Thanks. That's what I was thinking, but won't there then be two entries for the same business? Does Google allow that? If not, how do they pick which one to keep? Also, how do they determine who is at the top of the list when they list many businesses?

        Thanks.
        You do not even need to make a whole new listing. Just start one with the exact same name. It will then ask if the one already done is yours. Then you say yes and it verifys you are the owner and moves it to your Gmail account. Single entry.

        The SEO company will know immediately that was done so expect fall out. SEO companies that do not allow clients access to their own properties (that you PAID to have built, so it belongs to you) are suspect. In my opinion, it is unlikely that they have any 'good' intent by attempting to bar a client from their own listings. I could be wrong, but I doubt it.
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        • Profile picture of the author BBCMember
          DogScout, you are exactly right. I came back to say what happened when we entered a new listing of the same company, but you beat me to it. It searched for similar ones and asked if we would like to claim the one that already exists, which we did. It also asked if we wanted to discard the one that we had just made since we now had control of the original one. And yes, we did have to verify by having Google's computers call him with the code.

          Thanks for letting me know that the SEO company was notified immediately after we did that. That's good to know.

          Thanks for confirming that, Rus.
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    • Profile picture of the author Cynthia A.
      BBCMember,

      It sounds like this SEO company is trying to hold the listing hostage so they can continue to get paid. Has the listing been verified by the business owner? There's a link at the top of the listing that asks if you are the owner. Try to contact Google & let them know you (your friend) is/are the owner & want to claim it. Let them know that someone who isn't the owner has claimed it.

      @Paul, I don't think you can have 2 duplicate businesses in Google Local with the same info. I'm guessing the business name, address & phone # would be the same. One will have to go. Google will decide which.
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      • Profile picture of the author BBCMember
        Hi Cynthia,

        I agree. The SEO company does not seem to be good one.

        Thanks. Yes, he did verify it. It says "Owner-verified listing". When I click on that link, and it just brings me to the Google Local Business Center. I don't see any link that says "Are you the owner?" I do see a "Report a problem" link, though. Should we try that?

        Also, his email address (not a gmail address) is listed on that page. Can he send an email from that email address to Google letting them know what the deal is? If so, what email address should he send it to?

        Since he didn't set it up, he doesn't know what gmail account they used. Crazy that they are doing this.
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        • Profile picture of the author Cynthia A.
          If they verified it, they should have the Gmail (email) address & password. Can you log in at all? I don't know the email address for Google (they keep things like that secret, although I'm sure a Warrior or 2 here knows how to reach them). You might want to try the "Report a Problem" link or search the "Help forum."

          Good Luck
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  • Profile picture of the author BBCMember
    I'll have to ask him. Not sure if he verified it or if the SEO business did. I'm guessing the business did. He's an average computer user and does not like usernames and passwords. So if he can have someone else do it for him, he will.

    Thanks, I'll give it a shot.
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  • Profile picture of the author Nic Lynn
    Let's just get this out of the way right now. There may be nothing that this SEO company is doing that is wrong.

    There is a lot of initial work that goes into website optimization, link building, doing proper directory listings, etc. It is perfectly acceptable for the SEO company to negotiate certain terms (like when they will hand over passwords, design assets, etc, etc). Generally, that's prudent business. If you stop paying for your car or house, you don't get to keep it (just making an extreme analogy here, I know that it is not apples-to-apples).

    There is nothing that the SEO company has done, from this example, that would interfere with the customer going and doing the work themselves now that they aren't paying for it. Claiming and building a new Google listing is just as easy as knowing what to do.

    Now there could be a lot more to the story that we are not hearing, but I'm not willing to jump in and blindly say "BAD SEO COMPANY!" just because someone is not turning over a password.

    But back to the original question... what Paul siad is the correct recourse for this business.
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    • Profile picture of the author numba8
      Originally Posted by Nic Lynn View Post

      Let's just get this out of the way right now. There may be nothing that this SEO company is doing that is wrong.

      There is a lot of initial work that goes into website optimization, link building, doing proper directory listings, etc. It is perfectly acceptable for the SEO company to negotiate certain terms (like when they will hand over passwords, design assets, etc, etc). Generally, that's prudent business. If you stop paying for your car or house, you don't get to keep it (just making an extreme analogy here, I know that it is not apples-to-apples).

      There is nothing that the SEO company has done, from this example, that would interfere with the customer going and doing the work themselves now that they aren't paying for it. Claiming and building a new Google listing is just as easy as knowing what to do.

      Now there could be a lot more to the story that we are not hearing, but I'm not willing to jump in and blindly say "BAD SEO COMPANY!" just because someone is not turning over a password.

      But back to the original question... what Paul siad is the correct recourse for this business.
      That's a good point Nic.
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  • Profile picture of the author Cynthia A.
    You're right Nic if what you say is the real story (none of us know). But the OP said
    they don't want to keep on paying a monthly fee to a company who claims the are doing SEO, but they're not.
    That sounds like a bad SEO company to me. I am in a big city & have run into many SEO companies & web designers who DO hold sites hostage by putting things in their name (so the business owner is out of the loop) in order to keep the money train rolling.
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    • Profile picture of the author Nic Lynn
      Originally Posted by Cynthia A. View Post

      You're right Nic if what you say is the real story (none of us know).
      Good thing I didn't claim to know the real story! In fact, I stated that we don't know the story and that there could be a lot more that we aren't hearing. I just hope it works out for everyone in the end, whoever these people are. I think that the OP is in a fine position to just walk away.

      Originally Posted by Cynthia A. View Post

      I am in a big city & have run into many SEO companies & web designers who DO hold sites hostage by putting things in their name (so the business owner is out of the loop) in order to keep the money train rolling.
      There is no doubt that there are SEO companies of questionable ethics out there. I think both parties have to negotiate reasonably and directly on terms and conditions. It is perfectly acceptable to negotiate that websites and passwords do not pass over until a certain amount of time. I see this all the time (and if you've ever opened a CD that has an early withdrawl penalty or signed up for a mortgage that cannot be paid off early or for a certain amount of time, then you are also familiar with this very common business concept too).
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  • Profile picture of the author freudianslip27
    I understand that we don't know the whole story here, but I will say that there are SEO companies out there that handle things in a way that ends up putting them at odds with their client. I have dealt with multiple clients that were very hesitant to hire me because of "bad past experiences".

    I make it very clear with my clients that even though I am building up their business, all of this stuff I do belongs to them. They can boot me out and they own the blogs, listings, rankings, etc.

    Sure, it makes it easier for them to terminate me, but here's the thing, they actually like me rather then feeling like they are fighting against me.

    This leads to referrals, and in some cases them being very emphatic about finding someone that they can trust. That speaks volumes in terms of getting new business.

    Matt
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  • Profile picture of the author Rus Sells
    Unless the business owner gave the SEO company power of attorney all work is done on behalf of the company and is considered the companies property.

    Should the business arrangement terminate all work relating to public profiles and image should be turned over to the hiring concern.
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    • Profile picture of the author David Neale
      Originally Posted by Rus Sells View Post

      Unless the business owner gave the SEO company power of attorney all work is done on behalf of the company and is considered the companies property.
      Not quite true. A large and successfull SEO company I know of have very clearly stated in their terms of service that any properties built by them (ie: a Squidoo page) belongs to the SEO company... that's their terms and if you don't like it go away.

      However I believe your information with Google Local Business Centre is a completely different issue. This belongs to the business regardless of what anybody did to enhance it.

      Of course the SEO company could be being difficult because they are owed money! Not an unfamiliar place to be for many here I would imagine (including me).
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  • Profile picture of the author BBCMember
    I have a couple more questions regarding Google Local Business Center:

    How long does it take for a listing that's been edited in Google LBC to be changed?

    And how does Google determine the order in which the companies in the local business center listings are listed in the search results?

    Thanks.
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  • Profile picture of the author Revampyourgame
    just type in local business results, make a gmail account. its all straight forward...it took google about 10 days to submit my listing.
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  • Profile picture of the author MichaelHiles
    This is the crap that gives internet marketers a terrible reputation in the offline business community, and that I am forever having to unwind. It's the same garbage that web designers used to pull on businesses when the company wanted to develop a new site (usually because their initial developer quit responding or couldn't deliver) and the company wouldn't release their domain. I've seen some pretty horrific situations. But I can say that almost all of those that ended up in court not only ruled in favor of the business client, it resulted in damages being awarded in addition. I've testified in at least a couple dozen cases as an expert witness over the past 15 years, and thoroughly enjoy watching unscrupulous service providers get their ass handed to them by a judge.

    In the US, if not otherwise specified, all work performed as a service is generally considered by courts as a work for hire, and the copyright owned by the business under UCC laws.
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    • Profile picture of the author Kevin AKA Hubcap
      Originally Posted by MichaelHiles View Post

      This is the crap that gives internet marketers a terrible reputation in the offline business community, and that I am forever having to unwind. It's the same garbage that web designers used to pull on businesses when the company wanted to develop a new site (usually because their initial developer quit responding or couldn't deliver) and the company wouldn't release their domain. I've seen some pretty horrific situations. But I can say that almost all of those that ended up in court not only ruled in favor of the business client, it resulted in damages being awarded in addition. I've testified in at least a couple dozen cases as an expert witness over the past 15 years, and thoroughly enjoy watching unscrupulous service providers get their ass handed to them by a judge.

      In the US, if not otherwise specified, all work performed as a service is generally considered by courts as a work for hire, and the copyright owned by the business under UCC laws.
      Agreed.

      One of the more well known cases is Stan Lee and the work he did with Marvel. If I recall correctly, at the time he was employed as a freelancer. Everything that he bought back to life belongs to Marvel.

      I've always wondered... after he had some success why he didn't renegotiate the terms of his existing but especially new contracts.
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    • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
      Banned
      Originally Posted by MichaelHiles View Post

      It's the same garbage that web designers used to pull on businesses when the company wanted to develop a new site (usually because their initial developer quit responding or couldn't deliver) and the company wouldn't release their domain.
      I've seen much of the same thing, especially with designers holding domains hostage and even websites that were paid for but never quite completed or never functioning as originally intended. Most of them require a large deposit to get started and when they fail to deliver what was promised and the buyer withholds final payment, they lose everything that's been done, plus the domain unless they go to court.

      I can't for the life of me understand why a SEO would have the rights to Squidoo pages, etc that they created for the company that is paying them. If I'm paying for a SEO company, I'll own the assets or they can take a hike.

      It's probably a good idea to get those terms understood in advance and to even create the accounts and register the domains yourself and then give the seller access, rather than give them control over those assets.
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  • Profile picture of the author freudianslip27
    I agree Michael,

    I wish I was doing this stuff a few years ago, I could have been those positive experiences for local businesses, rather than meeting with them now and hearing how they got dragged through the dirt!

    I think this is another reason why it is a nice advantage if you can meet in person to sell your service, it has helped me with the trust factor incredibly.

    Matt
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  • Profile picture of the author ryanvroman
    Almost always handle hosting for a client, however, I will almost never register a domain for them. Never once is it worth the hassle.
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  • Profile picture of the author Rocketguy
    I have actually seen this a lot lately. I recently had a client with a website and the old SEO company would not release any admin info so I could remove all the broken links and keyword stuffing that they did. Then come to find out the previous seo company had out the website in their name even though the client purchased the domain, etc. It was a really bad situation and we had to start over with a different website all together.
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  • Profile picture of the author Kieron
    In all my years of doing internet marketing or SEO I have never nor would I, register a domain or anything else on behalf of a client. Those who do IMO are on a road that leads to tears.
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    • Profile picture of the author Nic Lynn
      I'm surprised at people jumping all over this as the kind of "crap" that gives IM companies a bad name. The OP NEVER mentioned a situation where a domain, code, images or anything remotely like that was being held hostage.

      In this case, the OP owns the local business listing and can easily make whatever changes that they want to it. It doesn't matter that someone set it up originally. It's pretty cut and dry. There are no legal or moral issues here. Just some bad information and unecessary drama.
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      • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
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        Originally Posted by Nic Lynn View Post

        I'm surprised at people jumping all over this as the kind of "crap" that gives IM companies a bad name. The OP NEVER mentioned a situation where a domain, code, images or anything remotely like that was being held hostage.

        In this case, the OP owns the local business listing and can easily make whatever changes that they want to it. It doesn't matter that someone set it up originally. It's pretty cut and dry. There are no legal or moral issues here. Just some bad information and unecessary drama.
        What part of "SEO company won't allow us to access account" didn't you understand?
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        • Profile picture of the author Nic Lynn
          Originally Posted by sbucciarel View Post

          What part of "SEO company won't allow us to access account" didn't you understand?
          I guess you don't understand how local business listings work. They don't need an SEO company to "grant" them access to their information. It's very easy to claim or create their listing as it is linked to their physical address and published business phone number. The only thing the SEO company has exclusive access to is a gmail account that they created that ultimately has nothing to do with the ongoing listing. This is a very different scenario than someone registering a domain, etc for someone else.
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          • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
            Banned
            Originally Posted by Nic Lynn View Post

            I guess you don't understand how local business listings work. They don't need an SEO company to "grant" them access to their information. It's very easy to claim or create their listing. This is a very different scenario than someone registering a domain, etc for someone else.
            The OP didn't understand that, but probably now does. That isn't the point. He paid this company to do this and the company is using bullying tactics to try to keep this customer paying them for the rest of their lives.

            When you pay a company to do something for you, it is work for hire and they should not withhold access to the company's business listing unless they have not been paid to do the work.
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            • Profile picture of the author Nic Lynn
              Originally Posted by sbucciarel View Post

              The OP didn't understand that, but probably now does. That isn't the point. He paid this company to do this and the company is using bullying tactics to try to keep this customer paying them for the rest of their lives.

              When you pay a company to do something for you, it is work for hire and they should not withhold access to the company's business listing unless they have not been paid to do the work.
              I don't disagree with you at all. However, we have no idea what has really happened here (which was one of my original points above).

              When I first started out in offline, I often did not charge an upfront or start-up fee (just a monthly) and would do all of this SEO work, create tons of business listings, etc. After all that initial work, I had 1 or 2 folks (who got all of this immediate benefit) then say that they didn't want to pay a monthly fee after a month or two. It didn't happen often at all, but once or twice is enough to teach you. After that, I took into account the upfront investment in inital set-up via a juicy start-up fee and a better contract.

              Long story short is that I know some fellow offliners that lock down access to anything that has been created for a client for anywhere from 90 to 365 days to protect from this kind of behavior (as rare as it is). Those are very valid business terms given how front weighted an offline marketing gig is. If that is the arrangement that was made here (and it is pretty common, but we have no real insight on this specific case), then the SEO company is not in the wrong.

              Anyway, the ultimate point is that all of this is moot anyway as the easy remedy is to "reclaim" the listing and do it yourself. Super-easy to do and you do not need anything from the SEO comapny to do it, so this isn't a hostage situation.
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              • Profile picture of the author jdenc
                Originally Posted by Nic Lynn View Post

                I don't disagree with you at all. However, we have no idea what has really happened here (which was one of my original points above).

                When I first started out in offline, I often did not charge an upfront or start-up fee (just a monthly) and would do all of this SEO work, create tons of business listings, etc. After all that initial work, I had 1 or 2 folks (who got all of this immediate benefit) then say that they didn't want to pay a monthly fee after a month or two. It didn't happen often at all, but once or twice is enough to teach you. After that, I took into account the upfront investment in inital set-up via a juicy start-up fee and a better contract.

                Long story short is that I know some fellow offliners that lock down access to anything that has been created for a client for anywhere from 90 to 365 days to protect from this kind of behavior (as rare as it is). Those are very valid business terms given how front weighted an offline marketing gig is. If that is the arrangement that was made here (and it is pretty common, but we have no real insight on this specific case), then the SEO company is not in the wrong.

                Anyway, the ultimate point is that all of this is moot anyway as the easy remedy is to "reclaim" the listing and do it yourself. Super-easy to do and you do not need anything from the SEO comapny to do it, so this isn't a hostage situation.
                I would never do that. If you got to court you are going to lose in all but the most egregious cases. You can't make something enforceable just because you write a contract if the terms aren't legal to start with. And precedent isn't on your side with that kind of thing. Better to let them go then to give them the chance to make that your reputation. Get paid up front to cover initial costs. Holding work product hostage is just plain a bad idea and bad for your rep.
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                • Profile picture of the author Nic Lynn
                  Originally Posted by jdenc View Post

                  I would never do that. If you got to court you are going to lose in all but the most egregious cases. You can't make something enforceable just because you write a contract if the terms aren't legal to start with. And precedent isn't on your side with that kind of thing. Better to let them go then to give them the chance to make that your reputation. Get paid up front to cover initial costs. Holding work product hostage is just plain a bad idea and bad for your rep.
                  I agree that it is not the best option (hence why I charge that juicy upfront fee), but terms like those are hardly illegal. It's commonly called "lease to own" and is a staple business option for a variety of commodities including property, transportation and durable goods.
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  • Profile picture of the author DogScout
    I will open a domain for a client, but not until opening their own account and making sure they have complete access to that account (including deleting my access to it). Any time I open any account for a client, I put that information on a spread sheet and make sure they have access to it.
    They can, at anytime, change passwords and move to another 'provider'. If I am hit by a bus or die suddenly, they have all the info they need to carry on without missing a step.
    NEVER would I hold ownership of a domain, hosting, GBP, or any other account done for the benefit of the business over their head. This actually works both ways. If I decide the client is too much of a pain in the neck, firing him is easier. "You already have all your stuff, find someone else and have a nice life," Lol.
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  • Profile picture of the author Kezz
    I'm wondering if the company in question has a single gmail account they use to manage all their local business listings?

    If so, perhaps they didn't want to give out access to an account that in turn gave access to all their other clients' details?
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