Answers / Agency Accountability

Why Do Companies Keep Calling Me About Getting My Business Listed on Google?

Most of those calls are sales pitches or scams using Google's name. Google says its calls never ask you to pay, sign up for a service or give personal info, and it never guarantees a special spot.

What a real Google call sounds like

Google does make some automated calls, for example to confirm your hours. Its help page says the caller identifies itself as Google and explains why it's calling, and that you won't be asked to sign up for a service, pay money, or give personal info. Google also says it will never ask for payment information over the phone or guarantee you a special spot.

Signs it's not Google

• "Your listing will be removed unless you verify today."
• "Press 1 to speak to a Google specialist."
• Any request for a card number, a fee, or a password.
• A promise of first page or "guaranteed placement."

What to do

1. Hang up. Google advises not pressing any buttons, even if the recording tells you to.
2. Check your profile yourself by signing in to your own Business Profile. If it says verified, it's verified.
3. Register your number on the National Do Not Call Registry and report repeat callers to the FTC.
4. Report callers who claim to be from Google using Google's third-party complaint form.

Why it keeps happening

Your public business number is easy to find, and "your Google listing" is a reliable way to get an owner's attention. In our review of public small-business forums, owners describe getting these calls daily. Some paid a few hundred dollars for a promise of first page that never came.

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