Google business card positioning and "business card fraud"

Practical advice on how not to give up

Reading time: 5 min

In today’s world where online presence is crucial to business success, many companies are looking for ways to improve their online visibility. One of the popular tools is Google Business Card, which allows companies to appear in local search results. Where they chop wood, chips fly, as they say. Even more so when the client is unaware. In recent years, many offers have appeared that promise quick positioning of your Google business card. But is it worth investing in this type of service? Is Google’s business card positioning offer really an effective strategy or just a scam?

First of all, it’s worth understanding what a Google business card actually is. This is a brief preview of your business information displayed in Google search results, including basic contact information, address, opening hours, products, photos, updates, customer reviews, and the like. While this is an important tool for local businesses, simply having a Google listing does not guarantee a high position in search results.

There are honest actions aimed at optimizing your Google listing and, consequently, its good position, but recently a huge number of scammers have appeared and you should be careful. These companies often promise quick and effective results, attracting the attention of entrepreneurs looking for simple and quick solutions.

Google business card positioning and business card fraud - when should a red flag light up?

1. Google business card positioning does not guarantee quick results

Most reliable agencies emphasize that optimizing your Google listing is a long-term process that requires patience and constant work. The positioning of a business card on Google Maps, just like in the case of a website, depends on many factors, based on which Google determines the appropriate position for our business card. These factors, as is often the case with Google, very generally determine the positioning of a business card and what influences its position. The official information we can receive on this matter is as follows:

Distance – determines how far the user is when searching for the products or services offered by the company. The closer it is, the higher the company may be in the results.

Recognition – it determines how well the company is already recognizable for a given keyword that is searched by the user.

Relevance – how closely the company’s business card and its content match the searched keyword.

These three aspects above mean that it is impossible to position a business card quickly. Distance is an absolute criterion and we are either within the reach of the “searcher” or not, but recognition and accuracy depend on the content that appears on the business card and it takes time for this content to result in a good position. We are talking about activities such as maintaining up-to-date information, adding photos, offers, promotions, updates containing keywords for which we want to position, etc. All this can be done using a simple “my company” panel, but you have to wait for the effects. If someone claims otherwise, be careful because you may be a victim of a potential scam.

2. Business card positioning in Google, what else is worth paying attention to

It often happens that companies promise quick results, which are ensured by their cooperation with Google. Be careful, it may be a scam. Of course, the mere fact of cooperation with Google is not a fraud, but using it as an argument for better effectiveness of positioning activities may be. Google provides tools for managing business cards, but it does not guarantee that the company will be highly positioned in search results. Because of this, some companies may try to take advantage of Google’s traditionally opaque stance by promising quick and effective results. In practice, this usually just means using AdWords ads, which influence your company’s display here and now, but have no impact on your long-term positioning. Unfortunately, it sometimes happens that companies try to present paid advertising as a form of business card positioning, which may lead to disinformation and misleading customers.

“You need to be careful when choosing the right agency. Sometimes a bright future that is supposed to come overnight may turn out to be just a momentary gleam of deception.”

Jakub Mikołajuk – CEO JM Publicity

3. Adding a pin on Google Maps is it a paid additional service?

Google’s business card is characterized by the fact that it is a universal tool. It is connected not only to the owner’s website, but also to Google Maps. Working on a business card does not involve additional fees, because, as already mentioned several times, Google business card is a free tool. You can have someone handle your business card and pay them for it, but the business card itself is a free service. An interesting service that many people don’t know about is the fact that you can put a Google Maps pin on your business card, making it more visible in search results. Google Business Cards appear on the map with a pin indicating the business’s location as soon as verification is completed. Unfortunately, this option, i.e. adding a marker on the map, is unfairly used by fraudsters. Remember that this option is also completely free and Google will not ask you to pay a fee, and the marker will appear on maps once you create your listing and add an address to it.

4. Is there a risk of blocking or deleting a Google listing in the event of non-payment?

When you run a website, you incur fixed fees, such as hosting. fee for a domain or SSL certificate. Is it the same with Google business cards? The answer is no. As I have already mentioned – Google business card, as such, is a free service. You can, of course, pay an agency to take care of your business card, but the agency itself does not generate any costs. However, some companies may try to use customers’ ignorance as an excuse to obtain further fees and threaten, for example, with the expiration of the Google business card if the “subscription” is not extended. This is blatant fraud.

Summary

Due to the increasing use of Google business cards by companies, the number of frauds related to them is also increasing, so it is worth being careful and thoroughly examining each Google business card positioning offer before deciding to cooperate. It is not worth trusting promises of quick results and easy solutions, because effective positioning requires time, effort and constant monitoring. It is also worth paying attention to the opinions of other customers and choosing only agencies that operate honestly and have good customer opinions.

Finally, it is also worth remembering that although Google listing positioning can be an effective strategy, it is not the only way to improve online visibility. Investing in other forms of internet marketing, such as website optimization, advertising campaigns or content marketing, can also bring the desired results. The key to success is understanding your company’s needs and choosing a strategy that best suits its goals and capabilities.