Vender Hijacked our 7 Pack Listing

[Czubmeister]

A dentist I work with contracted with a company called Z O C D O C (ZD).  ZD ' S goal is to deliver patients to the dentist. To my surprise, ZD created a domain name called s t o n e b r i d g e d e n t a l t e x a s.com that forwards to the doctors ZD doctor page.

(You can see the Google results listing by Google search: dentist mckinney tx or click this link http://imgur.com/liq05at)

Apparently, ZD calls this their "kick start" program so basically ZD is redirecting traffic from what should have been the dentists 7 Pack listing (which would have gone to the dentist website)  to the ZD's doctor page.
So now, the dentists 7 pack listing domain is owned by ZD but ZD has this hooked up to the doctors office address.

Issues swimming inside my head:

1. Is there anything that can be done here? I can't really ask them to take their site down since they own it.
2. Even if ZD takes this site down, there is no guarantee the dentists website will replace the one that's in the 7 pack currently
3. I am pretty sure that the dentist site won't appear in the 7 pack because that would mean there would be two listings with the same address right?
4. As a side-issue, looks like Google removed the links to the Google-Plus pages? Not it only shows reviews.

Any words of wisdome here? It would be nice that if when somebody clicked on the link to Stonebridge Dental that it would go to the dentist website, not ZD.. like it should be

[MiriamEllis]

Hi Bob,

I'll start with the easiest part of this first: question #4. Yes, Google is not typically showing Google+ links in the SERPs anymore. This applies to all businesses, not just your client's, so that is not something to worry about.

Now on to the harder part.

To make sure I have the details right, this is your client:

http://www.stonebridgedental.com/

This is the domain ZD buit with their own branding on it:

http://stonebridgedentaltexas.com/

If I've got this right, the big question here is how your client's +Local listing got associated with the new URL. Is the client in control of their +Local dashboard? Which URL is there in the dash? Did ZD create a new listing? Typically, when one uses the word 'hijacking', it means that a third party has taken control of the listing. Has ZD actually done this or does your client still control their own dashboard?

On the one hand, because of the strategy of ZD, your client has earned both an organic and local listings on page 1 of the SERPs (hard to accomplish). On the other hand, if the client has no control over what ZD is doing, this may be a problematic situation. What happens if the client cancels their account with ZD? Does the client own the domain? If no, could be problematic. Same with any reviews earned. It sounds to me as if maybe neither you nor the client understood what would be involved when you signed up for this. Is that correct?

If the client is still in control of their dashboard and needs to point the URL back to their own website, they may still be able to maintain their local listing, but could possibly lose that second organic listing. It might be helpful if you could provide further details on this. This is the first time I've heard of ZD, so I'm looking at the situation without having encountered it before. If you can explain more about the situation, I'll be happy to read.

[David-Mihm]

Bob, what a strange situation.  Are you SURE that your client hasn't given permission to ZocDoc to create this page on their behalf?  If not, sure seems pretty sleazy on their part.

As far as a tactical fix, I'd recommend that your client (and their friends, and you, and your friends) click the Report a Problem link on the lower righthand side of this page:

https://plus.google.com/104280204877579676759/about

and let Google know that the URL for this listing should be stonebridgedental.com.  With enough of those reports, Google should make the edit, although that may or may not solve the problem of having duplicate listings in this instance

[David-Mihm]

Hi Bob,

When you claimed the client's Google Places listing on their behalf, did you

• bulk claim or individual claim
• claim in the new Google+ dashboard or the Places for Business dashboard

?

[Czubmeister]

I did an individual claim. I always claim everything in the clients name. Also, our Google+ listing is verified. (I had the postcard go to client and I entered the code)

I claimed in Places for Business dashboard.

Here is our real Google+ page:
https://plus.google.com/b/115007218006913673410/115007218006913673410/about

The client knew about the ZD "Jump Start"  program but had no Idea what that meant technically.

stonebridgedentaltexas.com domain is owned by ZD

[Czubmeister]

The Stonebridge Dental Plus Page that ZD created is here:
https://plus.google.com/104280204877579676759/about?gl=US&hl=en-US

• Notice that it is not a verified listing

The Plus Page I claimed on behalf of the client which is verified is here (which I can log in to):
https://plus.google.com/b/115007218006913673410/115007218006913673410/about

Looks like ZD purchased a domain which then forwards to the ZD doctor page and then created a new Google Plus profile with my clients address and phone.

I might have to ask them for their contract with ZD and see if there is something in there I'm missing.