Final Touch Locksmith Services in Chicago Just One of Many Locksmiths Harmed by Google Maps

Final Touch Locksmith Services, LLC, a 24-hour locksmith in Chicago, reports being targeted by Google in the Internet titan's ongoing battle against spammers. The Chicago-area team of locksmiths is one of many legitimate companies nationwide to experience the negative effects of Google's response to spam-like activity on the part of other unscrupulous locksmith services in locations across the country.

Locksmiths in every corner of the United States have reported poor rankings and continual roadblocks in their attempts to maintain legitimacy when it comes to their listings on Google Places. At the same time, locksmith companies that appear to spam Google with multiple locations, phone numbers, and aliases continue to monopolize the top ten positions. Because Google is aware of these locksmith scams and unlawful behavior, it has implemented a new review process for locksmiths that, in practice, makes it almost impossible for any locksmith listing to rank when abiding by Google's explicit guidelines.

For example, Final Touch Locksmith Services has been reporting difficulty ranking in Google Web results and Google Places listings since July 2011. Just a few months earlier, in May, the company signed up with Prospect Genius, an online advertising agency that specializes in search engine optimization (SEO) and lead generation. Owner Hector Rodriguez joined the Prospect Genius program as he sought to garner a stronger Internet presence for his company's key replacement and key duplication services. But as the specialists at Prospect Genius worked to optimize Final Touch's listing with all of the correct contact information and business details, Google presented them with many obstacles.

To start, Rodriguez was forced to wait nearly two months to receive the Google PIN for Final Touch Locksmith Services. After requesting the PIN twice more, he finally received it. Then, Prospect Genius encountered difficulty proving that the locksmith's address was indeed 5109 W North Ave. in Chicago. Matt Gallo, a senior Internet marketer at Prospect Genius, reports that this was because the address conflicted with an outdated "street view" image from Google, which displayed that location as a vacant storefront. However, in the time since the photograph was taken, Rodriguez had rented the space and converted it into the official place of business for Final Touch Locksmith Services. At the suggestion of Prospect Genius, Rodriguez sent updated pictures of his storefront to the Google Maps department, along with verification that the contact information was accurate. After another month-long review process, the Places listing for Final Touch Locksmith Services was rejected with an error message stating that the listing contained "wrong" information.

According to Gallo, the specialists at Prospect Genius have since attempted to communicate with Google via online forums, e-mail correspondence, and even direct phone calls, in addition to creating new listings, in order to get out of this deadlock. The only apparent solution, he says, is to remove the listing from the "locksmith" category altogether, which would undermine the listing's entire purpose--to promote the key replacement, key duplication, and safe installation services of Final Touch Locksmith Services in Chicago. To Gallo, the message is clear. "I guess it is true," he states. "Google just doesn't give locksmiths a chance."

As of November 2011, the listing for Final Touch Locksmith Services remains inactive.

Final Touch Locksmith Services is located on W North Ave., Chicago, and their professionals offer 24-hour locksmith services for replacement keys, duplicate keys, safes, and more.

Final Touch Locksmith Services, LLC
Owner: Hector Rodriguez
E-mail: finaltouch@chicago-il-biz.com
Phone: (773) 466-8903
Address: 5109 W North Ave, Chicago, IL 60639
Web site: http://locksmith-services.chicago-il-biz.com/

This release was published on openPR.