Google Maps Scraping for Content
January 18, 2010 by Jim Hedger
Filed under WMR Blog
Critics of search engine optimization have long claimed that the practice of SEO would be eliminated as Google proceeds to introduce increasingly personalized and localized search results to its users. Those critics should spend some time reading cutting edge blog posts like this one by Mike Blumenthal. Google Maps: Now Adding Reviews from News Sites, Hyperlocal Blogs and Other Non Traditional Review Sources
Writing in his Understanding Google Maps and Local Search blog, Blumenthal takes a deep, technical look at Google’s new practice of scraping content from local news, review and event websites and applying that content to business listings generated through Google Maps.
With their newly implemented sentiment analysis, Google Maps is apparently now reaching across hyperlocal blogs, local portals and news sites and retrieving blog entries, general editorial reporting and even blog comments for inclusion as reviews on their Places Pages.
When it feels the need to add content to a local listing generated by Google Maps, the search engine might extract information from review sites, blog posts, blog comments or local news and events sites without the author’s permission. In other words, Google is using general comment as editorial advice and recommendation in local business listings found on Google Maps.
This method of information retrieval raises several levels of concern for consumers and business owners alike. Especially of concern is Google’s practice of presenting someone’s writing without context. In many cases, if a writer understood his or her views were going to be used as the basis for a business listing at Google, they might have chosen different wording.
In his blog post, Blumenthal cites several examples where Google uses information scraped from unrelated websites to fill into a listing generated by Google Maps and outlines how readers can check out if Google has used similar techniques in their local areas.
Naturally, SEOs and reputation management specialists will be interested in the effects of posts, comments and reviews in local news and event sites on small business listings though not necessarily for the same reasons. For SEOs, this practice gives another opportunity to boost a client’s business through another search channel. It also gives SEOs something else to help small businesses guard against.
Martin Bowling Sentenced to Three Years for Computer Fraud
March 11, 2009 by Jim Hedger
Filed under WMR Blog
Search marketing wizard Martin Bowling was sentenced to three years in a West Virginia state prison for computer fraud after confessing his use of stolen credit card numbers for personal purchases. The items, which included cigars, works of art and movie tickets, were primarily purchased online.
According to a report in the Charleston Gazette, Bowling plead guilty to using stolen credit cards to spend approximately $4490 on cigars, posters, a home brew beer making kit, kitchen utensils and electronics, an Xbox, Victoria’s Secret merchandise, a hard drive, a Zune and a self-cleaning cat litter box.
Bowling was chief technical officer for Comar Inc., a manufacturer of medial and pharmaceutical supplies. He was aslo chief technical officer for the Cross Lanes WV search marketing firm, VEC3.
He is probably best known in the web marketing community as a conference speaker, writer, software developer and, ironically, as a reputation management specialist.
Bowling developed the Zi.ma website address shortening application which is extremely popular with Twitter users. (Zi.ma is now redirected to TinyURL.)Â He was also very well known on Twitter with over 1300 followers. Very few people in the industry were aware of his legal problems and nobody knew the extent of them. Stunned coworkers also knew little to nothing about his trial or pending sentencing.
Court documents suggest that Bowling accessed the subscriber database of a company he used to work for, Woodcraft Magazine, in order to get the names and card numbers of at least five American Express cardholders. No mention was made of any breaches of customer security at Comar or VEC3.
When arrested in July 2007 while picking up movie tickets, Bowling made a full confession to police. He was tried in November 2008 and sentenced to three years in state prison on March 5, 2009. He is currently being held in West Virginia’s South Central Regional Jail awaiting transfer to a state prison.
Though sentenced to three years, Bowling, who has had no previous convictions, is likely to be eligible for parole within the next twelve months.
