This article was automatically translated by artificial intelligence. For accurate information, please consult the original English version.
If you manage one or more Google Business Profile listings, you have probably been unpleasantly surprised to find that your information was changed without your consent. 😡
Google relies on the principle of crowdsourcing (participatory contribution). Any Google Maps user can click the "Suggest an edit" link to report:
A change of address or phone number.
Incorrect hours.
A permanent closure or a Business that no longer exists.
A name change.
Google encourages users to contribute and suggest edits to Business listings to ensure reliable and up-to-date information. While this approach helps Google maintain accurate data, it poses challenges for our clients.
The question you might ask is: how to ensure that the information remains what you entered directly on Partoo?
#SpoilerAlert this is not possible. Whatever efforts you make, you can only limit (even make it negligible if you do it well) the risk of unwanted changes, not eliminate it.
We answer all your questions in the rest of this article.
We answer all your questions in the rest of this article.
Who can edit the information on a Google Business Profile? 🤔
There are two types of changes that can affect your page without your consent:
User suggestions: Any Google Maps user can suggest a change (hours, phone, etc.).
Users can submit their edits to Google which, if not explicitly rejected by an admin or owner on the listing, will be accepted by default.
Google's automatic updates: Google scans the web (your official site, directories, social networks). If it detects a difference — for example, hours shown as 10am-4pm on your site while your listing shows 9am-4pm — Google may automatically change your listing to "correct" what it thinks is an error.
In what cases can a user suggestion be validated by Google Business Profile?
Several factors influence the impact of a modification suggestion; these can be accepted more or less quickly and, in some cases, appear on the listing before they are definitively validated!
Here is the list of elements considered in Google's algorithm to decide whether a modification request is accepted or not:
Google Profile activity: Does the listing have an owner? Is it complete? Is the information regularly updated?
Information consistency: Is the Business information consistent across the different platforms where it appears (website, directories, GPS…)?
Business reputation: How many reviews appear on the listing? How many interactions does it generate (Directions requests, calls...)?
Local Guide level: Is the user a local guide? At what level?
Number of people who made the suggestion: How many people suggested the same change?
The more important the first three factors (very active listing, information consistency, and popular Business), the less likely the modification is validated by the algorithm.
The more important the last two factors (Local Guide level, number of people who made the same suggestion), the more likely the modification appears before being validated by the algorithm and is validated quickly.
How does Partoo help you reject modification requests?
Since it is impossible to technically block Google 100%, Partoo has implemented two invisible and automatic mechanisms to ensure the consistency of your data without any action on your part.
Level 1: Immediate rejection of suggestions
As soon as a user proposes a change, Google sends us a notification. Our system analyzes this suggestion and automatically rejects it in about 2/3 of cases. This happens completely transparently for you.
Level 2: Corrective synchronization
In some cases (about 1/3), Google applies a change without sending us a prior alert. To counter this:
Partoo continuously compares the data on Google with the data you entered in your Partoo interface.
If a difference is detected, Partoo automatically sends your correct information back to Google to overwrite the unwanted change.
Result: These two systems work in parallel to maximize the reliability of your listings and reduce your mental load.
Key points to remember
Update frequency: Partoo's automatic corrective synchronizations to Google occur once a week (usually between Sunday and Monday).
Specific exceptions: Changes concerning the Business name, the status "temporarily closed" or "nonexistent Business" are not automatically rejected. This allows our teams to intervene manually, especially for clients whose Google listings we do not yet fully own.
Direct changes by Google: When a change is imposed by Google's algorithm itself (and not by a user), no third-party tool can technically "block" it at the source. However, our synchronization systems allow correcting them afterward.
Alerts and Notifications: There is no real-time alert for every modification attempt. However, rest assured: your data is monitored and automatically corrected in the vast majority of cases.
One tip: To limit Google's automatic changes, make sure the information on your website and social networks is strictly identical to that entered in Partoo.
If you want to learn more about Partoo's offers, feel free to contact us or visit our website by clicking the button below!