E962: Keyword stuffing in Google Business Profile names is one of the most common - and frustrating - competitive tactics in local search.

Claudia Tomina, founder of ReputationArm and a Google Product Expert, joins the show to answer a listener question about what business owners can realistically do when a competitor continues using a spammy business name despite edits, reports, and forum escalation.

A listener named Arthur shares his experience dealing with a competitor that repeatedly reverts suggested edits, sees little movement through forum discussions, and appears to gain an advantage from a keyword-stuffed listing.

Claudia explains what is actually allowed within Google's guidelines, why these situations are often more difficult to resolve than expected, and when it makes sense to stop fighting the listing and focus on strengthening your own positioning.

The discussion also expands into broader Google Business Profile spam tactics, review strategy mistakes, suspension risks, and practical ways to build stronger long-term ranking signals without relying on short-term tactics.

Topics covered: - When keyword stuffing is technically allowed due to DBAs and legal business names - Why suggested edits often get reverted and what signals Google looks at - The real effectiveness of the redress form and why escalation in the forum matters - Data from thousands of spam reports and what outcomes are most common - How repeated spam reporting can reduce trust in your own profile - The reality of fighting a single competitor versus a larger brand or franchise network - Common Google Business Profile spam issues business owners misunderstand - Suspension risks tied to false "business does not exist" reports - What documentation helps recover suspended listings faster - The driving directions ranking tactic and why it can hurt long term performance - How review velocity changes can negatively impact rankings - The importance of aligning services, menu items, categories, and reviews - A real example showing how a menu keyword change impacted rankings immediately - Frequent optimization mistakes including incorrect categories and inactive profile management - Why business name and category are still the strongest starting points - Review generation mistakes that trigger filtering or temporary blocks - Risks associated with QR code review campaigns and on-premise review spikes - How Google evaluates engagement before allowing reviews to stick - Practical ways to earn meaningful reviews without creating unnatural patterns

Claudia also explains how local rankings are increasingly query-based, why top-layer profile signals matter more than review keywords alone, and how business owners should think about reputation management as part of their overall local search strategy.

If you have a question you want answered on a future episode, reach out and it may be featured in an upcoming discussion.

⭐️ Claudia Tomina on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/claudia-tomina/ ⭐️ Claudia Tomina on 𝕏 - https://x.com/ClaudiaTomina ⭐️ ReputationArm - https://reputationarm.com/

💎 Compact Keywords - My SEO Course - Get paying customers through SEO - Clear step-by-step video breakdowns - SEO templates to be copied and adapted for your products and services: https://compactkeywords.com/

00:00 Countering Spammy Google Business Profile Tactics 00:10 Claudia Tomina's Background 00:51 Keyword-Stuffed Business Names That Keep Reverting 01:54 DBAs & Why Google Could Allow Spam 03:07 Redress Form vs Forum Escalation + Success Stats 04:58 When to Stop Fighting 07:24 Common GBP Spam Trends 11:51 Reputation Signals That Rank 15:43 Frequent GBP Mistakes + Quick Wins 17:12 Review Strategy 20:40 Getting More Meaningful Reviews 21:56 Wrap-Up

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#localseo #googlebusinessprofile #searchengineoptimization #localmarketing