Logo Bomb: Google Maps Returns Anti-Microsoft Logo For Microsoft Listing

Garett Rogers at Googling Google has
reported that a search on
Google Maps for

microsoft has returned an anti-Microsoft image within the Microsoft listing,
as shown to the left. The image was originally on a
Yelp.com page and
automatically inserted into the Google Maps result. It appears to now have been
removed, but Garett has a screen capture showing it was there just a day or so
ago. So how did this happen?

Barry Schwartz and I dived in to explore more. It appears that Google runs a
special geographically-targeted image search behind the scenes and tries to find
images on pages that match a company’s name, as well as having an address and/or
phone number that is the same or near to the company’s listing.

For example, look at the Google Maps result for

ask.com. Notice how the photo for that result is taken from

here. If you look at this page, notice how it mentions the company name
(Ask.com) and has a phone number. This phone number, in this case, matches the
number in the Google Maps results for Ask.com.

Another example is a Google Maps search for

microsoft corporation, which returns an image from a Smart Computing article

here (note, if you click through the Google Maps result, you will get the
full article, otherwise, you get a shorter article). If you scroll down to the
bottom of the full article, you will see a link to microsoft.com with phone
number details.

With this case, the phone number listed is NOT an exact match. That’s the
same situation with the

microsoft search. The image came from
this page on Yelp
about Microsoft. The phone number and address don’t match the Microsoft listing.
Our guess is that the images get used anyway, because Google can tell the phone
numbers or addresses are in the same general area. It may be Google making a
"best guess" decision that, as with Microsoft, can go wrong.

It’s not a good thing for businesses, that you can accidentally have a bad
picture for your company in Google Maps. Indeed, potentially someone could "logo
bomb" you by putting an image on a page along with your company name and contact
information.

The good news is that business owners can easily solve this potential
problem. Google Local
Business Center Adds Photos, Attributes, Maps Corrections & Stats from Barry
earlier this month explains how you can take control of your image in local
listings.

Not everyone will do this, of course. That’s one reason Google should
consider NOT using images automatically, to avoid situations like with
Microsoft. Let a business owner provide an image. If they don’t, leave it blank!