How to Stop Those Annoying SEO Robo Sales Calls

Have you ever answered a phone call from an unknown number, only to hear a pre-recorded message? These “robocalls” are very common, and most of them are scams. In particular, scammers pretending to work with Google often target small business owners. Keep reading to learn how to stop receiving these annoying, predatory, and illegal calls.

The Real Problem with Robo Sales Calls: They’re Illegal

A robocall is an automated phone call that plays a recorded message. As technology makes it cheaper and easier for scammers to send these calls out en masse, robocalls are becoming increasingly prevalent. An estimated 2.4 billion robocalls are made every month. Almost everyone with a phone gets them sometimes.

Robocalls aren’t just annoying. They’re illegal, unless you’ve signed up to receive them, and they’re often fraudulent. Most of the time, robocalls are sent out by scammers to scare people into handing over money or personal information.

How? One common scenario is that you receive an automated call from someone who claims to work for or be affiliated with Google. Some of these callers might claim they can improve your site’s ranking if you pay a fee or sign up for their service. Others might say your business listing is about to expire, and offer to renew or manage it for you. There are lots of ways these scammers might try to fish for your credit card number or other personal information, and you shouldn’t fall for any of them.

Even though this type of call isn’t legitimate, many people mistakenly think Google is behind them. This has tarnished Google’s name a bit, and Google has taken steps to fight back. In 2015, Google sued Local Lighthouse, a California-based SEO company that had been robocalling people and falsely claiming to be affiliated with Google. Google has also published a page with details on how to tell if a call is a scam, and they’ve set up a form where people can submit details about robocalls they’ve received.

Despite all of this, the practice of robocalling is still alive and well. Many of these scammers live overseas and use technology to spoof U.S.-based caller IDs, making them difficult or impossible to track down. It looks like robocallers are going to be around for a while, so what should you do if you find yourself on the line with one?

Identifying a Scam

First, make sure the call is a scam. This usually isn’t hard to do. If you’re not sure, there are a few red flags you can look for:

• First, know that Google doesn’t use pre-recorded messages unless you request an automated call from them. Any legitimate, unsolicited call from Google will have a real person on the other end.
• It doesn’t cost any money to list your business or manage your listing on Google. Don’t trust anyone who wants to do this for a fee.
• Likewise, you can’t pay Google to improve your website’s ranking.
• Google will not ask you for personal information like your date of birth or credit card number over the phone. (Nor, for that matter, will any other legitimate company.)

What to Do if a Scammer Calls You

Of course, you should never give out any personal information over the phone. There are also a few other things you should do (or avoid doing) if you get an automated call from someone claiming to be with Google.

1. Do not say anything. Just hang up. If you say something, you’ll confirm that there’s a real person on your end of the line, and the scammer will probably try calling you again.
2. Don’t push any buttons. Some robocallers will tell you to press a number to speak to someone or hang up. Don’t do it – this will also confirm that you’re a real person.
3. Report the call to the FTC. Robocalling is illegal if you haven’t signed up to receive the calls. File a complaint with the FTC here. Note that you can file a complaint for a robocall even if you’re not currently listed on the National Do Not Call Registry (more on this in a minute). Below is an example of the FTC complaint page for robocalls:
4. Report the call to Google. You can find the form here. The more information you can provide, the better Google will be able to track down the company that called you.

Preventing Robocalls

It’s important to deal with robocalls the right way, but wouldn’t it be great to prevent them from happening in the first place? While you may never be able to get rid of the calls entirely, here are a few things you can do to avoid most of them.

1. See if you can find your phone number online. You may never find out where the scammers got ahold of your number, but it’s also possible that your number is somewhere on the internet where anyone can see it. Google your number and see what comes up. If your number shows up on social media, a list, or somewhere else easy to find, see if you can get it taken down.
2. Add your phone number to the National Do Not Call Registry. The National Do Not Call Registry is a list of phone numbers that telemarketers are not allowed to call. Once your number is on that list, it’s illegal for anyone to pester you. Of course, scammers with questionable business practices may not respect the registry, but it’s a good place to start. At the very least, reputable companies won’t call you anymore. Below is an example of the what the webpage looks like, found here.
3. Block scammers’ phone numbers. Most smartphones have a feature that lets you block certain numbers from calling you. If you’ve been getting persistent robocalls from the same number, this is probably your best option for stopping them. You may also be able to contact your phone company and report scammers that won’t leave you alone. Below is an example from PC Mag:
4. Use an app or tool to block the calls. If you’re sick of getting flooded with robocalls from different numbers, an app like Nomorobo or TrueCaller might be what you need. These apps can identify callers and filter out robocalls before your phone even rings. But if you ever need to take legitimate automated calls, such as reminders from your doctor’s office, be aware that these apps may filter them out too.

Nomorobo is a popular anti-robocalling app. They claim to be able to tell the difference between legitimate automated calls and scam calls:

Truecaller works as a caller ID while blocking incoming spam calls:

Wrapping Up

Robocalls are annoying, especially if you get a lot of them. You know better than to give away your information, of course, but you’re probably tired of dealing with automated calls when you’re trying to focus on other things. Luckily, while scammers will always be out there, there’s plenty you can do to stop them from bothering you. Put these tips to work for you, and you’ll probably receive a lot fewer robocalls in the future.

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Conversions Might Take a Hit with Chrome 62

Another Google update is on the horizon. In October, the tech giant will release an update to their Chrome browser, and it could have a big effect on your conversions. When it comes out, the new “Chrome 62” will alert users when they type in any kind of information on a page with a non-secure HTTP connection. If you haven’t switched to HTTPS yet, this could be worrisome news for your business. Here’s what you need to know:

Google’s Push for More Security

Google has been nudging webmasters towards improving their online security for a while now. Back in 2014, Google made HTTPS a ranking signal, so more secure sites tended to rank higher than sites using HTTP, and in January 2017, Google released Chrome 56, which warns users when they input credit card information or a password on an unsecured HTTP site.

But Google isn’t finished yet. Chrome 62, which is scheduled to come out October 17, is going to ramp up the security warnings even more. After the release, Chrome users will see a “Not secure” warning message whenever they type anything into a form field on an HTTP page. This includes fields like search bars and lead capture forms. Below is an example of the “!” you see to show you that you’re on an unsecure site:

Chrome 62 will warn users that a site isn’t secure when they type information into any form field. Chrome will also start displaying a warning on all HTTP pages in incognito mode. Many people mistakenly believe that incognito mode keeps information safe from hackers, but it doesn’t – it just disables your browser from storing anything in your history or cache.

When Chrome 62 comes out, any non-secure form fields in incognito mode will load with a “Not secure” warning. Eventually, Google plans to include a red triangle with an exclamation mark along with its warning that a page isn’t secure. This change will happen in future releases, not Chrome 62.

Note: Eventually, Chrome will start displaying a scarier-looking warning on HTTP pages.

These changes are having a major impact on Chrome users’ behavior, as well as websites’ traffic. According to Google, there has already been a 23% reduction in traffic to HTTP pages requesting credit card information or passwords. With the next wave of changes, traffic will probably take an even bigger hit – unless webmasters take action now.

HTTPS: What Is It and Why Does It Matter?

At this point, if you aren’t fluent with technology, you might be wondering what exactly HTTP and HTTPS are. What’s the difference between them, and what’s wrong with HTTP?

• HTTP stands for HyperText Transfer Protocol.

In a nutshell, it’s a method for sending information between two devices. For example, when you go to a website, HTTP is the procedure that sends the information from the web server to your browser.

The problem with HTTP is that it’s not very secure. Hackers can intercept and read any data sent through an HTTP connection. Obviously, this is a huge problem if you’re sending sensitive personal information like passwords, credit card numbers, or social security numbers. Enter HTTPS.

• The extra S on the end stands for “secure.”

HTTPS encodes all of your data before sending it, so if hackers got their hands on your information, they would just see an unreadable string of gibberish. HTTPS encrypts data with the help of two other protocols – SSL, which stands for Secure Sockets Layer, and TSL, which stands for Transport Security Layer.

You can tell whether a site uses HTTP or HTTPS by looking at the URL bar in your browser. If the site is using HTTPS (and therefore secure), you’ll see a padlock symbol on the left side of the bar.

Chrome’s new security features are making internet users more safety-conscious. In the past, it was easy to just not notice whether a site was secure. Ever since Chrome 56 came out, though, it’s much more obvious when a site might not be safe. That’s driving a lot of people away from sites that haven’t upgraded to HTTPS yet – nobody wants their information to be compromised.

How Can You Avoid Taking a Hit?

If you’re already using a secure page to ask visitors for any sensitive information, such as payment information, you’re OK for now. But in October, you’ll need to make sure your whole site is secure. If you’re still using HTTP when the update happens, any kind of form field – like a search bar or an email opt-in form – will flag your site as not secure. This can do a lot of damage to your credibility, and you’ll probably see a steep drop in your conversions and new leads.

The solution is simple: make sure you’re using HTTPS by the time October rolls around. Using HTTPS is just a good practice anyways. It increases customer trust, and it could give your rankings a boost. And, of course, security is a must if you ask your visitors for personal information.

Should you migrate your site to HTTPS by yourself? That depends. It’s possible to do the job on your own, but if you aren’t familiar with how the process works, you might find yourself feeling lost or overwhelmed – or, worse, unsure of how to fix something you broke. If you’re worried about that happening, it’s best to ask your web developer to help you, or hire someone specifically to migrate your site.

If you’d rather make the switch yourself, here’s an overview of what you’ll need to do:

• Obtain a SSL certificate. You can get one for free from Let’s Encrypt.
• Make sure your server is correctly configured for the update.
• Install your security certificate.
• Go through your website and update any internal http links to https links. Check your CSS, JavaScript, images, and canonical tags to make sure you don’t miss anything.
• Set up 301 redirects from old http links to new https links. That way, people who follow old links to your site from around the Internet don’t end up at a broken page.
• Update your business’ social media pages, your Google Webmaster Tools account, and any other links around the Internet to reflect your new URL.

After you migrate your site, you might see some fluctuations in your rankings, but those should even out after several weeks. If you can, make the switch to HTTPS at a low-traffic time. That way, Google will be able to index your updated site faster, and your rankings will stabilize sooner.

Google has released a guide on updating your own site to HTTPS. If you’re planning to make the switch by yourself, it’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with the process ahead of time. You can find the guide here.

The Takeaway

For webmasters who aren’t using HTTPS yet, the time to take action is now. Otherwise, your conversions (and your reputation) will be in trouble come October. Luckily, there’s still plenty of time to migrate your site and avoid any negative repercussions of the change. If you still need to make the switch to a more secure site, do it sooner rather than later, so you can work out any snags well before Chrome 62 is released.

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