Google star rating - bit of a rant.

[rpm]

Google , law unto themselves , they wont be happy till the take over the world

Yep them and Paypal.

 

[rpm]

Oops, made a bit of a dick of myself there.

Takes a good man to hold his hand up to his mistakes, fair play to you mate.

 

[jonnyswamp]

Yep them and Paypal.

And Apple, don't forget Apple
Just sent a new iphone back, going with a Sansung s7 now

 

[Stanios]

Google makes it nearly impossible to predictably have your website high in search results Im pretty sure this is done so that eventually you either give up and pay them for an ad space or use some dodgy tactics like this guy Plumber Crystal Palace | Emergency Plumbers Crystal Palace | Boiler SE19 who has 7 websites all the same except the names of website and content relating to area changes i.e Plumber Orpington | Emergency Plumbers Orpington | Boiler Orpington
At the end anyone trying to compete honestly in their area gets stuffed either way..

 

[oz-plumber]

It's a bit like one of the internet trade providers over here.

They list you as a plumber in your area, but if you don't subscribe to them, you get a poor rating.

My rating is 83/100. ( which I think is the minimum )

If you subscribe to them you will get a minimum rating of 95/100.
If you pay for an advertisement on their site you will get a minimum rating of 98/100.

I'm in contact with Consumer Affairs about this at the moment, because if someone Googles 'Plumber' in an area, this company comes up. If you open their website - the best ranked Plumbers in your area are the ones that subscribe to this internet trade supply company.

So basically, if you sign up, pay for leads and advertise with them, your the best plumber in a particular area.
If you don't sign up, pay for leads or advertise with them, you one of the worst plumbers in a particular area.