How to Rank Higher on Google Maps: A Local SEO Guide
How is the Google Maps ranking decided? Ten steps, based on relevance, distance and prominence, that move your Google Business Profile up the rankings.
By BadePlus
Someone searching "dentist near me", "breakfast downtown" or just "locksmith" picks one of the first few businesses on Google Maps. Ranking high in this list is among the most valuable kinds of visibility for a local business. In this guide we explain, step by step, how Google decides local rankings and what you can do to move your business up.
How does Google determine local ranking?
Google clearly states in its own help page that it ranks local results by three main factors:
- Relevance: How well your profile matches what is being searched for. Your category, services and description are decisive here.
- Distance: How far your business is from the place where the search is made or from the location typed into the search.
- Prominence: How well known your business is. Your review count and rating, links and mentions across the internet, and your website's standing in search results all count toward this factor.
Your ranking isn't the same everywhere
Because of the distance factor, your business can rank first in a search made in front of your shop, fifth two blocks away and twentieth at the other end of the district. So the question "Where do I rank on Google?" has no single answer. To measure your ranking properly, you need to look at searches made from different points around your business. Our free ranking analysis does this for you.
1. Choose the right primary category
The primary category is the strongest piece of information that decides which searches Google shows you for. Choose the narrowest category that describes your business most accurately. Add additional categories for other services you really offer; adding unrelated categories won't improve your ranking and puts your profile at risk.
2. Fill in your profile completely and accurately
Opening hours, hours on special days, services, products, business description and attributes specific to your category... Google says that profiles with complete and accurate information are matched to the right searches more easily. Having the right opening hours matters in its own right: a customer chooses an open business over one that looks closed.
3. Keep your details the same everywhere
Your business name, address and phone number should be written the same way on your website, your social media accounts, directory sites and your sign. Consistent information helps Google trust that your business is real and current.
4. Keep getting new reviews
Review count and rating are the most visible part of the prominence factor. It's not only the total that matters but also that reviews keep coming in: new customers look at the latest reviews, and a profile that hasn't received a new review in a year doesn't inspire trust, however high its rating. After the service, send your customers your review link or QR code. Offering a discount in exchange for reviews and getting fake reviews written go against Google's rules; if detected, the reviews are deleted and your profile can be restricted.
5. Reply to every review
Replies show that you care about your customers and keep your profile alive. We explained how to reply to positive and negative reviews, with examples, in our guide to replying to Google reviews.
6. Keep sharing photos and posts
Up-to-date photos and regular posts show a customer looking at your profile that your business is open and active. Share at least one post a week: a new product, a seasonal campaign, an event or a photo of work you've done. Don't write a phone number in the post text; Google often rejects such posts.
7. Get your website ready for local search
Your website directly affects the prominence factor. Your site should state your address, phone number and opening hours clearly; if you have more than one location, there should be a separate page for each. The site should load fast on a phone and give the same information as your Google Business Profile.
8. Use keywords naturally
Use the phrases your customers search for in your business description, your service names and your posts, in a natural voice. Don't add keywords or a neighborhood to your business name: this goes against Google's rules and can get the profile suspended. We covered which words to target in our keyword guide.
9. Earn local links and mentions
Local associations, chambers of commerce, local news sites, your business partners and industry directories can link to your business. Supporting a local event or being featured on a news site also raises your prominence on the internet.
10. Measure, fix, measure again
Regularly measure where you rank for each keyword you target. When you see which area you're behind in, fill in what's missing and measure again after a few weeks. The effect of changes usually doesn't show right away; it appears over weeks.
Mistakes that lower your ranking
- Adding a keyword, a neighborhood or a slogan to the business name
- Opening more than one profile for the same business
- Reviews that were bought, written by a friend or given in return for a gift
- Categories unrelated to your business
- Wrong opening hours or a profile that looks closed
- Sharing the same post over and over
How long until you see results?
The honest answer to this question is "it depends on the business". For a keyword with little competition, a few weeks can be enough; in a crowded district and industry it can take months. No one can guarantee you first place within a set time. The only thing that can be guaranteed is that steady work lays the groundwork to move your profile ahead of your competitors.
Keeping this work going
Most of the steps above aren't done once and left; they have to be kept up every week. BadePlus runs this ongoing work for you: it replies to reviews, prepares your weekly posts, shows what's missing from your profile and measures where you rank at 49 points around your business for the keywords you choose; when your ranking drops, it lets you know. See your ranking first with the free analysis or start your 3-day free trial.