How Google decides who shows
Google's Business Profile help center states that there is no way to request or pay for a better local ranking, and it keeps the details of the algorithm confidential. It does name the three main factors. Google also says the categories you select affect your local ranking, so category choice belongs near the top of your list.
- Relevance: how well your profile matches what someone searched. Complete, detailed information helps Google match you to more searches.
- Distance: how far your business is from the person searching, or from the location Google infers for them.
- Prominence: how well known your business is, based in part on how many websites link to you and how many reviews you have. Google says more reviews and positive ratings can help.
Steps that help, in order
Work through these in sequence. The early steps are quick and remove problems that would undercut everything after them.
- Verify the profile. Google says verification tells it you are authorized to represent the business, which makes the profile more likely to show in results.
- Choose the most specific primary category from Google's list, and add only the few extra categories that describe real parts of your business.
- Set your location honestly. If customers don't come to you, hide your address and list up to 20 service areas by city or ZIP code, staying within about 2 hours of driving from your base.
- Add your services with the services editor, so a search for a specific job can be matched to your profile.
- Keep hours, phone number and website accurate, including special hours for holidays.
- Add real photos of your crew, vehicles and finished work.
- Ask every finished customer for a review, and reply to the reviews you receive.
- Give each main service and the areas you serve a clear page on your website, using the same business name and phone number as the profile.
Shortcuts that get profiles suspended
Google's guidelines for representing your business are strict, and the most common tricks break them. Any short-term bump is not worth losing the profile and its reviews.
- Adding keywords or city names to your business name. Google says unnecessary information in the name isn't permitted and could lead to suspension.
- Listing a virtual office or mailbox. Google says a rented address you don't operate from isn't eligible, and P.O. boxes aren't acceptable.
- Creating extra profiles for towns where you have no staffed location.
- Paying for reviews or offering discounts in exchange for them. Google removes those reviews and can block new reviews on the profile for a set period.
- Picking categories as keywords instead of to describe your core business.
The distance problem for service-area businesses
A service-area business won't show in the map results everywhere it works. Service areas tell customers where you go and can help people find you, but distance is still one of Google's three main factors. A Brighton landscaper should expect to appear far more often for searches near Brighton than for searches made in Ann Arbor, even with Ann Arbor listed as a service area.
Two things cover that gap. A clear page on your website for each town you serve can earn organic rankings below the map results, and paid placements such as Google Ads or Local Services Ads let you choose where you appear. Google's own service-area help page suggests Local Services Ads to help more people find a service business.
How to check where you show
Searching your own trade from your shop will make you look better than you are, because you are standing next to your own location. Check results from the towns you want to win, ask customers in those towns what they see, and use your Business Profile performance report, which lists the searches that found you and how many people called or asked for directions.
If you would like a second opinion on your profile and the pages behind it, bring both to a free 30-minute strategy call with Nick. You will leave knowing what to fix first, whether or not you hire us.
Related questions
Does the number of reviews affect map rankings?
Yes, as part of prominence. Google says how many reviews you have is one of the signals it uses, and that more reviews and positive ratings can help your local ranking. Reviews must reflect genuine experiences, and Google prohibits offering incentives for them.
Can I get into the map results without a storefront?
Yes. A business that travels to customers can have one profile with the address hidden and up to 20 service areas. Ranking still depends on distance from the searcher, so you will show most often near where your business is based.
Should I put my city in my business name?
Only if it is part of your real name on signs, vehicles and paperwork. Google says the profile name must reflect your real-world name, and adding location or service words that aren't part of it can lead to suspension.
Do Google posts help me rank in the map results?
Google describes posts as a way to share updates, offers and events with customers on Search and Maps. It doesn't list them among its local ranking factors, so treat posts as a way to inform people who already found you rather than a ranking tactic.
Sources
- Google Business Profile Help: Tips to improve your local ranking on Google
- Google Business Profile Help: Manage your business category
- Google Business Profile Help: Guidelines for representing your business on Google
- Google Business Profile Help: Manage your service areas
- Google Business Profile Help: Manage your services
- Google Business Profile Help: Verify your business on Google
- Google Business Profile Help: Restrictions for policy violations
- Google Business Profile Help: Create and manage posts
- Google Business Profile Help: Understand your Business Profile performance