Show up in the map pack, where local searches actually end
For "near me" and city searches, most people never scroll past the three map results. Getting into that block is a different job from ranking a web page, and it is the one that brings a local business the phone call.
Illustrative structure of the local pack. Not a live result and not a promise of placement.
Three factors, and only one of them is fixed
Google states that local results are ranked on relevance, distance and prominence. You cannot move your premises, so the work goes into the other two.
Relevance
How well your profile and site match what was searched. Categories, services and the words you actually use.
Distance
How far you are from the searcher or the place they named. This one you cannot change, so it sets a realistic radius.
Prominence
How well known the business is: citations, links, coverage, and the review activity you earn honestly over time.
A Google Business Profile is a product page you do not own
It is often the first thing a customer sees and the last page they need. Half-filled profiles lose to complete ones for the same search.
- Correct primary and secondary categories
- Services and service areas that match how people search
- Hours, holiday hours and attributes kept current
- Photos, products and posts that are actually maintained
- Questions answered before a competitor answers them
The same business, listed four different ways
Name, address and phone need to match everywhere they appear. When they drift, the signals split between versions and none of them get full credit.
- Acme Plumbing Ltd, 12 Iroon Str., 210-555-0100
- Acme Plumbing, 12 Iroon Street, +30 210 555 0100
- ACME PLUMBING LTD, Iroon 12, 2105550100
- Acme Plumbing Ltd, 12 Iroon Street, +30 210 555 0100
- Acme Plumbing Ltd, 12 Iroon Street, +30 210 555 0100
- Acme Plumbing Ltd, 12 Iroon Street, +30 210 555 0100
A page per place you actually serve
One contact page listing twenty cities ranks for none of them. Real location pages, only for places you genuinely operate in.
Common questions about local SEO
- How long before we appear in the map pack?
- Profile and consistency work can show movement within weeks, while prominence builds over months. Anyone who gives you a date is guessing. We work in indicative phases and report what actually changed.
- We serve a whole region, not one address. Does local SEO still work?
- Yes, through service area configuration rather than a pin per town. Creating fake addresses to cover more area violates Google guidelines and gets profiles suspended, so we do not do it.
- Can you get us reviews?
- We can set up the process that makes it easy for real customers to leave one, and make sure you are asking at the right moment. We do not write reviews, buy them, or use services that do.
- Do we need a website if we have a Google profile?
- Yes. The profile is the shopfront, the site is what backs up its claims and it is where relevance is established. Businesses with a thin or missing site consistently struggle in competitive local searches.
Find out where you stand locally
Tell us your business and the area you cover. We will look at your profile, your citations and who is currently taking the pack.