In 60 Seconds
Ranking Factors
- •Primary Category: The single most important setting. If you are a 'Plumber' listed as a 'Contractor', you lose.
- •Keywords in Name: Controversial but true. 'Max Plumbing' ranks better than 'Max LLC'. (Warning: Don't fake it, or you get suspended).
- •Reviews: Quantity, Velocity (frequency), and Keywords in the review text. 100 reviews from 2020 are worthless compared to 10 reviews from last month.
- •Proximity: You rank where you are. You cannot rank 50 miles away without ads or location pages.
- •Completeness: Fill out every field. Services, Products, Photos, Q&A. Feed the beast.
When a customer searches "Plumber near me," they don't look at the text links. They look at the Map Pack (The 3-Pack). Receiving 40-60% of clicks, this is the Holy Grail of Local SEO.
The Top 3 Ranking Factors
1. Relevance (Who are you?)
Does Google create a match between the search and your profile?
- Categories: Primary category carries the most weight. Be specific. Not "Repair Service." use "Air Conditioning Repair Service."
- Website Content: Your website must talk about the same things. If your GBP says "Water Heaters" but your website doesn't, Google gets confused.
2. Distance (Where are you?)
This is the hardest to control. Google prioritizes businesses close to the searcher.
- The Radius: You typically rank well within 3-5 miles.
- The Fix: You cannot move your office. To rank further out, you must use LSA (Ads) or build specific Location Pages on your website to trigger organic rankings (below the map).
3. Prominence (Do people trust you?)
This is where the battle is won.
- Review Velocity: Getting 1 review every week is better than getting 50 in one day and then silence for a year.
- Review Text: "Max fixed my Water Heater" is better than "Good job." Encourage customers to mention the service performed.
- Citations: Mentions of your Name, Address, and Phone (NAP) across the web (Yelp, Facebook, BBB) validate your existence.
The "Active" Profile
A dead profile sinks. A living profile floats.
- Post Weekly: Use GBP Posts (like mini social posts) to share offers and recent projects.
- Upload Photos: Geotagged photos of your work prove you are active in the community.
- Answer Q&A: Seed your own Q&A section. "Do you offer financing?" "Yes, we do..."
[!WARNING] Name Spam Do not add keywords to your legal business name (e.g., "Max Plumbing - Best Drain Cleaner"). Competitors will report you "Address Redress" and you will get suspended. Use your real name.
Read Next in This Hub:
- SEO vs PPC - Where to spend.
- Why Ads Fail - Paid issues.
Related System:
- Local Visibility Systems - We optimize this for you.