How do you rank higher on Google Maps? A local SEO guide

When a customer searches "near me", the businesses in the top three on the map get most of the calls. Here is what decides the ranking and what you can do about it.

Someone looking for a hairdresser, a plumber or a dental clinic will usually look at the first three results on the map and call one of them before looking at any websites. Getting into that top three is the most valuable spot on Google for a local business. The good news: you are competing with the rivals in your neighbourhood, not with big companies.

How does Google decide the map ranking?

According to Google's own explanation, it looks at three things:

• Relevance: How well does your profile match what is being searched for?
• Distance: How close are you to the person searching?
• Prominence: How well known is your business? The number of reviews, your rating and the state of your website come into play here.

You cannot change the distance. The other two are in your hands.

1. Fill in the profile completely

A half-finished profile falls behind a fully completed one. Address, phone, opening hours, website, services, description and photos should all be there. If you do not have a profile yet, first add your business to the map.

2. Choose the right category

The primary category is one of the fields that affects ranking most. "Beauty salon" and "Hairdresser" appear in different searches. Look at which category your competitors use, make the one that describes your business most accurately your primary category, and add the others as additional categories.

3. Do not stuff keywords into the business name

If your sign says "Yıldız Kuaför", your profile should say the same. Adding "best hairdresser Gaziosmanpaşa" to the end of the name is against Google's rules and can get the profile suspended.

4. Ask for reviews and reply to all of them

Reviews affect both the ranking and the customer's decision. Do not be shy about asking a happy customer for a review; sending the "ask for reviews" link from your profile over WhatsApp is the easiest way. Do not have fake reviews written; Google can detect and remove them. Reply to negative reviews calmly and with a focus on solving the problem; your future customers will read that reply.

5. Add photos regularly

The outside of the shop, the inside, the team and the work you do. Real photos you have taken yourself build more trust than stock images. Adding a few new photos a month shows the profile is up to date.

6. Keep the name, address and phone the same everywhere

Google compares your business details against your website, your social media accounts and directory sites. If there is an old phone number in one place and a differently written address in another, trust goes down. Make them all exactly the same.

7. Link your website to the profile

Businesses that have a website, and state their address, services and district clearly on it, are stronger on the map too. Having structured data (LocalBusiness) on your site makes it easier for Google to match the profile with the site.

8. Keep the profile alive

Update your opening hours for public holidays, share your offers and announcements, answer the questions that come in. A profile left untouched for months drops behind an active competitor.

How long does it take?

The effect of profile fixes usually starts to show within a few weeks. The number of reviews builds up over time; there is no shortcut here. A business that gives its profile regular attention overtakes one that fills it in once and leaves it.

If you would rather not deal with setting up, verifying and optimising your profile, we do it on your behalf with our Google Business Profile service. Running it alongside local SEO work, so that your website also contributes to the ranking, gives the best result.