How to Rank Higher on Google Maps
How does a business rank higher on Google Maps?
To rank higher on Google Maps, verify your Google Business Profile, choose the most specific category, fill in every detail accurately, earn a steady flow of genuine reviews and reply to them, and get other websites to link to yours. Google says it ranks local results mainly on relevance, distance and how well known the business is.
Key takeaways
- Google ranks local results mainly on relevance, distance and how well known the business is, and does not publish how much each one counts.
- You control relevance through your category and details, and you build prominence through reviews and links; you cannot change distance.
- Only a verified Business Profile can show its details on Maps and Search.
- Google says there is no way to request or pay for a better local ranking.
- Extra words in the business name, addresses you do not work from and rewarded reviews all break Google's rules.
In this guide
This guide shows how to rank higher on Google Maps when you have one location, or one service area. It covers what Google says decides the order, seven steps in the order to do them, and the shortcuts that put a profile at risk. If you want it done for you, that is our local SEO service.
How does Google decide who ranks on Google Maps?
Google publishes the outline. It says local results are mainly based on relevance, distance and how well known a business is, which it calls prominence, and that together these find the best match for each search. It also says it keeps the details confidential. So the exact percentages you see quoted as “Google Maps ranking factors” come from surveys of marketers, not from Google.
| Factor | What Google says it is | What you can do |
|---|---|---|
| Relevance | How well your Business Profile matches what someone is searching for | Choose the right category and give complete, detailed information |
| Distance | How far each business is from the person searching | Nothing honest. It follows your real location |
| Prominence | How well known the business is, including how many websites link to it and how many reviews it has | Earn reviews and links, steadily |
Google's help page on local ranking names relevance, distance and how well known a business is as the main basis for local results, and says the details of the system are kept confidential.
Map pack
The map with a short list of businesses, typically three, that appears in an ordinary Google search for something local. Google calls these local results and shows them in both Maps and Search, so the steps below apply to both.
How to rank higher on Google Maps: seven steps
Do them in this order. The first four are set-up, done once. The last three are ongoing.
Seven steps, in order
- 1. Claim and verify your profile
Search for your business in Google Maps. If a profile exists, claim it. If not, add one. Then complete verification. Google says only verified businesses can show their details on Maps and Search, so nothing else counts until this is done.
- 2. Choose the most specific primary category
The category tells Google what you are, which is the heart of relevance. Google's advice is to pick the narrow option when there is one, for example “Nail salon” instead of “Salon”, and to add only a few extra categories for real departments or services.
- 3. Fill in every field, accurately
Google says businesses with complete and accurate information are more likely to show up in local results, and that inaccurate information can keep a profile out of relevant searches. Add your address or service area, hours including holidays, phone, website, services and details such as parking or Wi-Fi.
- 4. Use your real name and your real address
Enter the name exactly as it appears on your sign. Google's guidelines do not allow extras such as a tagline or a list of services in the name, and say they could lead to suspension. They also rule out P.O. boxes and rented mailing addresses you do not work from.
- 5. Ask every customer for a review, and reply
Google says more reviews and positive ratings can help your local ranking, and counts reviews as part of how well known you are. Ask every customer with your review link, and never offer anything in return.
- 6. Make your website back up your profile
Show the same name, address and phone number on your website as on your profile, and give each main service its own clear page. Then earn links from other local websites: suppliers, trade bodies, the chamber of commerce, local news. Google lists the number of websites linking to your business as part of prominence.
- 7. Check your position from more than one place
Because distance is part of the ranking, you rank differently for a searcher two streets away and one across town. A search from your own desk tells you little. Check from several points across the area you want to win, and repeat it monthly.
Three of those steps have their own guides: the Business Profile set-up checklist for steps 1 to 4, how to get more Google reviews within the rules for step 5, and how to check where you rank on Google Maps for step 7.
Google says how well known a business is takes into account how many websites link to it and how many reviews it has, and that more reviews and positive ratings can help local ranking. It gives no numbers.
What can you not change about your Google Maps ranking?
Distance. A business ranks best near where it really is, and no setting alters that. A dental clinic in one suburb should not expect to top the map for someone searching on the far side of the city, however complete its profile.
The tempting fix is an address in the area you want. Google's guidelines rule it out. A rented mailing address you do not operate from, which Google calls a virtual office, is not eligible for a profile. An office in a co-working space counts only if it has clear signage, receives customers during business hours and is staffed by your own people. If you travel to your customers, read local SEO for service-area businesses. If you really do serve several cities, see how to rank in multiple cities.
How long does it take to rank higher on Google Maps?
Google gives two figures. Rankings for a new business can take up to a month to appear, and edits to a profile can take up to three days to show in results. Everything after that depends on how far ahead your competitors are in reviews and links. A fair expectation is steady gains over months, and no honest provider will name a date or a position.
Which shortcuts put your profile at risk?
The ones that try to fake relevance, distance or prominence. Each of these breaks a published Google rule.
- Adding a tagline, services or other extra words to the business name when they are not on your sign.
- Listing a virtual office, a P.O. box or a friend's address to appear in another area.
- Creating a second profile for the same business. Google says there should be only one profile per business.
- Offering a discount, a gift or payment for reviews, or asking only happy customers. The rules are in how to get more Google reviews.
- Paying anyone who claims they can buy you a place on the map. Google states there is no way to request or pay for a better local ranking.
Local SEO service
We audit where you appear today, put the profile, pages and listings right, run the review plan and report calls and bookings from local search each month.
See the serviceHow do I show up on Google Maps at all?
Add or claim your Business Profile and verify it. Google says only verified businesses can show their details on Maps and Search, and that rankings for a new business can take up to a month to appear. If you are verified and still missing, check for a suspension or a duplicate profile.
Can I pay to rank higher on Google Maps?
No. Google states that there is no way to request or pay for a better local ranking. Anyone selling a guaranteed place on the map is selling something Google says does not exist.
Does my website affect my Google Maps ranking?
Google says how well known a business is depends partly on how many websites link to it, so a website that earns links helps. It also gives you room to explain services that a profile can only list. Google does not say how much weight the website carries.
Why do I rank in one part of town and not another?
Because distance from the searcher is one of the three things Google ranks local results on. You will tend to rank best close to your real location and less well further away. That is normal, and it is why checking your position from one spot tells you little.
Do photos and posts help you rank on Google Maps?
Google recommends adding photos and videos and says they show customers what you offer. Its guidance on local ranking does not say that photos or posts change your position. Treat them as a way to win the call once you have been seen.
Find out who is ahead of you on the map.
Send us your website and the areas you serve, and our free audit will show where you appear today and what we would fix first.
The authors
Who wrote and checked this guide
Written by
Jamiez Nguyen
Founder & CEO
Jamiez Nguyen founded Taskcover and leads strategy and client growth. He started it in 2017 as a team doing search work behind the scenes for other agencies, then opened it to businesses in the USA, Canada and Australia.
Reviewed by
John Edward
CTO
John Edward leads the technical side of Taskcover: how sites are built, how fast they load, and how search engines read them.
Updated Fact-checked About the people at Taskcover
Sources
Where the facts in this guide come from
Facts last checked on October 12, 2026.
- 1Tips to improve your local ranking on GoogleGoogle Business Profile HelpChecked on October 12, 2026
- 2Find your business on GoogleGoogle Business Profile HelpChecked on October 12, 2026
- 3Guidelines for representing your business on GoogleGoogle Business Profile HelpChecked on October 12, 2026
- 4Manage your business categoryGoogle Business Profile HelpChecked on October 12, 2026
