How Google decides who shows up

Google says local results are mainly based on three things: relevance (how well your profile matches the search), distance (how far you are from the person searching) and prominence (how well-known you are, including how many websites link to you and how many reviews you have). It also says there’s no way to request or pay for a better local ranking. Google’s explanation.

You can’t change distance. Everything below is about relevance and prominence.

The checklist

  1. Use your real business name. Google’s guidelines say the name should match your real-world name as used on your signage, website and stationery. Adding keywords or locations to the name isn’t permitted and can get the profile suspended.
  2. Pick the fewest, most specific categories. Choose the primary category that best describes your core business. Google asks that categories aren’t used as keywords.
  3. Set your address or service area correctly. If customers come to you, show your address. If you go to customers, such as a plumber working from home, Google says to hide the address and set a service area instead. A rented mailbox or unstaffed “virtual office” isn’t eligible.
  4. Keep hours accurate, including holidays. Set your regular hours, then add special hours for public holidays, closures and events. Wrong hours send people to a locked door.
  5. Add your website and a phone number people can actually reach. And make sure both match what’s on your site.
  6. Write a plain description. What you do, who for and where. Keep links and promotional offers out of it.
  7. Add real photos. Your shopfront or vehicle, your team, your work. Update them a few times a year.
  8. Ask for reviews, and reply to them. Google says more reviews and positive ratings can help local ranking. Ask customers when the job is fresh, and reply to every review, good or bad, briefly and politely.
  9. Keep it consistent everywhere. Your name, phone and website should read the same on your site, your profile and any directories you’re listed in.

Common mistakes

  • Two profiles for the same business, which Google’s guidelines don’t allow.
  • A keyword-stuffed name like “Smith Electrical Best Electrician Timaru”.
  • Holiday hours left unset, so Google shows you as open on Christmas Day.
  • A website link that goes to a dead or “coming soon” page.

Where your website fits

The profile gets you seen on Maps, and the website is where people check you out before they ring. We tidy your Google Business Profile as part of every site we build. See how we work.