When someone searches for a business or place near their location, they’ll find local results across Google in places like Maps and Search. For example, you can probably find local results if you search for 'Italian restaurant' from your mobile device. We try to show you the kind of nearby restaurant that you’d like to visit.
To improve your business’s local ranking, use Google Business Profile to claim and update your business information. Learn more about how Google sources business information for search results.
How to improve your local ranking on Google
Update your business info for better visibility
You may find that your business doesn’t show up for relevant searches in your area. To maximise how often users find your business in local search results, ensure that your business information in Business Profile is accurate, complete and engaging.
Tip: To edit business information for 10 or more locations at once, you can create a bulk upload spreadsheet.
Enter complete dataLocal results favour the most relevant results for each search. Businesses with complete and accurate information are easier to match with the right searches.
Important: Make sure that you keep your information up to date as your business changes.
Make sure that you’ve entered complete business information in Business Profile so that users know what you do, where you are and when they can visit. Provide information like, but not limited to, your:
- Physical address
- Phone number
- Category
- Attributes
If you run a retail business in an eligible country or region (US, CA, UK and IE), you can turn online searchers into in-store shoppers by automatically showcasing your in-store products on your Business Profile.
To automatically add your products to your Business Profile, connect your point of sale system to the local inventory app or product reader. Learn how to showcase in-store products.
How Google determines local ranking
Local results are based primarily on relevance, distance and prominence. A combination of these factors helps us find the best match for your search. For example, our algorithms might decide that a business that's farther away from your location is more likely to have what you're looking for than a business that's closer, and therefore rank it higher in local results.
RelevanceProminence refers to how well known a business is. Some places are more prominent in the offline world, and search results try to reflect this in local ranking. For example, famous museums, landmark hotels or well-known shop brands are also likely to be prominent in local search results.
Prominence is also based on information that Google has about a business, from across the web, like links, articles and directories. Google review count and review score factor into local search ranking. More reviews and positive ratings can improve your business' local ranking. Your position in web results is also a factor, so search engine optimisation (SEO) best practices apply.
Tip: There's no way to request or pay for a better local ranking on Google. We do our best to keep the search algorithm details confidential, to make the ranking system as fair as possible for everyone.
