How to improve your local ranking on Google

 

Manage your business

When people search for a business near them, they see local results on Google Maps and Search. If they search for “pizza place” on a phone, they’ll see nearby pizza places. Google tries to show the kind of place people want to go to.

To make your business show up higher, use Google Business Profile to claim and update your business info.  Learn more about how Google finds business information for search results. 

How to improve your local ranking on Google

Update your business info so more people find it

If you search for your business but don’t see it, make sure your business info on Business Profile is correct, complete and engaging.

Tip: To edit business info for 10 or more locations at once, you can create a bulk upload spreadsheet.

Enter all your business info

Important: Make sure you keep your info up to date as your business changes.

Google shows the best results for each search. Businesses with complete and correct info are easier to find. Provide info like your: 

• Physical address
• Phone number
• Category
• Attributes

Learn how to edit your business information.

Verify your locations

Verify your business locations so people can find them on Google Maps and Search.  Learn more about verification.

Get help with verification

Keep your business times right

Make sure your business hours are up to date, even for holidays and events. This lets people know when you’re open. Learn how to change your hours.

Manage & answer reviews

Answer reviews people leave about your business. This shows you care about your customers. Good reviews make your business look better and more people will visit your place. Learn how to make a link for customer reviews.

Add photos

Add photos to your business page to show what you sell. Good photos will help people find what they’re looking for. Learn how to add photos or videos.

Add in-store products

If you sell things in a store in the US, CA, UK and IE, you can show them on your business page. This lets people see what you sell and visit your store. Learn how to show store products.

How Google picks local ranking

Google finds the best places for you by looking at how close they are, how good they are, and how well known they are. For example, Google might think a place far away is more likely to be what you’re looking for than a closer one, so it shows the farther place first.

Relevance

Google looks at how well a place matches what you are looking for. You can help Google by adding lots of info about your business so it can better understand your business and find the right people.

Distance

Google looks at how far each place is from the user. If you don’t say where you are, Google will calculate distance based on where it thinks the user is.

Prominence

How well-known a business is called its prominence. Some places are better known in the real world, so search results try to show this in local ranking. Famous museums, landmark hotels, or well-known store brands will likely show up higher in local searches. 

Google also uses information about a business from the web to decide prominence. This includes links, articles, and directories.  More reviews and better ratings can help your business rank higher. How well your website shows up in searches also matters, so good SEO practices are important.

Tip: You can't ask or pay Google to rank your business higher. We keep the ranking system confidential so it's fair for everyone.

 

 

Related resources

• Tell us if someone broke the rules for Business Profiles