Thompson (Guest) 01-05-2025
Photo credit Unsplash
If you’re a local business, and you’re not showing up on Google Maps, then you’re missing out
It’s no surprise the top three businesses get the majority of the traffic and leads. So if you're not one of them, that’s a problem.
But the good news is, you can fix it.
Let’s break down six common reasons you're not ranking on Google Maps—and what you can do about each one.
Look, if your Google Business Profile is missing info, or worse, has the wrong info, you’re going to fall behind.
Everything from your business name, phone number, hours, categories, description, and service areas. Each of these matter, and can help boost your rankings.
Google wants clean, complete, and consistent data. If they can’t easily determine what your business offers, they won’t risk sending traffic your way.
Action: Optimize your profile. Go fill out every single section of your profile. Start with the basics, but don’t skip things like the description (include some keywords + cities), service areas, and proper business categories.
This one’s big.
Reviews matter.
If you only have 10 reviews, and your competitors have 500+, you’re going to need to get more reviews.
But there is a trick you can take advantage of. It’s called review velocity.
If you can get more reviews, on average, than your competitors, you’ll get a huge benefit.
Josh Thompson, founder of Brightbeam SEO had this to say:
“Google wants their platform to stay fresh. That’s why momentum matters. If your competitors are averaging five reviews a month and you’re steadily getting six, that sends a strong signal you’re the new market leader, and Google will reward you for it.”
Action: Outpace your competition. Figure out how many reviews they get on average and make a goal to beat it.
When’s the last time you added new photos?
Google wants to see activity. And photos are one of the easiest ways to show that you’re still out there doing work.
Even better? Name your photos with descriptive text, “Plumbing Installation Job in Boise, Idaho” or “New Fence Build Project in Salt Lake City, Utah.”
The more information you put in the title, the more Google can pull from. So be thorough.
Action: Get photos regularly. 1-2 photos a week is perfect. Put systems in your business to get photos from every job, and then upload them regularly.
Google lets you post updates for a reason. It wants to know you’re still active and focused on helping customers.
Yet most business owners ignore this completely.
You don’t have to reinvent the wheel here. Just post regularly–twice a week is enough.
A recent job, a seasonal special, services you offer–all of these make great posts content.
Action: Add updates regularly. Start posting updates to your profile twice a week. You can also use a tool like Local Brand Manager to schedule content in advance.
Your Google profile might be strong, but if your site is weak, that could be a problem.
Google relies on your website to get more information about products, services, service areas, and what makes you different.
That means you need content. City pages, service pages, products, about us–all of this information helps Google understand your business and send more customers your way.
Action: Expand your website content. Put together a content plan for your website and get to work!
Backlinks matter. And the more competitive your industry, the more backlinks will separate winners and losers.
Building quality backlinks tells Google you are an authority in your business niche, and that means more trust.
And more trust means more traffic, especially on Google Maps.
Action: Get quality backlinks. Start simple: Build local citations and directories listings first. Then branch out to higher authority websites. Community websites and news outlets are also great ways to build your backlink profile.
Keep Moving Forward
If I could wrap all this up into one thought, it’s this:
Consistency wins.
Ranking on Google Maps isn’t about doing something crazy one time. It’s about doing the little things right, week after week.
Small steps. Big results. That’s how the winners separate themselves from the pack.
Google Maps SEO is like a treadmill, there is no standing still.
“You’re either growing or you’re dying.”
Make a plan and keep growing forward.
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