How to get into the Google map pack

Why you cannot buy your way into the map pack

Google's own help page on local ranking says there is no way to request or pay for a better local ranking. Anyone who sells you a guaranteed spot is selling something Google says does not exist.

What you can do is give Google the information it uses to decide. That information is your profile, your reviews and how well known your business is online.

Why some businesses show up and others do not

Google picks local results for each search, based on who is searching and where. Two businesses with the same trade can get different results because the searcher is standing closer to one of them.

That is why checking from your own phone in your own driveway tells you little. The search that counts is the one a homeowner makes from their own kitchen.

How to get on the Google map pack: the three factors

Google names three factors in its local ranking help page. Each one maps to something you control or something you cannot change.

1. 1Relevance is how well your profile matches what the person searched. Complete and detailed info helps Google match you to the right searches.
2. 2Distance is how far your business is from the person searching. You cannot change this, and Google uses what it knows about their location if they do not share it.
3. 3Prominence is how well known your business is. Google says this draws on info like how many websites link to your business and how many reviews you have.

That means two of the three can be worked on today. Distance is the one you leave alone.

How to fix your profile first

Start with the profile, because Google says businesses with complete and accurate info are more likely to show up in local search results.

1. 1Verify the profile, since Google says this tells it you are authorized to represent the business.
2. 2Enter your business name exactly as it appears on your truck, invoices and signs.
3. 3Pick the fewest categories that describe your core business, starting with your main trade.
4. 4Add your hours, your phone number and your website.
5. 5Set your service area if you travel to customers, and enter your address only if customers can visit you.
6. 6Write a description of the work you do and the towns you serve, with no links and no prices or promotions.
7. 7Delete or merge duplicate listings, because Google asks for only one profile per business.

Do not add keywords or taglines to the business name. Google lists marketing taglines, phone numbers and web addresses as things the name must not contain, and extra words can get a profile suspended.

How to build prominence with reviews and photos

Prominence is the slow part, and it comes from real customers and real work.

1. 1Ask every customer for a review right after the job, while they are still looking at the finished work.
2. 2Reply to each review, since Google says replies show you value feedback.
3. 3Upload photos of your crew, your trucks and finished jobs, taken on your own phone.
4. 4Keep your hours and phone number current so nothing on the profile is wrong.

Here is a line you can text a customer once the job is done.

A rule for deciding where to spend your first hour

What this will not fix

• ×It will not guarantee a spot, because Google says nobody can request or pay for one.
• ×It will not change distance, so a competitor closer to the searcher can still show above you.
• ×It will not work overnight, because reviews and name recognition build over months.
• ×It will not help if the profile is suspended or the listing is a duplicate, since those need to be resolved first.

Common questions

Root's free check looks at this on your own business.