Free guide

Why another business shows up first on Google

Someone two blocks away is searching for what you sell and finds another business, one farther away than yours. It is not bad luck: Google explains how it ranks map results, and most of it is fixed in your listing, the card for your business that shows up on Google and Google Maps.

1. Learn the three factors

According to Google's official help page, local results are mainly based on three things. Relevance: how well your listing matches what the person is searching for. Distance: how far you are from them. Prominence: how well known your business is; Google mentions, among other things, how many websites link to your business and how many reviews you have.

2. Complete your listing (relevance)

Google asks for complete and detailed business information so it can match you with the right searches. Search for your business on Google, open your listing and check that it says what you sell, your hours, your phone number and your address, and that everything is up to date. A listing with only your name and an old phone number gives Google very little to work with.

Google Business Profile

It is going well if: Someone who sees your listing understands what you sell and how to reach you without going anywhere else.
Fix it if: Only your name shows up, or the phone number or hours are out of date.

3. Ask real customers for reviews (prominence)

Google says more reviews and positive ratings can help your local ranking. Ask people who actually bought from you, and reply to the ones that come in. For a practical way to ask, see this article.

More Google reviews with NFC, without risking your listing

4. Be wary of anyone who sells you the top spot

Google is clear: there is no way to request or pay for a better local ranking. If someone sells you first place on the map as a sure thing, ask them to explain how they do it.

5. Check it with your own search

Ask someone who does not know you to search, from their phone, for what you sell plus your neighborhood. Note who shows up first and compare their listing with yours: what it says, what photos it has and how many reviews. What the other listing has in excess is usually what yours is missing.

What is up to you

Google does not reveal the exact details of its system, so nobody can promise you first place. Completing your listing and gathering honest reviews is in your hands, and it is exactly what Google recommends.

Sources

If you would rather have us do it, message us on WhatsApp or see Websites and SEO and Search Visibility.