Skip to content
EN
Menu

Guide

How to rank higher on Google Maps

The three factors Google says decide local ranking, what you control in each, and how ranking is measured.

In short

  1. According to Google, local results are determined by three things: relevance, distance and prominence.
  2. You can't change distance; relevance and prominence are largely in your hands.
  3. Ranking changes with where the searcher is; you learn it by measuring from many points, not from a single search.

What determines the ranking?

Google says local results are ranked mainly on three factors:

  • Relevance: how well your profile matches what the searcher typed. Categories, services and the description matter here.
  • Distance: how close you are to the searcher's location (or the place named in the search).
  • Prominence: how well known your business is. According to Google, review count and rating, links and articles on the web affect it.

Ads are separate from this ranking and appear with a "Sponsored" label.

For relevance: complete your profile

  1. Primary category: the narrowest, most accurate category for your business. Additional categories only for work you actually do.
  2. Services or products: each on its own line, in the words your customers use.
  3. Hours: including special and holiday hours, the same everywhere.
  4. Description: plain and accurate, not a pile of keywords.
  5. Photos: exterior, interior and the work itself; real and current.

For prominence: reviews and consistency

  • Send the same neutral review invitation to all your customers; a link and a QR code make this easier.
  • Reply to every review, including negative ones, calmly and briefly.
  • Write your name, address and phone the same way on your website, social accounts and directories.
  • Your website's business page should link to your profile and carry the same information.

Don't

  • Don't add a city or keyword to your business name; it breaks Google's naming guidelines and the profile can be suspended.
  • Don't create a profile with a virtual office, PO box or fake address.
  • Don't buy reviews, offer discounts in return, or ask only happy customers.
  • Don't create several profiles for the same business.

How is ranking measured?

A search from your own phone shows only the result at that point, and your past searches can affect it. To see the real picture, a grid is laid around your business and the same keyword is searched at each point separately. This shows on which streets you are in the top 3 and where you are further behind; the effect of the work done is tracked by measuring again with the same grid.

Sources

The information was taken from Google's own pages on the date below and may change.

Published 29 October 2026

Outside Türkiye, raxads manages Google Ads campaigns, which appear separately from the map ranking. See Google Ads management.