> How to rank higher on Google Maps: the three factors Google names, what a business can change about each, and why no ranking can be bought or requested.

- Canonical: https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/how-to-rank-higher-on-google-maps/

---

# How to rank higher on Google Maps

Google names three things that decide local results: relevance, distance and prominence. A business cannot move its premises, so the work is in the other two: making the profile match what people search for, and making the business better known through reviews, links and a website that backs the profile up. Google states that a better local ranking cannot be requested or paid for.

Updated 6 October 2026

## The three factors

Google’s help centre defines each factor in a sentence.

- Relevance: how well a Business Profile matches what someone is searching for.

- Distance: how far each business is from the person searching.

- Prominence: how well known the business is, which Google ties to things such as links to its website and its number of reviews.

## What you cannot change

Distance is fixed. A business ten miles from the searcher is at a disadvantage against one a mile away, and no setting alters that. The address on the profile has to be the real one. A false address breaks Google’s guidelines and risks the profile, as [why a Google Business Profile is not showing up](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/google-business-profile-not-showing-up/) explains.

## Improve relevance

Relevance is the match between the profile and the search, and most of it is in your hands.

- Choose the most specific primary category that fits.

- List every service by the name customers use.

- Fill in the description, the hours and the attributes.

- Keep the information correct, complete and current, which is Google’s own first tip.

Our guide to [optimising a Google Business Profile](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/google-business-profile-optimisation/) works through each field.

## Build prominence

Prominence is reputation as Google can measure it.

- Reviews: ask every customer, and reply to each one. Google advises replying.

- Photographs and videos: Google lists adding them among its tips.

- Links: other local websites linking to yours, such as suppliers, trade bodies and local press.

- The website itself: a site that ranks in ordinary search lends weight to the profile attached to it.

## Verify, and keep it verified

Google’s first tip is to verify the business. An unverified profile is not shown, so nothing else on this list counts until that is done.

## Where the website comes in

The profile is half of local search. The page it links to is the other half: a page for each service and each area served, with the same name, address and phone number as the profile. Our [local SEO checklist](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/local-seo-checklist-uk/) covers both halves together.

## Questions people ask

### How does Google decide which businesses appear on Maps?

Google says local results are based mainly on relevance, distance and prominence: how well a profile matches the search, how far the business is from the searcher, and how well known the business is.

### Can I pay to rank higher on Google Maps?

No. Google states that there is no way to request or pay for a better local ranking. Advertisements on Maps are a separate, labelled product.

### Do reviews help a business rank on Google Maps?

Yes. Google lists review count among the things that make up prominence, and advises replying to reviews. More reviews, and recent ones, strengthen a profile.

## Free competitor gap report

On the map you are ranked against the businesses around you. Name up to three of them and we measure your site against theirs, then send you what gives them the stronger local presence.

1. Speed and technical health, side by side
2. On-page SEO and site structure
3. The content they are found for and you are not
4. Who holds the searches that matter in your market
5. A prioritised list of what to fix first

[Request your free report by email](mailto:contact@hadalmedusa.com?subject=Competitor%20gap%20report%3A%20Guide%3A%20How%20to%20rank%20higher%20on%20Google%20Maps&body=Website%3A%0D%0A%0D%0AWhere%20you%20compete%20(area%2C%20country%20or%20countries)%3A%0D%0A%0D%0ACompetitors%20to%20compare%20against%20(up%20to%20three)%3A%0D%0A%0D%0AAnything%20else%20we%20should%20know%3A%0D%0A%0D%0A)
- **Address** — contact@hadalmedusa.com

- **Include** — your site; up to three competitors; where you compete

## More in this series

- [A local SEO checklist for UK businesses](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/local-seo-checklist-uk/)
- [How to optimise a Google Business Profile](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/google-business-profile-optimisation/)
- [Why your Google reviews are not showing up](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/google-reviews-not-showing-up/)
- [How to get more Google reviews for your business](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/how-to-get-more-google-reviews/)
- [Local search, Maps and reviews: the whole topic](https://hadalmedusa.com/topics/local-search/)
- [All guides](https://hadalmedusa.com/guides/)
- [On-site SEO: what the service includes](https://hadalmedusa.com/services/seo/)