How Local SEO Rankings Actually Work for Service Businesses

When someone in Urbandale searches “furnace repair near me,” Google shows a short list of businesses on a map, usually before any website results. Local SEO rankings for a service business decide who is on that list and in what order. They work differently from regular web rankings, and most of what moves them is not a secret.

Google publishes the three factors it uses for local results. This guide explains each one in plain terms, shows which ones you can change, and ends with a short checklist.

The three factors Google names

According to Google’s Business Profile Help, local results are based mainly on relevance, distance and prominence.

Relevance is how well your Business Profile matches what the person searched for. Google recommends giving complete and detailed business information so it can understand what you do and match you to the right searches.

Distance is how far your business is from the person searching. Google uses the searcher’s location when it has it, and a known location when it doesn’t.

Prominence is how well known your business is. Google says more reviews and positive ratings can help your local ranking, and it also counts information from across the web, such as links to your website.

Everything else in local SEO is a way of improving one of those three.

What you can change, and what you can’t

You cannot change distance. A plumber based in West Des Moines will often show up first for a searcher standing in West Des Moines, and a competitor three miles closer will often beat you on a search made from their block. That is not a flaw in your profile.

What you can change is relevance and prominence.

• Relevance: pick the primary category that best describes your main service, add secondary categories for the rest, list your services, write an accurate description, and keep hours, phone number and service area correct. Gaps in the profile are gaps in what Google knows about you.
• Prominence: earn reviews from real customers, answer them, and make sure your name, address and phone number match across your website, your profile and the directories you appear in. A link to your site from a local organization, a supplier or a chamber of commerce adds to the picture too.

Why a competitor can rank above you

Take a hypothetical example. Two roofing companies in the Des Moines area both have complete profiles. One has 40 recent reviews and the other has six. The one with more reviews will often have the stronger prominence signal, even if the other has been in business longer. If a searcher is closer to the smaller company’s address, distance may tip the result the other way.

This is why rankings can differ from one search to the next. Google also adjusts results based on where the person is and what device they use, so the position you see at your desk is not the position a customer sees from a driveway across town. Google’s own documentation for Search Console notes that your site may not appear in the same place when you repeat a search yourself, because results vary by location, device, time and search history.

What to check first

Work through these in order. Each one takes less than an hour.

1. Claim and verify your profile. If you haven’t, start with how to claim and verify your Google business listing.
2. Check your categories. One primary category that matches your main revenue source, secondary categories for the rest.
3. Fill in every field. Services, hours, service area, description, photos, website and phone number.
4. Ask for reviews. Ask every satisfied customer, and do it soon after the job when the work is fresh. Reply to each one.
5. Check consistency. Search your business name and phone number and look for old addresses, old numbers or duplicate listings.
6. Check your website. The page you list should be the one that best matches the service. Our guide on why your best-ranking page might not be your homepage explains how to pick it.

What to ignore

Don’t chase daily position changes. Local results move for ordinary reasons, and one day’s ranking tells you very little. Look at trends over weeks. The Google Business Profile optimization guide covers what to review and how often, and why your small business is invisible online covers the broader picture when you aren’t showing up at all.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do I rank differently from what my customers see?

Google adjusts local results for the searcher’s location, device and other context. The same search can return different results from different places, so check from several spots and look at the trend in your reports rather than one search.

Do reviews really affect local rankings?

Google says that more reviews and positive ratings can help your local ranking. Reviews also help the person choosing between you and a competitor, which is a reason to ask for them regardless of ranking.

Can I improve my ranking by moving my pin or changing my address?

No. Your address should be your real one. Distance is one of the three factors, and the right response to it is to describe your service area accurately, not to move a pin.

This article was written by ARION, the digital presence and search platform from Intelligent Analytics and Data Management.

Related reading: Schema Markup for Service Businesses: What to Add First