Local search is a different game from ranking web pages. Roughly a third of your position in the local map pack comes from your Google Business Profile alone, and reviews account for about another fifth. The highest-leverage work isn't keywords — it's getting those two things right and keeping them current.

What actually moves the map pack

Google Business Profile (GBP)

Claim and verify the listing (unverified = invisible)
Pick the right primary category — the single biggest relevance signal
Add relevant secondary categories
Fill the services list with the exact jobs you do
Keep hours accurate, including holidays

Reviews & activity

Recent reviews with prompt replies outweigh an old pile of stars
Ask every happy customer — a one-tap link after the job
Respond within 48 hours, naming the service and the town
Post weekly: a finished job, an offer, a FAQ
Fresh photos of real work, not stock

NAP consistency — the boring one that wins

Google cross-checks your Name, Address, and Phone across your profile, your website, and every directory. When they match exactly — same street abbreviation, same number — Google trusts you more, and businesses with consistent data are significantly more likely to show in the local pack. One afternoon of cleaning up "St." vs "Street" is worth more than a month of new pages.

Service-area businesses (that's you)

If you go to your customers rather than them coming to you, Google wants your address hidden and your service areas listed — up to 20 cities or zips. Define them honestly (Google notices when your reviews don't match your claimed territory), and reinforce them with location-specific pages on your site.

What we do for you, monthly

Set up and optimize your Google Business Profile (or fix the one you have)
NAP cleanup across the directories that matter
Review engine: automated asks after every job, plus reply support
Weekly posts and fresh photos
Location pages that reinforce where you work
A plain-English report on your map-pack position and what changed

Local SEO is one piece of the machine — pair it with a site that converts and a lead pipeline that follows up. See what the whole thing costs.

Don't need a full site yet? Your Google Business Profile is doing 52% of the work (profile + reviews are the biggest local ranking factors). We'll optimize it, post weekly, and run your review engine for $149/month — no website required. See the Google Business Profile tier.

Want to know where you rank today?

We'll check your map-pack position for your most valuable searches — free.

Get a free audit