8 Steps to Rank Your Google Business Profile in the Map Pack

What are you trying to rank in?

You are trying to rank in the map pack: the top three organic listings Google shows for a local search. Above it are paid ads, where businesses pay anywhere from a couple of dollars to $100 per click or call. Those leads stop the moment the budget does. The map pack keeps sending calls and clicks without a bill from Google, and some searchers scroll straight past the ads to get to it.

Rank there with the most reviews and good replies to them, and you get the first click and the first call. One business owner described spending hours every day pitching people in Facebook groups, then having a customer find her on Google, pay and book on her site without a conversation. That is the difference between chasing leads and attracting them.

How to set your Google Business Profile category and name

Start with the primary category, because it is the strongest signal and takes seconds to change.

1. Search your business name on Google, logged in with the email that manages the profile.
2. Click Edit profile, then Business category.
3. Set the primary category to the one the best-ranking businesses for your service use. Search “plumber near me” or your own service, find a competitor doing well, and copy their main category.
4. Add additional categories for other services you offer. A plumber might add water heater repair.

The second lever is having your main keyword in your business name, as in “Turd Nerd Poop Scooping”. Go in with open eyes: this is technically keyword stuffing and against Google’s terms of service. Google mostly enforces it when competitors report it, and you might get an email six months later saying the name was changed back. Across more than 300 profiles we have managed, we have not seen one shut down over a name change, but Google is inconsistent and the decision comes down to your risk tolerance.

If you do it, make the name real and consistent in three places:

• A DBA. Register a doing-business-as name that includes the keyword. The process differs by state. If Google changes the name, you can submit the paperwork.
• Your homepage. Wherever your business name appears, write it with the keyword, exactly as on the profile.
• Your logo. Add the keyword under your logo. A free tool like Canva is enough.

What to fill out on the profile itself

Fill out everything. Google is trying to filter out listings that are not real local businesses, and a complete profile with linked social accounts is something fake listings rarely have.

• Photos, a detailed description, opening date, phone number, website and holiday hours.
• Every social profile you have.
• Q&A. You can post your own questions and answer them.
• Services. Add 30 to 40, including custom services, under each category. To build the list, ask ChatGPT for 30 services similar to your main one, phrased the different ways people search.
• Products. Add one per service and point its link at the matching service page on your site.

What to fix on your website

Check your headings. The first thing Google’s crawlers read on a page is the H1, and a common mistake is picking a heading level in the website editor just to change how the text looks. Set the correct heading level first, then style the font and size.

You want one H1 that contains your main keyword and your main service area, with H2s and H3s that use your keywords naturally. The free Detailed SEO Chrome extension shows the headings on any page so you can confirm it.

How to get backlinks and citations for a local business

Go for links and listings that say where you are and what you do.

• Join your chamber of commerce. Google knows the site is local, and the directory listing is a quality citation.
• Get into any directory for your trade and any directory for your town.
• Ask business owners you know to list you as a preferred partner on their site, and do the same for them.
• Write a guest blog post for a local business’s site that is useful to their readers and links back to you.

Why reviews tie it all together

Reviews, backlinks and citations all work like references. One friend recommending a business is nice. Six friends recommending it makes you think people must love the place. Consistent five-star reviews every week and month tell Google you are a great business that is still in business. Getting those requests out after every job is the part Review Harvest automates.

One client had 23 reviews and ranked in the top three only in a small area near the business. After passing 450 reviews, they ranked close to number one across their whole service area.