How to get found in local search.
Google ranks the local map pack on three things: proximity between the searcher and your business, relevance of your profile and pages to what they typed, and prominence built from reviews, citations and links. You cannot change proximity. Local search is the work of becoming the most relevant and most prominent answer inside the radius you can realistically serve.
Follow the path below if you are starting out, or jump to the guide you came for.
- Step 01
Fix the profile first
Categories, service areas, hours and photos are the raw material the map pack ranks. The primary category moves rankings more than any on-page work.
Read the guide - Step 02
Earn the prominence you can
Proximity is fixed, so relevance and prominence are how you outrank a closer competitor: pages per service, citations, and local links.
Read the guide - Step 03
Run reviews as infrastructure
Volume, recency and replies feed the map pack and the AI answers built on top of it. The response matters as much as the rating.
Read the guide
What the results page actually looks like.
Three businesses get the map pack. Everyone else sits below it, and the ranking is settled before a visitor reads a word of your website. Below is a live pack for a Miami search: position, rating and review count are the entire scoreboard.
Beside it are the questions Google reports people actually asking, which is a content brief you do not have to guess at.
Miami, FL
Places
maman
1300 Brickell Bay Dr CU2
"Great atmosphere, amazing service, and delicious coffee—highly recommended!"
Studio 24 Artful Coffee
1250 S Miami Ave
"The fusion between coffee and music is so refreshing and a gem in Brickell!"
Chapola Cafe
350 S Miami Ave A
"The coffee is absolutely delicious and made with quality ingredients."
More places
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Frequently asked questions
What decides local search rankings?
Google ranks the local map pack on three things: proximity between the searcher and your business, relevance of your Google Business Profile and website to the query, and prominence built from reviews, citations and links. Proximity cannot be changed, so local SEO is the work of becoming the most relevant and most prominent option within the radius you can realistically serve.
How long does local SEO take to work?
Profile corrections such as categories, service areas and hours can move visibility within days because Google re-crawls the profile quickly. Prominence signals like reviews, citations and local links compound over months. A reasonable expectation is early movement in four to six weeks and a durable position after two to three quarters of consistent work.
Do reviews affect local rankings or just conversions?
Both. Review volume, recency and rating are ranking inputs for the map pack, and review text is increasingly quoted directly in AI-generated answers. They also decide whether someone who sees you actually calls, which is why replies matter as much as the score.