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Why you show on Google Maps on your own street and nowhere else

Google Maps shows different results depending on where the person searching is standing. Here is why your business can be first at your front door and missing a mile away, and what moves it.

By Julian2 minute read

The short version

  • Google Maps shows different results depending on where the customer is standing.
  • Searching from your own premises is the most flattering test there is.
  • Search from four or five places a mile or two away to find where you drop out.
  • A sharper profile and steady reviews move that edge outwards.
An example. Each square is one spot a kilometre from the next, showing where the business ranks on Google Maps from there.

Search for your own business from your shop or office and you will probably see it near the top of the map. That feels reassuring. It is also the least useful test you can run, because Google knows where you are standing.

The map depends on where the customer is

Google says it ranks local results mainly on three things: relevance, distance and prominence.

  • Relevance is how well your profile matches what was searched.
  • Distance is how far you are from the person searching, or from the place they named.
  • Prominence is how well known Google thinks you are. Reviews, links and mentions across the web all feed into it.

When you search from your own premises, distance is as good as it can be. You win on that alone. A customer two miles away gets a different map, and on theirs you are competing on relevance and prominence against businesses that are closer to them.

That is why a business can be first on its own street and missing a mile out.

How to see your real reach

You do not need special software for a first look.

  1. Open Google Maps in a private browser window.
  2. Search for what you do, followed by a neighbourhood a mile or two from you. For example, “dog groomer Bowerham”.
  3. Note whether you are in the first three, further down the list, or not there.
  4. Repeat for four or five places around you, in different directions.

You will usually find a clear edge, the point where you drop out of the first three. It is often closer to home than owners expect.

What moves the edge outwards

You cannot change where your premises are, so work on the other two.

Relevance

  • Choose the most exact main category on your Google Business Profile. “Dog groomer” beats “Pet shop” if grooming is what you sell.
  • List your services on the profile, in the words customers use.
  • Give each service its own page on your website and name the areas you cover.

Prominence

  • Ask happy customers for reviews, steadily. A few every month does more than a burst once a year.
  • Reply to your reviews. Google says replying shows you value your customers.
  • Keep photos, opening hours and details up to date.

None of these works overnight. Check again in a month or two, from the same places, and compare.

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