Google Maps SEO
The specific factors that move you up or down inside the 3-pack, once your Business Profile is set up.
The Tradie Take
The map pack is a lineup, not a queue. It is not first-come-first-served, and it is not just about who has been trading longest. Google reshuffles the three businesses it shows based on exactly where the searcher is standing. A van five minutes away can beat a better-reviewed competitor sitting fifteen minutes out.
Definition
Google Maps SEO is the practice of ranking inside the 3-pack - the map and three local listings Google shows above the normal search results. It runs on a different algorithm to organic web rankings. A complete Google Business Profile gets you in the running, but it is not the whole game: proximity to the searcher, category selection, and how steadily your reviews come in are what actually move you up or down inside that 3-pack specifically.
How It Works
- 1 Ranking inside the map pack comes down to three factors Google weighs just for Maps: relevance, distance, and prominence
- 2 Distance is measured against the searcher's real location, not the suburbs listed on your profile - so your ranking can shift from one street to the next
- 3 Prominence builds from review count, how recently reviews came in, and citation consistency, on top of your profile
- 4 You can rank well in the map pack and poorly in normal search results, or the other way round - they are scored separately
Tips for Tradies
- Only list service areas you genuinely work in - padding the list to look bigger can get a profile suppressed
- A steady trickle of reviews outranks one big batch collected in a single week and then nothing
- Pick the single most accurate primary category on your profile - it is one of the strongest map pack signals there is