Why your competitor shows up on Google Maps and you don't
You search for your service and there they are, in the top three on the map. You are further down, or nowhere. It is not luck, and they did not pay for it: Google says there is no way to pay for a better local ranking.
Google says it ranks local businesses on three things. Your competitor is ahead on at least one of them.
Relevance
Does your listing match what they typed?
Your categories, services and description, and the words on your website.
Distance
How far are you from the person searching?
Or from the place they named, like "plumber in Sedgefield".
Prominence
How well-known are you?
Your reviews and stars, and how many other websites mention and link to you.
Your rank changes street by street
Because distance counts, Google gives a different answer depending on where the customer is standing. Search from your own shop and you will look great. A customer 5 km away may see a completely different list.
- 1At your shop
- 32 km north
- 73 km east
- 145 km west
- 20+8 km south
So the first question is not "why are they ahead?" but "where are they ahead?" You may be winning close to home and losing the suburbs where most of your customers live.
Six things your competitor may be doing better
- 1
Their main category matches the search
Check: Open both listings on Google Maps and look at the word under the name.
Fix: Choose the main category that is exactly what you do, then add your other services as extra categories.
- 2
They have more reviews, and newer ones
Check: Compare the number of reviews and the date of the latest one.
Fix: Ask every happy customer, soon after the job, with a direct link to your review page.
- 3
They reply to their reviews
Check: Scroll their reviews: do the owners answer?
Fix: Reply to every review, good and bad. Google says replies help you stand out.
- 4
Their profile is complete
Check: Hours, phone, website, services, photos. Is anything missing on yours?
Fix: Fill in every field and add real photos of your work, your team and your premises.
- 5
Their website names the service and the town
Check: Does your website say what you do and where, in plain words?
Fix: Give each main service its own page and name the areas you serve on it.
- 6
Other websites mention them
Check: Search their name: directories, local news, suppliers, associations.
Fix: Get listed in the main directories with exactly the same name, address and phone as your Google listing.
The one thing you cannot change
Sometimes they are simply closer to the customer. You cannot move your shop, and no fix beats distance everywhere. That is why it pays to know where you can win, and put your effort there first.
How to see where you really stand
Ask a friend across town to search for your service and send you a screenshot. Better still, check from many spots at once: Witty Worx Local GEO searches the way your customers do, from points right across your area, and draws your rank at each one on a real map, with who shows up instead of you. Run it again next month to see whether what you changed worked.