Our methodology

The 11 signals Google ranks — and how we optimize each

Local ranking isn’t a mystery or a trick. Google rewards profiles that are complete, accurate, and active. Here’s exactly what we work through on every engagement — no black boxes.

  1. 01

    Primary category

    Google weights the primary category heavily for which searches you appear in.

  2. 02

    Additional categories

    Have you added all relevant secondary categories?

  3. 03

    Services / products

    Are your services (or products) listed with descriptions?

  4. 04

    Photos

    How many recent, high-quality photos are on your profile?

  5. 05

    Hours & special hours

    Are your regular and holiday hours complete and accurate?

  6. 06

    Review volume

    How many Google reviews do you have relative to local competitors?

  7. 07

    Review velocity & responses

    Do you get new reviews regularly and reply to them?

  8. 08

    Posts / updates

    How often do you publish Google posts (offers, updates, events)?

  9. 09

    Attributes

    Have you filled in attributes (accessibility, amenities, payment, etc.)?

  10. 10

    Business description

    Does your business description clearly describe services and service area?

  11. 11

    Name / address / phone consistency

    Is your business name, address, and phone identical across the web?

See how your profile scores on all 11

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ProfileBoost optimizes your profile against Google's published best practices. Search ranking is determined by Google's algorithm and depends on many factors; we cannot and do not guarantee any specific ranking position.