How to rank higher on Google maps 2017

Google Maps ranking in 2017 depended primarily on what Google called "Local Pack" positioning, which was dominated by three core signals: relevance, distance, and prominence. Relevance meant your business information had to match what people were searching for—your categories, business description, and services needed alignment with search intent. Distance was straightforward: Google prioritized businesses closer to the searcher's location or the area they specified in their query. Prominence was the trickier factor, combining your online reputation (primarily reviews and ratings), citation consistency across the web, and website authority. Your agency should have focused on getting clients proper Google My Business optimization first, because this was the foundation. This meant complete business information, accurate NAP (name, address, phone) data, proper category selection, and a detailed business description. Review volume and recency mattered significantly—businesses with recent reviews ranked better than those with stale reviews, even if the older reviews had higher star ratings. You needed to encourage clients' customers to leave reviews directly on Google My Business, not just on third-party review sites.

Beyond the listing itself, off-page signals heavily influenced Maps rankings. Citation building was essential—ensuring the business appeared consistently across directory sites like Yelp, Yellow Pages, and industry-specific directories with matching NAP information. Inconsistent data across the web actually hurt rankings. Your client's website relevance also mattered; if their website content didn't reinforce their local business focus and target keywords, Maps rankings suffered. Building local backlinks to the website, especially from local news sites, chamber of commerce pages, and neighborhood blogs, provided a significant boost.

For clients with multiple locations, schema markup implementation on their website helped Google understand service areas and location-specific pages. You should have implemented LocalBusiness schema on location pages to reinforce the connection between the website and Google My Business listing. Social signals on Google+ (which was still relevant in 2017, though declining) and maintaining an active presence with location-specific posts on Google My Business itself also contributed to rankings. The key was treating Maps optimization as an ongoing effort—rankings fluctuated based on review updates, citation changes, and competitor activity, so 2017 agencies needed to monitor and maintain these factors continuously.