If you’re a home improvement business trying to show up when someone searches “window installers near me” or “carpet fitters near me,” you’ve probably heard a lot of conflicting advice when talking about the Local Pack on Google search and Google Maps listings.
Here’s a few things that genuinely make a difference for local search optimisation
Show Your Address
This one catches a lot of service area businesses off guard. Google actually recommends hiding your address if you travel to customers rather than having them visit you. In fact, they insist on it.
Here’s the problem: hiding your address tanks your rankings.
I’ve seen this play out with clients repeatedly. One home services business had solid rankings with their address visible. They followed Google’s guidance and hid it. Within weeks, their rankings plummeted. When we added the address back a month later, rankings recovered almost immediately.
If you’re a service area business, you need an office – even a small one. That visible map pin isn’t just for show. Proximity to the searcher is a major ranking factor, and Google needs to know where you’re based.
The problem with this situation is that Google is almost forcing business to go against their own guidelines just to stand a chance of ranking on local search. My advice is to be honest. If you have a location where customers can visit you, even if it’s incredibly rare, then use it. If not, then hide your address as per Google’s rules. No one thing kills or rescues a listing, this is just one factor amonst many.
Your Review Rating Matters
Higher average ratings correlate with better rankings for near me searches. But don’t panic over the occasional bad review – if you’re consistently generating new reviews, the odd negative one won’t derail you.
Review Frequency Beats Total Volume
This is the one most business owners get wrong. It’s not about hoarding hundreds of reviews and then coasting. Google wants to see you’re actively getting new reviews as part of an ongoing strategy.
I worked with a business who brought in 60 reviews in a single month. Their rankings went through the roof. Then they stopped asking for reviews. Within a few weeks of going quiet, their rankings nosedived – while competitors getting 13-45 reviews per month stayed at the top.
You can’t have one glorious month of review gathering and then retire. Consistency is the secret sauce.
Reviews With Text Count More
One-star ratings sting, but here’s a small comfort: if there’s no text attached, Google doesn’t appear to display these on the Maps app. What really counts are reviews with actual written descriptions. They help Google understand what your business does and boost your relevance.
So when you’re asking customers for reviews, encourage them to write a sentence or two about their experience.
Your Landing Page Content Matters
The page you link your Google Business Profile to needs substantive, meaningful content. I’m not talking about keyword stuffing – I’m talking about rich, relevant content that clearly explains what you do and where you do it.
Thin pages with a few sentences won’t do. Give Google something to work with.
And make sure you’re linking to the right page. Sending your GBP to an irrelevant or poorly optimised page can hurt your rankings or even get your listing filtered out entirely.
Keep Adding Photos
The longer you go without adding a new photo, the worse your local pack performance tends to be. Photos also drive more clicks, calls, and direction requests.
That said, context matters. If you’re a replacement door company, you don’t need to upload a new door photo daily. But regular, genuine photos of your work, your team, and your jobs in progress all help.
The Bottom Line
None of this is revolutionary, but getting the fundamentals right still separates businesses that dominate local search from those wondering why they’re invisible:
- Keep your address visible
- Generate reviews consistently (not just in bursts)
- Encourage written reviews
- Put real content on your landing pages
- Upload photos regularly
Local SEO isn’t a one-and-done job. It’s an ongoing process of staying active and engaged. But get these basics right, and you’re already ahead of most of your competition.
