A business shows up in Google Maps and local search results based on three named factors: relevance, distance and prominence. Google states this directly on its Business Profile help page on local ranking: "Local results are mainly based on relevance, distance, and popularity." Further down, the same page calls the third factor prominence. Below: what each factor means, what an owner can change, and Google's rules on profiles and reviews.
What relevance means for a Business Profile
Relevance is how closely your profile matches what someone typed into the search box. Google's own definition: "Relevance is how well a Business Profile matches what someone is searching for." Google says the way to help with this is to "provide complete and detailed business info" so it can "better understand your business and match it to relevant searches." That means the category you choose, your business description, your attributes (parking, Wi-Fi, and similar details) and your services all feed into whether Google connects your profile to a given search.
What distance means and why you cannot change it
Distance is how far your business is from the person searching, and it is set by the searcher's location, not by you. Google's definition: "Distance refers to how far each business is from the customer who's searching. If a customer doesn't share where they are, Google uses what it knows about their location." An owner cannot move a customer closer to a store. The only distance-related input on your side is keeping your address and service area accurate, so Google places your business correctly on the map in the first place.
What prominence means and what you can do about it
Prominence is how well-known Google judges your business to be, and it is the factor most open to profile work. Google's definition: "Prominence means how well-known a business is. Prominent places are more likely to show up in search results." Google adds where this signal comes from: "This factor's also based on info like how many websites link to your business and how many reviews you have." It also states a direct effect: "More reviews and positive ratings can help your business's local ranking."
That gives three concrete levers, all sourced from the same help page:
- Complete and accurate info. "Businesses with complete and accurate info are more likely to show up in local search results." Google lists what to fill in: full address, business hours, business category, and attributes like parking or Wi-Fi.
- Verification. Verifying your business "tells Google that you're authorized to represent the business, so it's more likely to show up in search results."
- Replying to reviews. "When you reply to customer reviews, it shows that you value their feedback. Positive reviews and helpful replies can help your business stand out."
Google is explicit that none of this can be bought: "There's no way to request or pay for a better local ranking on Google."
Google's rules on representing your business honestly
The three factors only work in your favor if the underlying profile is accurate, and Google's guidelines page spells out what accurate means. Its guidelines for representing your business state: "Represent your business as it's consistently represented and recognized in the real world across signage, stationery, and other branding." The same page tells owners to "choose the fewest number of categories it takes to describe your overall core business" and to make sure "your address and/or service area is accurate and precise." A profile that drifts from these rules risks the outcome the page warns about elsewhere: "changes to your information or, in some cases, removal of your business information from Google."
Google's rules on reviews
Reviews feed prominence, but Google restricts how you may collect them. Its page on getting more reviews warns: "Offering incentives, like free or discounted goods or services, in exchange for customers to post reviews, change reviews, or remove negative reviews is considered fake & misleading content and is strictly prohibited." Its prohibited content policy sets the baseline for any review: "Contributions to Google Maps should reflect a genuine experience at a place or business, and a review or rating should reflect an actual experience with a business, and be genuine and unbiased." The same policy blocks selective solicitation: merchants may not "discourage or prohibit negative reviews, or selectively solicit positive reviews from customers."
Why the same information matters for AI answers
This section is our reasoning, not a Google statement. The local ranking page describes Maps and Search results and says nothing about AI Overviews, so we do not claim Google uses these factors there. The link is narrower. A complete profile, real reviews and mentions on other sites are also what directories, review sites and other pages use to describe your business, and an AI engine may draw on those pages when it answers a buyer's question. The work is the same whichever surface shows the answer.
Our free GEO audit runs 10 buyer questions through Perplexity and Google AI Overviews, 3 times each, and shows what the 60 answers name and cite for your category.