Best way to rank GMB in large service area

[thebizguy]

I have a GMB that is in a large service area (kansas city and surrounding areas.... anyways where do i start ranking my GMB higher? I've constantly done posts with SEO content, pictures, posts (lots) gotten citations and backlinks and im still not moving the needle much... its been like 1 year now and im still not much farther up the list than when i started.... any help is appreciated!

 

[ElizabethRule]

Are you using a grid rank tracking tool like Places Scouts or Local Falcon? Using a local rank tracking tool for maps is key to understanding where you are ranking in specific areas of the city your business is in.

Typically, you're going to rank better closer to the physical location of your business. If the tool shows you're not ranking well close to the business, then I suggest working on the SEO of your website (the one your GMB links to). There is only so much you can do to the GMB to improve rankings. Google uses the website as a ranking factor for the GMB, so making sure you have good local content on the site is important. Things like location pages, info on related businesses in the area, local reviews, local backlinks etc will all help improve the local authority of your GMB profile. That said, continuing what you're doing on the GMB is important too, as well as continuing to get real reviews from real customers and replying to them (you did not mention reviews so I want to make sure to highlight the importance).

If you're ranking well close to your business, but struggling to rank farther away, you should look into opening another office in a location you want to rank in that is not too close to your current location. Make sure to be strategic when you pick a location to avoid being filtered in the maps, view more on filtering here Is Your Google My Business Listing Getting Filtered? - Sterling Sky Inc

I recommend reading up on the Vicinity Update to understand why it's harder now to rank farther away from your physical location for some searches The Vicinity Update: What You Need to Know About Google's Largest Local Algorithm Update in 5 Years - Sterling Sky Inc

Also, depending on the industry spam-fighting might be a good idea to reduce the amount of spam that may be pushing your listing further down. Check out this guide on the best spam fighting tactics [2022] The Ultimate Guide to Fighting Spam on Google Maps - Sterling Sky Inc

Hope this helps

 

[Eoghan_Aircam]

Rating and review volume are also big factors - consider focusing on that end of things too.

 

[DavidGetty]

You mentioned that you got backlinks, but are they good quality? Most local businesses don’t have high-quality back links. If you could get some that would most likely put you ahead of most of the competition. That might be an area to focus on.