Proximity Filter Issue: Why Is It So Hard to Rank City-Wide?

[nralla6]

Hi everyone,


I’m struggling with the proximity filter in Google Maps rankings and wanted to share my case here. Maybe some of you faced the same problem.


I run my business in a small city with around 200,000 population. When someone searches from outside the city, my business is ranking #1 for the main keywords. But inside the city, if the user is not in my direct neighborhood, my visibility drops a lot. In short, my business is strong in my own area, but I can’t expand much beyond it.


I already tried most of the obvious solutions:

• Full Google Business Profile optimization (categories, services, photos, posts, etc.)
• Review and Q&A strategy
• Citations and backlinks from local/niche sites
• Map embeds / MyMaps usage
• Local-focused content optimization

Still, the proximity effect is too strong and I can’t rank city-wide.


Do you have any experience with this? Are there any advanced or creative methods to overcome the proximity filter?


Note: My English is not very good, this text was written with the help of AI.


Thanks in advance.

 

[latin_sydney]

Get a GBP in the centroid. Use multiple GBPs and ads.

When brand penetration is strong tv, radio etc .. i.e roto rooter, Google lifts proximity filters, rewarding you with wider visibility.

Realistically the max you are going to rank is 5-10 miles radius.

 

[fisicx]

I'd argue that the proximity filter is doing exactly what it is designed to do: filter out businesses further away from my location.

If I'm looking for a plumber near me that's all I want to see in the map pack. I'm not interested in a citywide set of results. I want someone in my precise location.

However, are you posting about the work you do around the city? Does your website have proof you operate city wide. Are you posting on SM about the work you do around the city? Are the review (and your responses) indicating where you did the work? I know some who do well when they reference postcodes.

 

[nralla6]

Get a GBP in the centroid. Use multiple GBPs and ads.

When brand penetration is strong tv, radio etc .. i.e roto rooter, Google lifts proximity filters, rewarding you with wider visibility.

Realistically the max you are going to rank is 5-10 miles radius.

Hello,


Thank you for your reply. For me, a 10-mile radius is already more than enough, because my city is basically around 10 miles across. I’m also already running ads.


What I want to clarify is this: I can show and verify an address in another area, but I cannot keep someone there all the time. My business is a beauty salon / beauty center, so customers might show up at the address without notice. In that case, I shouldn’t be visible there in person.


Would this cause problems with Google’s policies? In other words, is it possible to open a profile just to show Google “I’m here too,” even if customers don’t actually visit that location?


Thank you.

 

[nralla6]

I'd argue that the proximity filter is doing exactly what it is designed to do: filter out businesses further away from my location.

If I'm looking for a plumber near me that's all I want to see in the map pack. I'm not interested in a citywide set of results. I want someone in my precise location.

However, are you posting about the work you do around the city? Does your website have proof you operate city wide. Are you posting on SM about the work you do around the city? Are the review (and your responses) indicating where you did the work? I know some who do well when they reference postcodes.

Yes, I do create proof that I operate city-wide. However, my city is small and my sector is a beauty salon / beauty center. So unlike a car repair shop or a plumber, I can’t really say things like “I worked in this neighborhood, I went to that neighborhood.”


It’s the same for social media — making posts neighborhood by neighborhood doesn’t really fit my business. But if using different postcodes on social media would help, I can try that. The issue is that my city only has two different postcodes anyway.


In the reviews, my customers often mention that they came from distant neighborhoods and were satisfied. I also highlight that in my responses.


But I didn’t fully understand the use of postcode on the website. I’m not sure how exactly I can implement that. Could you explain a bit more?

Thanks for everything.

 

[fisicx]

Yes, I do create proof that I operate city-wide. However, my city is small and my sector is a beauty salon / beauty center. So unlike a car repair shop or a plumber, I can’t really say things like “I worked in this neighborhood, I went to that neighborhood.”

Ah, that's a bit different but the proximity is still a valid filter.

If your salon is in the south of the city and there a lots of salons in the north then those people searching in the north of the city are unlikely to see your listing.

As the city is quite small, have you driven to different locations to check the results?

Here in the UK the postcodes are for a single street. It means I can show a project in the GU11 postcode area and know it's a small geographical area. GU11 3NQ narrows it down to a few houses in some cases.

 

[nralla6]

Ah, that's a bit different but the proximity is still a valid filter.

If your salon is in the south of the city and there a lots of salons in the north then those people searching in the north of the city are unlikely to see your listing.

As the city is quite small, have you driven to different locations to check the results?

Here in the UK the postcodes are for a single street. It means I can show a project in the GU11 postcode area and know it's a small geographical area. GU11 3NQ narrows it down to a few houses in some cases.

Hello,


Yes, you’re right. My city is quite small, so the distance between the south and the north isn’t that big. But still, I noticed that I don’t appear in searches made from the north side. I’ve already tested this and I’ll share my Local Dominator report to show the results.


In the report, the red areas represent where the actual population is concentrated, while the green areas are mostly rural zones on the edges of the city center. So the fact that I’m showing green there is not really a big issue, because there are very few people living in those areas anyway.


I also now better understand that the postcode system is very different in the UK. In Turkey, one postcode usually covers an entire neighborhood, sometimes even several neighborhoods. It’s not broken down street by street like in the UK. So producing postcode-based content in the way you describe isn’t really possible for me.


But thank you for the idea. Maybe I can apply a similar logic by creating content on my site that focuses on neighborhoods or districts instead.