Ranking Business in a Nearby City

[pilatesqueen]

Hi,
I have a client who is located almost on the border of a major city. She wants her GMB listing to show up in Map results for the major city. Obviously, she doesn't have the city address.

From what I understand, it is impossible for her GMB listing to rank in 3-pack on Google Maps if she doesn't have the city name in her address. Am I correct?

 

[Colan Nielsen]

9 times out of 10 that's correct. So it's not impossible but improbable. And this rule mainly applies to explicit searches. Meaning that the search has to have the name of the city in it.

There's also other factors that play in such as the competitiveness of the vertical and number of listings available for Google to choose from to show in the three pack.

Do you have a specific example that you would like us to look at for you?

 

[pilatesqueen]

The area is pretty competitive. It is a Pilates studio so their budget doesn't allow a full SEO strategy.
Studio name: Pilates Fit Studio, located in Crestwood KY
Target location for searches: Louisville KY

 

[Colan Nielsen]

Hey @pilatesqueen Wow, that is competitive. It's going to be a challenge to get into the 3-pack for "Pilates Studio Louisville".

One thing I noticed is that you have duplicate listings. It would likely help the overall performance to ask Google to merge them into one strong listing.

 

[Colan Nielsen]

I'd also look into some of the listings that outrank you that should be removed or marked as closed.

This one for instance - Pilates Louisville has a voice answering service that says they moved and became this studio - Holly's Pilates Village

Here's another one. I called the phone number and it's not in service - Pilatesworks

 

[JoshuaMackens]

You could rank them organically. But maps in a city like Lousiville is improbable unless there's not a lot of competition.

 

[pilatesqueen]

Thanks guys, it's a good idea about contacting Google about duplicate and closed businesses.

Colan - I appreciate you looking into the listing and pointing out all the details

 

[Tim Colling]

This thread is a great example of how you can ask good questions and receive excellent, authoritative, actionable answers and advice. I love this forum!