Same 3 businesses dominate the map pack & can't see why

[LeafletsInLincs]

Hi,

I need advice. I am trying to improve my google my business map listing ranking.

For every search term related to printing in my area the same 3 results come up and i would like your ideas as to why.

Business 1: Website has only said "website coming soon" for the past few years, few backlinks, poor domain authority, 6 good reviews.

Business 2: Website is poor but mobile responsive, few backlinks, 19 domain authority, 3 good reviews.

Business 3: Website is ok but not mobile responsive, few backlinks, 16 domain authority, 4 good reviews.

These are old businesses & bricks and mortar in the city centre however there must be a way to break through the maps rankings.

None of them are using scheme or posting on google my business at all but i did notice Business 3's rankings shoot to number 1 when they had a fire & got a fair amount of local mentions due to it in the press.

I have been focusing on backlinks and domain authority yet still can't get found on maps & it's starting to make me wonder whether it's a backlinks & authority are myths as these guys dont even have good on page seo.

Thoughts appreciated.

 

[Community]

Have you been working on your NAP with business listings/citations ? Making sure everything is the same in the NAP ( name, address, phone number ) ?

Unfortunately location matters and requires a serious push, I'm based outside of our local town by around 5 miles, but the businesses in the town center will always have an advantage, especially those with exact match branding . Lucky for me local custom isn't and never has been a primary target.

Authority and backlinks are only a piece of the puzzle when it comes to Localised results.

 

[LeafletsInLincs]

I've been working on nap & citations as well as improving domain authority however these are all low authority websites with few back links but I can't get close.

It's almost like I'm being penalised for doing seo.

I'm based around 20 houses away from the top print result which is city centre so it's baffling. They don't even have a website, just a maintenance page. They do have a Facebook page with 15 likes but Facebook stars are the easiest to get.

This case goes against everything you read about seo.p

 

[Community]

Are you a registered Limited company with a physical address or a service area business ? One thing I have noticed with one local client. A significant local map pack boost after a company registered as a limited company from Sole trader, I assumed it was a coincidence rather than any kind of signal of trust, possibly down to unlinked branded mentions increase because of the companies house syndications which reach 100's if not thousands of aggregators.

But this is pure speculation on my part, or an observation if you will. I can't pin down data to prove or disprove the theory.

If it was the case, It's certainly a nail in the head for sole traders operating in a primary Limited company niche.

 

[LeafletsInLincs]

We're a sole trader. Unsure if were a sab. We started as a leaflet distributuon business back in 2012. We now print too. We go to clients, & they come to us too.

We tried having 2 seperate websites but our backlinks were divided between the 2.

I also believe a Ltd company boost would be from the citations you get from companies house etc.

Also a lot of the high aithority directories are "limited company only".

We've always been advised against going limited by accountants however I guess accountants don't think about high authority backlinks lol.

 

[carpetcleaningdublin]

For maps the reviews are the most relevant think. I had 0 reviews and i was never first even i was doing searches from my office. Then i asked customers to review me. I smash it. Now i am always first. Saying that, few of my competitors have 2500 reviews and they are bellow me so don`t know what is going on there. But the reviews have made a huge difference

Carpet Cleaning Dublin