The three slots that matter
When a patient searches for a provider near them, Google shows a map and three business listings. Those three listings absorb the majority of clicks and calls. Everything below them competes for what is left.
What Google actually weighs
Three factors dominate: relevance (does your profile clearly match the search), distance (how close you are to the searcher), and prominence (reviews, activity, citations and web authority). You cannot change distance — so relevance and prominence are the whole game.
Relevance
Your primary category must match your highest-value service. A cosmetic dentist listed under "Dentist" competes with every general practice in the city. Add every real service to your service list and describe them in plain patient language.
Prominence
Review count, review recency and review velocity all matter. So does posting cadence, photo uploads, and whether you answer questions. A profile that has not been touched in six months reads as a dormant business.
The 90-day sequence that works
- Fix categories, services, hours and NAP consistency.
- Launch a post-visit review workflow and respond to every review.
- Publish one treatment page per high-value service.
- Post weekly and upload real photos, not stock.
- Track a ZIP-level grid so you can see progress by neighborhood.
What to ignore
Keyword stuffing your business name, buying reviews, and paying for citation blasts. All three carry real suspension risk and none produce durable results.