Google Business Profile for Houston professional firms

For "near me" and "Houston" searches, your Google Business Profile often shows before your website. Google says local ranking comes down to relevance, distance, and prominence.

How Google ranks local results

Google says local results are based mainly on relevance, distance, and prominence. Relevance is how well your profile matches the search. Distance is how far you are from the person searching. Prominence is how well known your firm is, including links to your site and the number of reviews and ratings.

Google also says there is no way to request or pay for a better local ranking.

Relevance: complete the profile

• Choose the most specific primary category, such as a practice-specific attorney category or tax preparation service.
• Add your services, hours, and holiday hours.
• Write a plain description of who you help and where.
• Make sure name, address, and phone match your website exactly.

Prominence: reviews and links

• Ask every satisfied client for a review, with a direct link, soon after the work is done.
• Reply to reviews in a way that never reveals confidential details.
• Earn links from local organizations, bar or professional associations, and community groups.

Connect the profile to intake

Calls and messages from your profile are new inquiries like any other. Route them into the same intake process, with the same text back and follow-up.

Frequently asked questions

Can we pay Google to rank higher in the map results?

No. Google says there is no way to request or pay for a better local ranking. Ads are shown separately.

How do reviews affect local ranking?

Google lists the number of reviews and ratings as part of prominence, one of its three main local ranking factors.

Sources

• Google Business Profile Help, "Tips to improve your local ranking on Google"↗