Compare yourself with the businesses above you
You don't need a paid tool to see why another business shows above you on Google. Here's what to compare on your phone, and what we look at when we do it with you.
What to compare, and where to look
Search the way your customers do, on a phone.
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Google Maps
Check it yourself
Search your trade and town. Note who shows above you.
What we compare
Every profile above yours, side by side with your own.
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Categories
Check it yourself
Read the main category under each business name.
What we compare
Main and extra categories, and the services each one lists.
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Reviews
Check it yourself
Read the newest reviews and the owner's replies.
What we compare
How recent the reviews are and what customers mention.
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Photos and hours
Check it yourself
Check when photos were added and if hours look right.
What we compare
Photos of real jobs, current hours and true service areas.
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Websites
Check it yourself
Open each site on your phone and try to call from it.
What we compare
Phone speed, a page per service and town, and what Google reads.
| Where to look | Check it yourself | What we compare |
|---|---|---|
| Google Maps | Search your trade and town. Note who shows above you. | Every profile above yours, side by side with your own. |
| Categories | Read the main category under each business name. | Main and extra categories, and the services each one lists. |
| Reviews | Read the newest reviews and the owner's replies. | How recent the reviews are and what customers mention. |
| Photos and hours | Check when photos were added and if hours look right. | Photos of real jobs, current hours and true service areas. |
| Websites | Open each site on your phone and try to call from it. | Phone speed, a page per service and town, and what Google reads. |
Illustrative
Before you change anything
Write down what you see before you change anything, so you can tell later what made a difference. Most of what you'll compare lives in your Google Business Profile, the listing that shows on Maps. The rest is your website and the pages Google shows below the map, so scroll past the map too.
Our free checklists walk through the profile trade by trade, using Google's own guidelines. When the gap is the map itself, local SEO is where we'd start. When it's your site, we'd look at your pages, your speed and how easy it is to call you, which is what web design covers.
Worth checking first
- The main category under each business name
- How recent the newest reviews are
- Whether hours and service areas match yours
- Whether you can call from each site in one tap
Questions about comparing
Why does a business with fewer reviews show above me?
Google looks at how relevant a profile is to the search, how close it is to the person searching and how well known the business is. Reviews are part of that, not the whole picture. Google explains it in its own help page on improving your local ranking.
Is there a free tool that does this for me?
Tools that give a site an "authority" score estimate it from their own data, so treat the number as a rough guide, not a fact. Your phone, Google Maps and your own Search Console data, Google's free report on the searches that show your site, tell you more. Here's what we look at in SEO.
Should I copy what the top business does?
Copy the basics that match how you really work, like the right category and accurate hours. Don't add a category or a service area you don't serve: it brings the wrong calls and goes against Google's guidelines for representing your business.
Can you do the comparison with me?
Yes. It's part of the look we take at where you stand, after your first call with Offer. Talk to Offer and tell him which businesses show above you.
Talk to Offer before you decide anything
You'll talk with Offer, not a sales rep. A short call, no pitch deck.
Send Offer a note on the contact page, or call. He'll ask about your business, then tell you honestly what he'd do first.
