Relevance, distance and prominence: the three factors Google ranks you by

Google orders local results with three factors. Understanding them changes how you prioritise your time: not everything you can improve on your profile carries the same weight.

Relevance

Measures how well your listing answers the specific search. The right category, a clear description and well-listed services are the most direct levers for improving this factor.

Distance

How close you are to whoever is searching. It is the only one of the three you do not control directly: it depends on where your business is, not on how much you optimise it. That is why the same business appears in a different position depending on which neighbourhood it is searched from.

Prominence

How well known and trustworthy Google considers you against your competition. Reviews, mentions on other sites, behaviour signals and steady activity feed this factor. It is the one that moves most with sustained effort over time.

How they combine

A highly relevant and prominent business that is far from the user can lose to a closer one with fewer reviews. No factor wins on its own: the algorithm weighs all three together for each specific search.

Where to focus your effort

Since you cannot move your physical address, concentrate on relevance (the right category and description) and on prominence (reviews and activity). Those are the two factors where steady work does translate into results.