Updated 2026-10-14 · by RankRight
Short answer: Google says local results are mainly based on relevance, distance and popularity, which it describes as prominence: how well-known a business is, including links to it and how many reviews it has. There is no way to request or pay for a better local ranking. You can improve relevance with complete, accurate details and matching pages, and prominence with reviews and links; distance depends on where the searcher is.
RankRight writes these guides from Google's own documentation and published Singapore price guides; each figure links to where it comes from.
The three factors
Google’s Business Profile help page says local results are mainly based on relevance, distance and popularity, and then explains each one (Google):
| Factor | What Google says it means | Can you change it? |
|---|---|---|
| Relevance | How well a profile matches what someone searched. Google asks for complete and detailed information to match it to searches. | Yes |
| Distance | How far each business is from the person searching, or from where Google thinks they are. | No |
| Prominence | How well-known a business is, including how many websites link to it and how many reviews it has. | Yes, slowly |
The same page is blunt about one thing: there is no way to request or pay for a better local ranking.
What Google tells businesses to do
Google’s own tips, in the order it gives them (Google):
- Verify the business. Google says a verified business is more likely to show up in results.
- Keep the information complete and accurate. Address, hours (including special hours), category and attributes like parking. Google says inaccurate information can stop a profile showing for relevant searches.
- Respond to reviews. It shows you value feedback; helpful replies can help you stand out.
- Add photos and videos.
- Add in-store products, if you are a retail store in an eligible country.
None of these need an agency. They need someone to do them properly and keep them up to date.
Where your website comes in
Prominence includes how many websites link to your business. Relevance improves when your website says clearly what you do and where, in words that match what people search. Google’s SEO starter guide covers the site side: titles that describe each page, pages linked together, and content written for people.
A profile and a website that disagree (different phone numbers, old hours, a service on one but not the other) work against the “complete and accurate” test.
What it looks like in Singapore
On 14 October 2026 we pulled the live mobile results for six Singapore trade searches, including “plumber singapore”, “aircon servicing singapore” and “hair salon singapore” (DataForSEO, mobile). All six put a map pack above the ordinary results. For a local business, that map pack is the first thing a customer on a phone sees, and the three factors above decide who is in it.
What you can do this week
- Check the profile is verified, and that hours, category and phone are right
- Make the website say exactly the same thing
- Reply to your last ten reviews
- Ask your next ten happy customers for a review, with a direct link
- Add real photos of the place and the work
If you want to see where you stand first, RankRight checks your own searches on live Google results, free.
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More questions
Do more Google reviews help ranking?
Google says prominence is partly based on how many reviews a business has, and that more reviews and positive ratings can help local ranking.
Does Google Ads improve my map ranking?
No. Google says advertising has no effect on a site's presence in its search results, and that it never accepts money to include or rank sites.
Why do I show in Maps at my shop but not at home?
Distance. Google uses how far each business is from the person searching, or what it knows about their location if they do not share it.