How long does it take to get into the Map Pack top 3?

It depends on your starting position, competition density, and proximity to the search area. For moderately competitive markets, we typically see movement into the top 3 within 3-5 months. Highly competitive metros (New York, Los Angeles, Chicago) with established competitors may take 6-8 months. The fastest variable to influence is review velocity - getting review count and recency up often produces the first visible ranking movement within 6-8 weeks. Citation cleanup and GBP optimization compound over months. We set honest timeline expectations based on your specific competitive landscape during the audit phase.

We have multiple office locations. How does local SEO work for multi-location businesses?

Each physical location gets its own Google Business Profile with location-specific optimization - unique descriptions, location-specific photos, and individual review management. We create dedicated landing pages for each location targeting neighborhood-level keywords. The key challenge with multi-location local SEO is preventing cannibalization, where your own locations compete against each other. We solve this with distinct service area configurations and location-specific content that Google can differentiate. We currently manage local SEO programs for businesses with 2 to 30+ locations.

A competitor has way more reviews than us. Can we catch up?

Yes, but it requires a systematic approach, not a one-time push. Sudden review spikes look unnatural to Google and can trigger filters that suppress reviews. We build a sustained review generation system - typically targeting 8-15 new reviews per month - that grows your count steadily over time. The key metric Google uses is not just total count but review velocity (how recently and how consistently reviews arrive). A business with 40 reviews that gets 10 new reviews per month will outrank a business with 200 reviews that has not received one in 6 months. We set up automated email/SMS sequences triggered after positive client interactions, making the ask frictionless with a direct link to the review form.

Do Google Ads affect local organic rankings?

No. Google Ads and local organic rankings are completely separate systems. Spending money on Google Ads does not improve your Map Pack position, and stopping ads does not hurt it. However, we often recommend running Local Service Ads (LSAs) alongside organic local SEO during the first 3-6 months while organic rankings build. LSAs appear above the Map Pack and charge per lead rather than per click. Once your organic Map Pack position is established, many clients reduce or eliminate LSA spend because organic delivers the same leads at zero marginal cost.

SEO

Local SEO Services

46% of Google searches have local intent. If you are not in the top three map results, you are invisible to buyers who are ready to call right now.

See what you're missing See real results

When someone searches 'commercial real estate broker [your city]' or 'law firm near me,' Google shows three results in the Map Pack before anything else. Those three businesses get 44% of all clicks. Everyone below gets the scraps. This is not organic SEO where position 5 still gets some traffic - in local search, positions 4 through 20 are functionally invisible. A professional services firm in a competitive metro area came to us ranking 11th in the local pack for their primary service keyword. They had a Google Business Profile, but it was set up once three years ago and never touched again. The primary category was wrong (listed as 'consultant' instead of their actual service type). The description was a single sentence. They had 12 reviews - their competitor in position 1 had 87. Their NAP (name, address, phone) was inconsistent across 34 different directory listings because they had moved offices two years prior and never updated the old citations. We rebuilt their local presence from the ground up. Recategorized their Google Business Profile with the correct primary and secondary categories. Rewrote the description with keyword-rich, service-specific language. Built a review generation system using post-engagement email sequences that increased their review count from 12 to 61 in four months. Cleaned up all 34 inconsistent citations and built 25 new ones on industry-specific directories (for real estate, that means CoStar, LoopNet, and CREXi profiles; for legal, it means Avvo, Justia, and FindLaw). Created location-specific landing pages targeting neighborhood-level keywords. Within 5 months, they moved from position 11 to position 2 in the Map Pack. Inbound calls from Google increased 89%. The key insight most businesses miss: Google Business Profile optimization is not a one-time setup. Google rewards profiles that are actively maintained - weekly posts, fresh photos, prompt review responses, regular Q&A updates. The firms that treat GBP as a living platform outrank firms with better websites but dormant profiles.

How this capability is applied

Google Business Profile as a Revenue Channel

We treat GBP as an active marketing platform, not a directory listing. Weekly posts, photo updates, service descriptions, Q&A seeding, and product/service highlights keep your profile fresh. Google rewards active profiles with higher Map Pack placement. We have seen ranking improvements of 3-7 positions from consistent GBP activity alone - before touching citations or on-page SEO.

Industry-Specific Citation Architecture

Generic directory submissions are table stakes. We build citations on the platforms that matter in your specific industry - CoStar and LoopNet for real estate, Avvo and Justia for legal, Healthgrades and Vitals for medical. These industry-specific citations carry more local authority weight than 50 generic directory listings. We also audit and correct every existing citation for NAP consistency, because a single mismatched phone number can split your local authority.

Review Velocity System That Compounds

Review count and recency are the second-strongest local ranking factor after proximity. We build automated review request sequences triggered after positive client interactions - not pushy solicitation, but timely, personalized asks that convert at 25-35%. We also implement response protocols for every review (positive and negative), because Google tracks response rate as a quality signal.

Neighborhood-Level Keyword Targeting

We create location-specific landing pages that target the hyperlocal searches competitors ignore. Instead of just 'lawyer in Miami,' we target 'estate planning attorney Coral Gables,' 'business litigation lawyer Brickell,' and 'commercial lease attorney Wynwood.' Each page has unique content, local schema markup, and embedded Google Maps - capturing the long-tail local searches where conversion intent is highest.

Client results

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Property Management

How we work

Local Authority Audit

We crawl your Google Business Profile, all existing citations, review profiles, and local rankings across your service keywords. We also audit your top 5 local competitors to identify exactly what they are doing that you are not. The audit produces a gap analysis with specific, prioritized actions.

GBP Rebuild and Optimization

Complete profile overhaul: correct primary/secondary categories, keyword-optimized description, service area configuration, business attributes, photo optimization with geo-tagged images, and initial Q&A seeding with your most common prospect questions. This is typically the single highest-impact action in local SEO.

Citation Cleanup and Expansion

We audit every existing citation for NAP accuracy, correct errors, remove duplicates, and build new citations on industry-specific and high-authority local directories. Citations are submitted manually to the directories that matter - not through bulk submission tools that create low-quality, easily-flagged listings.

Ongoing Local Dominance Program

Weekly GBP posts, monthly review velocity tracking, quarterly citation audits, and continuous local ranking monitoring. Local SEO is maintenance-intensive because competitors are constantly optimizing. We send monthly reports showing Map Pack position, call/direction click volume, review metrics, and competitive movement.

See it in action

Real work that delivers real results

Dominating the local map pack

Optimized GBP profile

Deliverables

Our SEO engagements produce tangible assets that compound in value over time. You receive comprehensive documentation of your optimized site architecture, content libraries built for search intent, technical specifications for maintaining performance, detailed reporting dashboards, and ongoing strategic guidance that ensure rankings, traffic, and conversions continue to improve. We also provide comprehensive training, detailed documentation, and ongoing support to ensure you maximize the value of your investment and achieve sustained success.

Local SEO audit

Google Business Profile optimization

Citation building campaign

Review generation strategy

Local landing pages

Monthly ranking reports

Common questions

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Your competitors already invested in this.

The search results for your most valuable keywords are not going to wait for you to catch up. Your competitors are investing in SEO right now—capturing the traffic and leads that should be yours. Let us analyze your current position and show you exactly what it will take to outrank them.

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