The free listing outranks the website for most local searches. It is also the thing most businesses set up once and never touch again.
For a local search, the map pack sits above the organic results. Your position in it depends far more on the listing than on the website, and the listing is free. That makes it the highest-return hour of SEO work available.
Category is the biggest lever
The primary category does more to decide which searches you appear in than anything else on the profile. Pick the most specific one that is accurate, and check what the top-ranking competitors use.
Hours, including the awkward ones
Wrong hours produce one-star reviews from people who drove to a closed shop. Set special hours for festivals before they arrive, not after.
Photographs, regularly
Listings with recent photographs get more engagement, and engagement feeds ranking. A handful of real pictures every month beats a professional shoot uploaded once in 2021.
Answer every review
Including the bad ones, briefly and without arguing. Prospective customers read the replies more carefully than the reviews.
