How does a local business show up on Google Maps and in ChatGPT answers?

How Google picks local results

Google says its local results are "mainly based on relevance, distance, and popularity."¹

• Relevance: how well your profile matches what someone searched for.
• Distance: how far you are from the person searching.
• Prominence: how well-known you are. Google looks at "how many websites link to your business and how many reviews you have."¹

You can't move closer to every customer. You can work on the other two.

1. Complete and verify your Google Business Profile

Verifying "tells Google that you're authorized to represent the business," and businesses "with complete and accurate info are more likely to show up in local search results," Google says.¹ Fill in:

• what kind of business you are (your category);
• your hours, including special hours;
• your address, if customers come to you;
• photos of your work.

2. Use the same name, address and phone everywhere

Google asks that your name match "your business's real-world name, as used consistently on your storefront, website, stationery, and as known to customers," with a phone number "that connects to your individual business location."² Apple asks the same of hours: the hours on your Apple Maps listing "need to match the hours published on your official website."⁶

People check. Of people who started their last local search with an AI tool, 43% went on to check Google.⁷ Look up your business on Google, Apple Maps, Bing, Yelp and Facebook, and fix any listing that differs from your website.

3. Keep reviews coming

Google says "more reviews and positive ratings can help your business's local ranking," and replying to reviews "shows that you value their feedback."¹ Recent reviews count with customers too: 74% of people look for reviews written in the last three months, and 32% for reviews from the last two weeks.⁸ Ask happy customers, and reply to every review.

4. Say it plainly on your website

Google fills in business profiles from public information, including "information from a business' official website."⁹ AI tools read websites too: in one test of 800 local searches, business websites were 58% of the sources ChatGPT showed.¹⁰ Put these on your site as words, not only in a photo:

• what you do, with prices;
• your hours;
• the towns you serve;
• your phone number and address.

Add structured data too: a few lines of code that label those facts for search engines. With it, Google says, "you can tell Google about business hours" and more.¹¹ And test the site on a phone: 73% of people started their last search for a local business on one.⁷

5. Get listed where AI tools look

45% of people now use AI tools like ChatGPT for local recommendations, up from 6% a year before.⁸ Those tools draw on more than Google:

• Bing. ChatGPT search "sometimes partners with other search providers," and OpenAI's help page names Microsoft, which runs Bing, among them.³ A Bing Places listing is free, and you can import your Google profile into it.¹²
• Apple Maps. Apple Business is free to start, and puts your listing in front of people who use Apple Maps and Siri.⁵ Apple Maps use for reading reviews nearly doubled in a year, from 14% of people to 27%.⁸
• Yelp. It's free to claim your Yelp page.¹³ In one test of searches on Google's AI Mode, Gemini, Perplexity and ChatGPT, Yelp was a source in 33% of them.⁴

Can anyone promise you the top spot?

No. Google says "there's no way to request or pay for a better local ranking on Google."¹ AI answers change too: OpenAI says search results and citations "can be incomplete, outdated, or incorrect."³

What you can do is be complete, consistent and easy to check, everywhere people look.