How Google picks the local three
Local rankings come down to relevance, distance and prominence. You can't change distance. Relevance comes from your Google Business Profile categories and services plus the pages on your website. Prominence comes from reviews, citations, links and how often your business is mentioned online.
In Canada there are two extra factors. Canadian directories carry weight that US ones don't, and in Quebec, French-language content often decides who appears.
What our Canadian local SEO covers
Google Business Profile. Correct primary and secondary categories, services written as customers search for them, hours including statutory holidays, booking links, photos and regular updates.
Canadian citations. Your name, address and phone consistent across Apple Maps, Bing, Yelp, YellowPages.ca, Canada411 and the directories for your trade, such as HomeStars for home services or RateMDs for clinics.
Reviews. A simple request after each job or appointment, reply templates, and review tracking against competitors.
City and neighbourhood pages. Pages for the areas you serve, with real local detail and jobs completed nearby, never a template with the city name swapped.
Local links. Chambers of commerce, BIAs (business improvement areas), local news, sponsorships and community groups.
Grid rank tracking. Your map position measured across your service area, block by block.
Who it's for
Clinics and dentists, law firms, realtors, trades and home services, restaurants, auto dealers and any business whose customers search "near me". A multi-city service business we work with now appears in the map pack in 14 of its 18 service areas.
