How to rank locally higher on Google Maps for coaches to be found locally

6 Local Factors that Actually Work

If you want your local business to show up at the top of Google Maps results in 2025, you’ve landed in the right place. Let’s get started.

Here are the top six factors to focus on to improve your local visibility, attract more local traffic, get found in ‘near me’ search results on Google Maps.

1. Start with Competitor research

Use the free Chrome extension GMB Everywhere to spy on competitors. Search your top keywords on Google Maps and see which primary and secondary categories your main competitors have used in their

Keep in mind that your competitors may not be servicing your exact market or offer the exact same services and products. So make sure you take only what serves you.

Use Mangools to check keyword volume and difficulty before finalizing your category choices. Pick high volume, check for local traffic and go for the lowest possible difficulty. However, for local search prioritise traffic.

 

 

2. Choose the Right Google Business Profile Categories

Your Google Business Profile (GBP) categories help Google understand what your business does. Its goal is to serve your content to the right people for the right query.

Primary Category
This is the most important. It directly influences when and how your business shows up in search. For example, if you’re a “24 hour gym” that should be your primary category, not just “Gym.”

Secondary Categories
This helps you show up for additional related searches. If you’re a gym offering supplements and personal training services, both should be your secondary categories.

 

 

2. Optimize Keywords on Your Landing Page

Your GBP listing links to your website. The homepage of your coaching website needs to reflect your main keywords if you want to rank.

Here’s are some suggestions where you could add your keywords

• Page title (meta/seo title)
• H1 heading
• At least one H2 subheading
• H3 subheadings
• Naturally, throughout your copy

Avoid keyword stuffing but do use the same keywords you used in your GBP, Google wants to see that the content on your site matches what your listing says.

 

3. Keywords in the Business Name (a little grey hat)

Adding keywords to your actual business name will sometimes improve your ranking. But there’s a catch.

Google’s guidelines clearly state that this is against the rules. It has however worked for a long time and still works.

Some businesses have keywords in their legal business name so Google has to close an eye. But this practice carries some a risk if this isn’t our legal business name.

 

 

 

4. Proximity & Physical Address ( You Can’t Control it but should know about it)

Physical proximity is an important factor —how close the searcher is to your business. The closer you are, the more likely you are to appear in their local map pack.

Having a verified physical address in your target service area is extremely important.

If your location isn’t ideal, don’t stress. You can still win by optimizing other factors on this list and improving your relevance and prominence.

5. Spam Listings: Spot Them, Report Them

Unfortunately, many businesses game the system by keyword-stuffing names, listing fake addresses, or creating duplicate profiles.

These “spam listings” clutter the map and push legitimate businesses down.

Help Google fight spam listings and you help yourself…

• Use GMB Everywhere or a manual search to identify suspicious listings.
• Check for fake names, PO boxes, or obvious keyword stuffing.
• File a report with Google—but only after verifying it’s truly spam (some businesses *do* have legal keyword names).

 

6. Ratings & Reviews: Volume, Quality & Consistency

Google favors businesses with more positive review, especially when compared to their competitors.

It’s not just about getting 5-star ratings, though. What matters:

• Consistent review collection (not all at once)
• A high volume of 4- and 5-star reviews
• Professional responses to both positive and negative reviews

Don’t expect happy clients to leave you a review. Be proactive – Ask! Build it into your client onboarding or offboarding process and use the link provided by Google to make it easy for people to drop that review.

 

 

7. Consistent NAP Citations

Your business Name, Address, and Phone Number (NAP) should match across all platforms—Google, Yelp, Facebook, Bing, etc. Inconsistent citations confuse Google and hurt your trustworthiness.

8. Optimize Your Q&A Section

Don’t wait for others to ask questions—seed your own Q&A with useful, keyword-rich answers.

9. Upload High-Quality, Geo-Tagged Photos

A very old trick that still works. Upload clear, well-lit images regularly. Bonus points for geo-tagging them before upload.

10. Service Area Business (SAB) Tips

If you’re an online coach, or online business, Google can hide your physical address—but your service area setup still matters.

11. Add Local Schema Markup

Use schema.org markup to tell search engines more about your business. This helps with rich results and stregthens your local relevance.

 

If you’re serious about scaling local SEO for your coaching business, we should talk. Book your free call here at www.meetme.so/stephaniefiteni

 

 

 

———————— About the Author: 

Hi, I’m Stephanie, a Digital Marketing Coach and Business Mentor for Coaches. I’m the creator of the Profitable Content Marketing Method™ and help coaches generate more leads and clients through organic and paid marketing whilst helping them build a business that makes good money with ease. My clients get fully booked with just a handful of enjoyable marketing hours per week!

I have over 15 years of experience building businesses, growing website traffic, writing blogs, creating social media campaigns, and generating leads for my clients. As well as ranking articles, videos, and podcasts on the first page of Google. I also managed the content and web dev team in my agency for over 10+ years.

I can teach you how to create content that will convert your visitors into discovery call bookings, every time. Let’s Talk