For any business with a physical location or a defined service area, "near me" searches pull results primarily from Google Business Profiles, not your regular website ranking. That makes this a genuinely different, and often neglected, part of local SEO.
Accurate, complete profile information
Correct categories, complete business hours, an accurate address, and a real phone number sound basic, but an abandoned or partially filled-out profile is one of the most common reasons a legitimate local business gets outranked by a less established competitor with a fully completed one.
Regular photos and posts signal an active business
Google's local algorithm favors listings that show ongoing activity. Regularly adding photos and short posts costs almost nothing but meaningfully outperforms a profile that was set up once and never touched again.
Reviews, and how you respond to them
Review volume and rating matter, but so does whether you respond — professionally, including to negative reviews rather than ignoring them. A business that visibly engages with feedback reads as more trustworthy than one with a higher rating but no responses at all.
Consistency between your profile and your website
Your business name, address, and phone number should match exactly between your Google Business Profile and your website. Inconsistencies (a slightly different address format, an old phone number left on one but not the other) quietly undermine local search confidence.
Why this complements, not replaces, website SEO
A strong Business Profile helps your visibility in the local map pack; website SEO helps your regular organic rankings. They work together rather than substituting for each other — a business investing in only one is leaving a real, connected opportunity on the table.