We Analyzed 8,186 Businesses in 200 Cities. Here’s What Actually Gets You Ranking for “Near Me” in 2025

You might have heard me talk about how adding “near you” to content helped organic SEO. But the annoying thing is that it didn’t move the needle at all for local pack rankings.

So we asked ourselves the question everyone in local SEO has been wondering: What actually gets you in the 3-pack for “near me” searches?

To figure that out, we partnered with Places Scout and analyzed listings for:

• Plumber near me
• HVAC near me
• Locksmith near me
• Garage door repair near me
• Lawn care near me

We didn’t just stick to New York and LA. We looked at:

• 100 large cities (pop: 226k–8.8 million)
• 50 mid-sized cities (pop: 91k–99k)
• 50 small cities (pop: 47k–50k)

Each search pulled data on the top ten local pack results, giving us tens of thousands of data points to work with.

And guess what? There is no one magic ranking factor. But there are some strong patterns, especially when you stack them together.

1. Hiding your address? That might be hurting you

One of the negative correlations to ranking for near me queries in this study was “Is Service Area Business.”

I know, I know. Google says service-area businesses should hide their addresses. That way, people know you’re mobile and not sitting around waiting for foot traffic.

The problem? Our study found a negative correlation between hiding your address and ranking well in the local pack.

We tested this on a real home service client. First, we hid their address on their Google Business Profile—just like Google suggests. The result? Their rankings tanked. Like freefall tanked. When we added the address back a month later, their rankings jumped back up.

And this wasn’t a one-off. We repeated it on another location and got the same result.

So yeah, that map pin? It’s not just for aesthetics. It’s critical.

You want to rank better for “near me?”  Have a real office with a real address. 

2. Your review rating matters (but it’s not everything)

This one’s not shocking: higher average ratings tend to rank better. But before you start freaking out over that one cranky 2-star review, just chill.

Google doesn’t just hand the top spot to whoever has the highest average. There are many ranking factors. What matters more is consistently getting good reviews over time.

Still, if your average is floating somewhere around 2.9 stars and you’re wondering why you’re not ranking, well, now you know.

3. Real words on your landing page > filler words

One of the geekier things we dug into was the number of non-stop words on the landing page linked to your listing.

(Translation: words that aren’t “and,” “the,” “a,” etc.)

Turns out, there’s a slight correlation between having more substantive words on your page and better local rankings.

This doesn’t mean you should write a novel filled with keywords. It means focus on quality, relevant content that actually describes your services.

More words does not equal better rankings. More meaningful words? That’s a different story.

4. It’s not the total reviews. It’s the recent ones.

Here’s one that surprised a lot of people:

The number of reviews you’ve gotten this month matters more than your total number of reviews.

We have seen this one in action as well. We had a dental client who pulled in 60+ reviews a month and absolutely dominated the rankings. Then they stopped. For 18 days. Guess what happened?

Their rankings fell off a cliff.

Meanwhile, competitors getting 15–45 new reviews per month held steady. That told us everything we needed to know.

Want to stay on top? Keep those reviews coming in, consistently.

5. Reviews without text don’t matter as much

Not all reviews are created equal.

We found that reviews with actual text had a stronger impact on rankings. Google seems to rely on review content to understand what a business is about. Makes sense.

Also worth noting: 1-star ratings without text don’t even show up on the Google Maps app. So don’t lose sleep over a bad review with no details. It’s the ones with long, thoughtful text you want to encourage.

6. Photos: They matter (sometimes)

BrightLocal did a study years ago that showed businesses with more photos got more engagement. Our findings line up, sometimes.

We’ve seen photo uploads help in certain industries. We’ve also seen cases where it didn’t move the needle at all. So if you’re a garage door company, uploading a new photo every week probably won’t win you any favors with Google.

But in industries where visuals play a big role (think restaurants or salons), having recent photos does help.

Final thoughts 

If you skipped to the end for the TL;DR, here it is:

• Show your address.
• Get consistent reviews.
• Prioritize reviews with text.
• Add real content to your landing page.
• Keep reviews flowing in monthly.
• Upload photos if you’re in a visual-heavy industry.

No single thing will shoot you to the top overnight, but together, these patterns paint a very clear picture of what Google is rewarding in local search, especially for “near me” queries.

SEO isn’t magic. It’s about the process, testing, and a lot of paying attention to what Google does (not just what they say).

If you’re ranking well for “near me” searches, I’d love to hear what’s worked for you. And if you’re not, maybe start with prioritizing this list.

Let me know what you’re seeing in the comments.