The essentials in 30 seconds
- For local businesses, Google cites three ranking factors: relevance, distance and prominence.
- For web pages, Google favors helpful, reliable content written for people, on a website that is pleasant to use.
- Reviews count: their number and rating feed into prominence.
- Google’s AI answers rely on the same ranking systems.
- Nobody can buy a place in the organic results. Everything is earned through quality.
- 3local ranking factors: relevance, distance, prominenceGoogle, Business Profile Help
- 41%of consumers always read reviews before choosingBrightLocal, 2026
- 2.5 sis Google’s threshold for fast main content displayGoogle, web.dev
There are three Google ranking factors for a local business: relevance, distance and prominence. Google itself gives them in its help page on local ranking. For regular web pages, Google adds quality criteria: helpful, reliable content, written for people, on a website that is pleasant to use.
Many rumors circulate about “Google’s algorithm”. Hundreds of secret factors, miracle tricks, hidden settings. The reality is simpler, and more reassuring. Nobody knows every detail. But the main rules are known. And they are logical. Google publishes most of what it expects. Here are those factors explained without jargon, and what you can do about each one.
What are Google’s ranking factors?
Google’s main ranking factors are relevance, content quality, trustworthiness, page experience and, for local searches, distance and prominence. Google combines these signals to choose the best answers.
Google describes its various systems in its guide to ranking systems. It includes, for example, systems that understand the meaning of words, others that favor helpful content, others that detect spam. No single factor decides everything. It is the whole that counts. That’s why an isolated trick rarely works for long. A website that is solid on every factor withstands changes better.
Two rankings, two logics
You need to distinguish two places. Google Maps and the local pack, with business profiles. And the regular results, with links to websites. The factors overlap, but they are not identical. A local business must work on both. The profile attracts customers in a hurry. The website convinces those who compare. The two reinforce each other.
An example that explains it all
Take someone with back pain. They type “osteopath Vanves” on their phone. What happens?
First, Google looks for osteopaths. That’s relevance. Then it looks at those close to Vanves. That’s distance. Then it compares their reputation: reviews, mentions, online presence. That’s prominence. The three best-placed profiles appear on the map.
Below the map, Google shows links to websites. There, it looks mainly at the quality of the pages. A page dedicated to osteopathy in Vanves, clear and useful, has a better chance than a general home page.
The same practice can therefore be first on the map and missing from the links. Or the other way around. To be visible everywhere, you need to take care of both the profile and the website.
How does Google rank businesses on Google Maps?
Google ranks profiles on Google Maps by relevance, distance and prominence. A complete profile, close to the customer and well recommended, has the best chance of appearing at the top.
Factor no. 1: relevance
Relevance measures whether your profile matches what the customer is looking for. Google judges it from your category, your services, your description and the information on your website. The more precisely your profile describes your business, the more relevant it is. A simple example: a “plumbing and heating” business that lists “boiler replacement” in its services will be more relevant for that search than a plumber who doesn’t mention it.
Factor no. 2: distance
Distance measures how far your business is from the customer, or from the place mentioned in the search. You can’t move to rank better. But you can set a realistic service area if you travel to your customers. Stay honest about that area. An area that is too large doesn’t help. Google keeps an eye on real distance.
Factor no. 3: prominence
Prominence measures how well known your business is. Google looks at your reviews, the links and articles that talk about you, and your presence on the web. It also states that real-world prominence counts: a locally known brand often has an advantage.
How does Google rank websites in the regular results?
Google ranks websites by the relevance and quality of their pages: helpful, reliable content, written for people, on a fast and pleasant page. Links from other websites also help measure trust.
Helpful, reliable content
Google favors helpful content, created to help people, not to manipulate rankings. It values real experience, expertise and trustworthiness. A page that shows your concrete work, your methods and your answers to your customers’ real questions checks those boxes. A generic, copied or mass-produced text doesn’t. Your experience is your main asset, because nobody can copy it.
A good page experience
Google takes page experience into account: speed, stability, comfort on mobile, security. It isn’t the strongest factor, but it often decides between pages of similar quality. For speed, Google recommends displaying the main content in under 2.5 seconds.
Pages that are easy to understand
Google must be able to read and understand your pages. Clear headings, one page per topic, logical internal links, text rather than images of text. Its starter guide gives these basics, accessible to everyone.
Links from other websites
When another website talks about you and links to yours, Google sees it as a sign of trust. A link from a local newspaper, a supplier or an association counts more than a link from an unknown directory. These links can’t be bought. They are earned, through real, visible activity. A local partnership or an interview is sometimes enough.
Do reviews influence Google rankings?
Yes, reviews influence local rankings: Google states that the number of reviews and the rating feed into prominence. More positive reviews can improve your position in local results.
Reviews also influence customers, and that may be even more important. According to BrightLocal, 41% of consumers always read reviews before choosing a business. A good ranking without good reviews brings few calls. We detail our method on our Google reviews page.
What counts in reviews
The number counts, the rating too, but regularity and freshness count a lot. The replies you give show that you are serious. Reply quickly. Stay polite. Always say thank you. And the details customers write, such as the service provided or the town, help Google understand what you do.
Do Google’s AI answers follow the same factors?
Yes, Google’s AI answers rely on its usual ranking systems. To appear in AI Overviews, you first need to be well ranked and indexed.
Google explains this in its page on its search engine’s AI features. There is no special tag to get in. A page must be indexed and able to show a snippet. SEO best practices therefore remain the foundation, including for AI.
What about ChatGPT or Perplexity?
Other AI assistants have their own rules. But they also read the web, and they prefer clear, reliable pages. The work done for Google therefore helps them too. A business that is well described, consistent and recommended has a better chance of being cited everywhere.
What Google doesn’t take into account
Some misconceptions die hard. Here is what doesn’t help your ranking, according to Google:
- paying Google no payment lets you rank higher in the organic results
- the meta keywords tag Google has ignored it for a long time
- repeating a keyword dozens of times: it is even considered spam
- the llms.txt file Google states that it doesn’t use it for its search engine
- multiplying near-identical pages for every town: Google sees them as low-quality content.
Google details these banned practices in its spam policies. Breaking them can push a website down, or even remove it from the results. And climbing back after a penalty often takes months. It’s not worth it.
Which factors can you really influence?
You can influence relevance, prominence, the quality of your pages and your website’s experience. Only distance is largely out of your hands.
That’s excellent news. On the main factors, almost everything depends on you. Here is where to start:
- Choose the most precise profile category and list all your services.
- Create one page per important service, with your area.
- Write from your real experience, with concrete examples.
- Set up a regular review request and reply to every review.
- Make your website fast and comfortable on mobile.
- Keep the same information everywhere: website, profile, directories.
What moves fast, and what takes time
Some factors move fast. A corrected category, a completed profile, a new service page: the effect can show within a few weeks. Other factors require patience. Prominence is built review after review, link after link. Expect several months, depending on your market.
Start with what moves fast. You’ll see early progress. Then carry out the groundwork in parallel. That’s what makes the results last.
Consistency makes the difference
Rankings are never fixed. Your competitors move, Google adjusts its systems, your customers change their searches. Regular work, even light, is worth more than one big isolated effort. To see how these factors play out against a competitor, read our article on competitors ahead of you.
What we have seen when redesigning pages
At Monsieur Click, we have redesigned pages by working on several factors at once. We rewrote the title tags and meta descriptions, added complete structured data and set up OKF and llms.txt files for AI assistants.
We saw a change in the rankings of the websites concerned. Articles and websites were also cited by AI afterwards. But we can’t say which lever mattered most. That is consistent with what Google explains: no single factor decides. The whole makes the difference.
Our local SEO method
At Monsieur Click, local SEO is part of the Click First™ method. We work on every factor that depends on you: relevance of the profile and the website, page quality, reviews, consistent information and mobile experience.
The free diagnostic
In 30 minutes, remotely, we look at how Google sees your business today, factor by factor. You leave with your three priorities. Nobody can guarantee a ranking. But we work on every factor methodically, then measure every month.
Want to know which factors are costing you places? As an SEO agency based in Malakoff, just outside Paris, we take stock with you.
Article written from our field experience and verified sources. No ranking or AI citation is guaranteed.
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