Local competitor research: why they show up above you.
The same few businesses keep appearing above you on Google Maps, and some of them have been trading for less time than you. Local competitor research looks at who holds the top spots for your searches, what they have that you do not, and which of those differences actually matter. It separates the gaps worth closing from the ones that are not worth chasing.
Free five-point check · No obligation · You keep the findings either way
The questions owners ask.
- Why does that business rank above me when i do better work?
- How do they have so many more reviews?
- Is it their website, their Google profile or something else?
- Should i be copying what they do?
- Why do they appear in my town when they are based miles away?
The reasons are rarely on the surface.
Google says its local results depend mainly on relevance, distance and prominence. Two of those are hard to judge by looking at a competitor’s listing: how relevant Google thinks their profile and website are for a search, and how prominent the business is across the web.
From the outside, it often looks like luck. Usually it is a combination of smaller, visible things: a more fitting category, a fuller services list, more recent reviews, a page for exactly the job being searched, or simply being closer to where most searches happen.
The Map Pack and the website results are different races.
The businesses in the Map Pack for a search are not always the same ones that rank in the ordinary website results below it. A business can do well in one and poorly in the other. Competitor research looks at both, because they are won in different ways:
- Map Pack competitors are compared on their Google Business Profile: primary and secondary categories, services, reviews, photos, how complete and active the profile is, and where they are based relative to the searcher.
- Website competitors are compared on their pages: whether they have a dedicated page for the job, how well it answers the customer’s questions, how their site is structured, and how many other sites mention or link to them.
Directories and national comparison sites often appear in the website results too. They are worth knowing about, partly because some are places where your own business should be listed accurately. See citation building.
Side by side, for your searches.
Location is part of the picture
A competitor based right in the middle of your area has a distance advantage you cannot copy. In places where outside firms list the area as a service area, such as Newport or Bridgend, it also matters which competitors are actually based there and which only claim to cover it. Research separates the two, so you compete on the things you can change.
Competitors are evidence, not instructions.
A competitor ranking well is not proof that everything they do is right. Some of what shows up in local results breaks Google’s guidelines and may not last. The research flags those things rather than recommending them:
- Service areas stretched far beyond where the business actually travels.
- Addresses that look like virtual offices or borrowed premises.
- Bursts of reviews that look bought or swapped.
- Near-identical town pages with only the place name changed.
The aim is to find the legitimate differences you can close, not to imitate shortcuts.
A short list of real gaps.
The output is a plain comparison of you and the businesses above you for the searches that matter, and a short list of the differences most likely to matter, in order. Some gaps are quick to close, such as a missing category or service. Some take time, such as reviews. Some are not worth chasing, such as a competitor’s location.
Want to see how you compare?
The free audit includes a look at the businesses appearing for your searches and the three fixes to start with.
Which searches and which competitors.
The jobs you most want, the areas you cover, and any competitors you already keep an eye on. You know your market. The research checks whether the businesses you worry about are the ones Google actually shows.
Gaps closed, and where you appear.
By how many of the identified gaps have been closed, and by where your business appears across your area compared with the same competitors, checked again with grid-based rank tracking. No position is promised, because competitors keep working too.
What usually follows.
Google Business Profile optimisation
Closing the profile gaps the research finds: categories, services and photos.
Read more →Google review strategy
A fair routine for closing a review gap, without shortcuts.
Read more →Local SEO audit
A free five-point check, including a first look at the businesses above you.
Read more →Local keyword research
The searches worth competing for, before comparing who wins them.
Read more →See the full list of services, how pricing works, or contact AKVelora.
Common questions.
Will you tell me exactly why a competitor ranks above me?
Not with certainty, because Google does not publish how it weighs each factor. What the research shows is the visible differences most likely to matter, in order.
Should i report competitors who break the rules?
If a listing clearly breaks Google’s guidelines, you can suggest an edit or report it to Google. It is worth doing for genuine problems, but it is not a substitute for improving your own profile.
How often should competitors be checked?
Every few months is usually enough for a trade business, or sooner if something changes suddenly in your results.
Is this the same as the free audit?
The free audit includes a first look at the businesses above you. Fuller competitor research goes deeper across more searches and areas, as part of ongoing work.
See who is above you, and why.
The free audit checks your profile, website, listings and reviews against the businesses already appearing for your searches.
Get my free audit →Takes 30 seconds · Reply from a real person · You keep the findings either way