Local results appear for people who search for businesses and places near their location. They're shown in a number of places across Maps and Search. 

For example, you'll probably see local results if you search for "Italian restaurant" from a mobile device. Google will try to show you that kind of restaurant in the nearby area that you may want to visit.

In the image below, Google uses local results to suggest some options:

The business owner's goal is to appear in the relevant searches within the area. These results can be maximized by focusing on certain aspects: 

Complete Data

Local results favor the most relevant results for each search, and businesses with complete and accurate information are easier to match with the right searches. 

Our customers are encouraged to fill out as many data fields as possible in our platform and to connect their locations at least with Google and Facebook. This includes mandatory fields, such as name, physical address, telephone number and category, as well as additional data fields found in the tabs Basic Data, Rich Data and Photos & Videos.

Verified Locations

Ideally, every location should be listed in Google Business Profile and every business location needs to be verified. 

This is one of the foundational aspects‍  that will give the location the best opportunity to appear for users across Google products, like Maps and Search.

Accurate Opening Hours

Entering and updating a business location's opening hours, lets potential customers know when they can travel to the location. 

This includes special opening hours for holidays or special events. Opening hours and special opening hours can be added in our platform using the location based tab Basic Data.

Review Management

Business owners can interact with customers by responding to reviews that they leave about the business. Responding to reviews shows that the business owner values his/her customers and the feedback they leave about the business. 

High-quality, positive reviews from customers will improve the business's visibility and increase the likelihood that a potential customer will visit the location. Business owners can encourage their customers to leave feedback by creating a link that they can click to write reviews. 

Adding Photos

It is important to add photos to every listing to show people the locations' goods and services, and help tell the business's story. Accurate and appealing pictures may also show potential customers that the business offers what they're searching for.