How Google decides local results

Google says local results depend mainly on relevance, distance and prominence, and all of the problems below connect to one of those three.

Its help page on local ranking defines them simply:

  • Relevance: how closely a Business Profile matches the search. Complete, detailed information helps.
  • Distance: how far the business is from the searcher, or from what Google knows about their location.
  • Prominence: how well known the business is, including how many websites link to it and how many reviews it has. The same page also calls this factor popularity.

Google also says you can't request or pay for a better position.

This article is based on general practice. We haven't audited any particular Burbank business for it, and no two situations are the same. We work out of the Burbank Chamber of Commerce building at 200 W Magnolia Blvd, Burbank, CA 91502, so we think about these same issues for our own listing. For the setup steps, read our local SEO guide for Burbank. This article is about what goes wrong.

You have one page for every service

One catch-all services page makes it harder to look relevant for any specific search, because it says a little about everything.

Picture a Burbank dental office that offers implants, whitening and emergency care, all listed in three lines on one page. Someone searching "emergency dentist in Burbank" wants hours, what counts as an emergency and how to get seen. A page dedicated to that can answer them. A bullet point can't.

Build separate pages for the services you most want to sell. Don't take this as advice to clone pages for every nearby city. Google's spam policies list city or regional pages that just funnel people to one destination as an example of doorway abuse. Make a page only when you have something specific to say.

Your Google Business Profile is weak or inconsistent

A thin or inaccurate profile gives Google less to match against searches, and Google specifically says complete and accurate information helps.

Common problems are an unverified profile, outdated hours, missing holiday hours and few photos. Another is a poor category choice. Google's guidelines say to use as few categories as you need, make them as specific as possible and describe what the business is, rather than listing services or amenities. The same guidelines say to use your real-world name, without added keywords or taglines. Adding "Best Burbank" to your business name isn't a shortcut.

Your content is thin

Thin content gives searchers little reason to choose you, and it's what Google's helpful content guidance warns against. It asks whether a page offers original information and shows first-hand experience.

A quick test: cover your logo and read your service page. If it could belong to any business in your trade, in any city, it's thin. Fix it with what only you can say. What do customers usually get wrong? What does the job involve? What do you turn down? Which parts of Burbank do you work in, and what's specific about working there?

Your location data disagrees across listings

When your name, address and phone number differ from one site to the next, customers and search engines get mixed messages about which details are right.

Google's ranking page doesn't name listing consistency as a factor, so we're offering this from practice, not from Google. It happens easily: an old phone number on a directory, a previous address on a social profile, a suite number that appears only sometimes. A customer who drives to your old address won't care which factor it falls under.

Make one master record and check your main listings against it. Our local SEO guide has a list of places to start.

Your pages are slow on phones

Slow mobile pages lose impatient visitors, and Google says Core Web Vitals are used by its ranking systems, so speed deserves attention even if it isn't the top issue.

Keep this in proportion. Google's page experience guidance says it always tries to show the most relevant content, even if the page experience is sub-par, and that good scores don't guarantee top rankings. Speed won't rescue a page with nothing to say. Still, check the Core Web Vitals report in Search Console, open your own site on a phone over cellular, and look at oversized images first.

You have few or no reviews

Few reviews weaken prominence, and Google says more reviews and positive ratings can help your local ranking.

In our view the fix is mostly a habit, not a campaign. Ask real customers soon after the job, send a direct link, and reply to what comes in, since Google suggests replying as well. Don't buy reviews, and don't stop asking once you reach a target number.

You're competing with all of Los Angeles

A business that targets "Los Angeles" takes on a far bigger field than one that's clear about serving Burbank, and distance can work against it across that whole area.

Burbank sits inside a huge metro area, which tempts owners to write for the whole region. But if your page and profile talk only about L.A., you give up the local specifics that make you the clear match for someone nearby, and a broad search can draw results from businesses much closer to the searcher.

Be clear about what's realistic. Lead with Burbank and the neighboring areas you really serve, and name them where it's natural. Win there first, then expand with real pages about real work elsewhere. If you travel to customers, Google says service areas should generally stay within about two hours' driving time of your base.

Your address is shared

A shared address isn't automatically a problem, but it can cost you your profile if the location doesn't meet Google's rules. This is one to check if you're in a co-working space, a suite or a building with several businesses.

  • Virtual offices, P.O. boxes and remote mailboxes don't qualify.
  • Co-working offices qualify only with clear signage, customers received during business hours and your own staff on site.
  • Suite numbers go on Address Line 2, with the physical address on Line 1.
  • Separate businesses at one address each follow specific rules, and two independent brands can't share a single profile.
  • Businesses that don't receive customers at their location should hide the address and set a service area.

Read the current guidelines yourself before you set up or change a profile, because this is one area where a mistake is costly.

What to fix first

Fix what's wrong before you add anything new, starting with whatever is cheapest to correct. This is the order we'd use:

  1. Verify your profile and correct your name, address, hours and category.
  2. Make your main listings match it.
  3. Start asking every happy customer for a review.
  4. Build real pages for your top two or three services.
  5. Check mobile speed and fix the obvious problems.
  6. Decide which areas you can honestly serve and say so.

If you'd rather not do this alone, our SEO service and Burbank web design work cover the parts that take specialist time. We can't promise a position, and nobody honest can.

Sources

All pages checked on 2026-11-03.

Written by Romik Hacobian, founder of Media City Design, a Burbank web design studio since 2021.