The map pack is the new homepage
If you sell a service in a specific UK city, the Google Map Pack is more valuable than your homepage. 44% of clicks on local-intent searches go to the top 3 map results.
Here's the exact 90-day playbook we run.
Days 1–14: Foundations
- -Claim and verify Google Business Profile. Sounds obvious. ~30% of UK SMBs still haven't.
- -Pick a primary category that matches actual intent.
- -NAP consistency. Name, Address, Phone — identical across your site, GBP, and citations.
- -Add full hours, services, attributes, photos (10+).
Days 15–45: Authority
- -Citations: build 30–50 across UK-relevant directories (Yell, Thomson, FreeIndex, Scoot, plus industry-specific).
- -Reviews: automate a request after every job. Aim for 5+ new reviews per month.
- -Service pages: one per service × per city you serve. Genuine content, not doorway pages.
- -Internal linking: link city pages to the service hub and vice versa.
Days 45–90: Compounding
- -Local content: weekly posts on local events, case studies, FAQs.
- -Photo refresh: add new GBP photos weekly.
- -Q&A seeding: answer common questions on your GBP.
- -Track ranks: weekly rank tracking by postcode, not just city.
Common mistakes
- -Stuffing the business name with keywords (this gets you suspended)
- -Buying fake reviews (Google catches it now)
- -Using a virtual office address
- -Posting identical content on every city page
Tools we use
Local Falcon, BrightLocal, Whitespark, GMB Everywhere, Google Search Console, and our own internal rank tracker.
Want us to run this playbook for you? Talk to us.
Related: Google Business Profile Guide | Leeds, Manchester & Bradford SEO
