Search “plumber Wollongong” or “café near me” on your phone and the first thing you’ll usually see is a map with three businesses underneath it. That’s the Google Maps “map pack” (also called the local pack), and for many local businesses in the Illawarra it brings in more calls than anything else on the page.
The good news: you don’t need a huge budget to get there. You need a well-set-up Google Business Profile, genuine reviews, consistent business details and a website that backs it all up. Here’s how it works, step by step.
How Google picks the three businesses
Google says local results are based mainly on three things:
- Relevance: how well your business matches what someone searched for
- Distance: how far your business is from the person searching, or the place they named
- Prominence: how well known and trusted your business is, based on things like reviews, links and mentions across the web
You can’t change distance. If someone in Kiama searches “electrician near me”, a Kiama electrician has an advantage over one in Thirroul. But you can do a lot about relevance and prominence, and that’s where most Illawarra businesses leave rankings on the table.
Step 1: Claim and verify your Google Business Profile
If you haven’t already, claim your free Google Business Profile and complete Google’s verification. Without a verified profile, you can’t show in the map pack at all.
If you serve customers at their homes or workplaces (trades, cleaners, mobile services), you can set it up as a service-area business and hide your home address, listing the areas you serve instead.
Step 2: Choose the right categories
Your primary category is one of the strongest relevance signals you control. Pick the one that best describes your main service, like “Electrician”, “Physiotherapist” or “Italian restaurant”, not something broad like “Business”.
Then add secondary categories for other services you genuinely offer. Look at the businesses already ranking in the map pack for your main search to see which categories they use.
Step 3: Fill in every part of your profile
A complete profile helps both Google and customers. Make sure you have:
- Business name exactly as it appears in real life (don’t stuff keywords into it, which breaks Google’s guidelines and can get your profile suspended)
- Phone number and website link
- Accurate opening hours, including holiday hours
- Services listed one by one, with short descriptions
- Products, if you sell them
- A clear business description that says what you do and where
- Service areas, if you travel to customers
- Attributes like wheelchair access or online appointments, where they apply
Step 4: Get a steady stream of genuine reviews
Reviews are one of the biggest factors in the map pack, and one of the biggest factors in whether someone calls you once they see you.
What matters:
- Steady flow. Ten reviews spread over a year look more natural than ten in one week, then nothing.
- Real customers only. Never buy reviews or write them yourself. It breaks Google’s rules and Australian consumer law, and it can get your profile suspended.
- Detail. Reviews that mention the service and suburb (for example “great hot water system replacement in Dapto”) help relevance naturally. Don’t script them, but you can ask customers to mention what you did.
- Replies. Reply to every review, good and bad, politely and professionally.
The easiest way to get more reviews is to ask at the right moment: straight after a job is finished and the customer is happy. A short text with a direct review link works well. Review request automation can send these for you automatically.
Step 5: Add real photos regularly
Upload real photos of your work, your team, your vehicles and your premises. Profiles with good, recent photos tend to get more engagement, and customers want to see who they’re dealing with. Add new photos every month or two, rather than all at once.
Step 6: Post updates
Google Business Profile lets you post updates, offers and events. Posts won’t move rankings much on their own, but they show customers you’re active, and they’re a good place to share recent jobs, seasonal offers and news.
Step 7: Keep your business details consistent everywhere
Your business name, address and phone number (often called NAP) should be written exactly the same on your website, your Google Business Profile, Facebook, and directories like Yellow Pages, True Local, Hotfrog and industry associations.
Inconsistent details, like an old address on a directory or a different phone number on Facebook, can confuse Google about which details are correct. If you’ve moved, update every listing you can find.
Step 8: Make your website back up your profile
Your website is part of your local SEO. Google looks at it to understand what you do and where. Make sure:
- Each main service has its own page
- Your suburb or region appears naturally in page titles and headings
- Your name, address and phone are on every page (usually in the footer) and match your profile
- You have area pages for the main places you serve, with genuinely useful local content, not copy-and-paste pages with the suburb name swapped
- Your website has LocalBusiness schema markup, which helps Google read your details
- The site loads fast on mobile
Our on-page SEO checklist for Wollongong service businesses walks through each of these.
Step 9: Earn local links and mentions
Links and mentions from other local websites tell Google your business is known in the area. Good local sources include:
- Sponsorships of local sports clubs and community events
- Local business chambers and industry associations
- Suppliers and partner businesses you genuinely work with
- Local news, if you have a story worth telling
Avoid paid link packages. They’re against Google’s guidelines and often do more harm than good.
Common map pack mistakes we see in the Illawarra
- Keyword-stuffed business names like “Best Plumber Wollongong Cheap 24/7”
- A wrong or overly broad primary category
- Duplicate profiles for the same business
- A profile linked to a website that doesn’t mention the service or the area
- No reviews in the last six months
- Opening hours that are wrong, so customers call when you’re closed
How long does it take?
Profile fixes can show results within weeks. For most local businesses, steady progress in the map pack comes within six to twelve weeks of consistent work, with stronger results over three to six months. We explain what affects the timeline in how long SEO takes in Wollongong.
Want help getting into the map pack?
Google Business Profile optimisation and Google Maps rankings are a core part of our local SEO services in Wollongong. We look after businesses across Wollongong, Shellharbour, Kiama and the wider Illawarra. Book a free SEO audit and we’ll show you exactly what’s holding your profile back.
Get a free SEO audit and a clear plan from our Wollongong team.