Everyone knows reviews matter—but they’re only part of the story. Google’s Map Pack ranking algorithm weighs multiple signals, and most restoration owners only focus on one or two.
Key factors Google uses to decide who shows up first:
- Review velocity (how many new reviews you’re getting right now, not total count)
- Profile completeness and freshness (photos, posts, services, Q&A)
- Response rate to messages and reviews (Google literally tracks how fast you reply)
- Relevance (do your services and posts match what people search for?)
- Distance + prominence (your actual proximity + how “important” Google thinks you are)
When you’re consistently active across all these signals, Google rewards you with top placement. When you’re inconsistent, you slide—even with 100 five-star reviews from 2022.
An agency’s job is to manage all these signals at once, every week, so your profile stays “hot” in Google’s eyes. DIY usually means one or two signals get attention while the others rot. That’s why most restoration companies hover in the middle or bottom of the pack. The ones that stay at the top treat the profile like a daily task list—and they usually have help doing it.