Your Map Pack Ranking Dropped: What to Check, in Order

A drop in map pack ranking has several possible causes, and Google doesn't publish weights, so nobody can tell you for certain which one hit you. What you can do is check the causes Google documents first, then the ones you can measure. This checklist puts them in order. It expands the short version in the Google Business Profile playbook and uses the record from the NAP audit.

1. Confirm the Profile Is Showing at All

Search your exact business name. If your profile isn't there, or you see a notice about it, that's a different problem from a ranking drop. Google says it may suspend or disable Business Profiles that don't follow its guidelines, and that when a profile is removed the public can't go to it. You can use Google's appeals tool, which sends a decision by email, and if you open the evidence form you must submit it within 60 minutes or it won't be attached (Fix suspended or disabled profiles). Google doesn't say on that page how long a decision takes.

2. Check What Changed on Your Profile

Compare every field with your source-of-truth record: name, categories, address or service area, phone, website, and hours. Three points from Google's pages matter here:

• Edits to a verified profile usually take up to 10 minutes to review but sometimes up to 30 days, so a change you made weeks ago may only just have taken effect (Understand what happens to your edits).
• Google might not approve changes it can't confirm are accurate.
• If Google receives reports that your business info isn't accurate, it might update your profile itself. A change may not be one you made.

Hours are worth a specific look. In the expert survey covered in what local SEO experts rank as top map pack factors, "business is open at the time of search" ranked 5th.

3. Look for Duplicates

A second profile for the same business can split your details. The NAP audit explains how Google describes duplicates and how to request a merge. Merging combines the reviews but replies may be lost.

4. Check Your Reviews

Your review count can fall if reviews were removed. Google removes flagged reviews that violate its content policies, so a drop in count doesn't always mean you did something wrong. Look at the count, the average rating, and how many arrived recently. In the same expert survey, recency of reviews ranked 11th and a sustained flow of reviews ranked 14th. Compare your numbers with the profiles above yours, using the method in how many reviews a contractor needs.

5. Check Where You're Searching From

Distance is one of Google's three local ranking factors, so results depend on where the searcher is. A search from your office may not match what a customer sees across town. Check from more than one location, including places where customers actually are, before you decide how far you've dropped.

6. Check the Competition

Google says its factors together help it find the best match, so a profile can slip without any change on your side if a competitor's profile improves. Look at whether a competitor added a lot of recent reviews, refreshed information, or opened nearby.

7. Check Your Website

Your site feeds the same picture. Check that its name, address, and phone still match your profile, since the survey ranks your website's NAP matching your profile's NAP 15th. Check that nothing has broken on mobile, using the mobile page speed checklist.

How to Work Through It

• Change one thing at a time and write down the date.
• Keep a log of what you found at each step, including things that were fine.
• Don't make several edits at once to fix a drop. Google says edits can take up to 30 days to show, so you may not be able to tell which one worked.

What We Don't Know

We can't say why any particular ranking moved. Google doesn't publish weights, and the expert survey ranks factors by importance, not by effect on any one profile. This list is a way to rule things out in a sensible order, not a diagnosis.

Related Guides

• The Complete Google Business Profile Playbook for Contractors
• How to Audit Your Name, Address, and Phone Number in an Afternoon
• The Google Business Profile Checklist Every Contractor Should Run
• What Local SEO Experts Rank as the Top Map Pack Factors, and What Google Says
• How Many Reviews a Contractor Actually Needs
• Google Business Profile Categories for Contractors: Choosing the Primary and the Rest