Why a worse HVAC company outranks you on Google Maps
You know the company. They've been around half as long as you. You've been called out to fix their installs. And when someone searches "furnace repair", they're sitting above you on Google Maps.
Google can't see any of that. It has never watched you size a system or seen the callback you didn't need. It only sees your listing and what's around it, so the company above you doesn't have to be better. It only has to look better from where Google sits.
So you get the usual advice: claim your profile, get more reviews, add photos. You may have done all three already. Here's why that isn't always enough.
Review counts don't explain it
We searched "furnace repair in Columbus, OH" on Google Maps in early November 2026. Here's how the first eight results looked, with names removed and review counts rounded:
| Position | Reviews | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2,700 | 4.9 |
| 2 | 590 | 4.8 |
| 3 | 1,400 | 4.9 |
| 4 | 7,400 | 4.8 |
| 5 | 1,100 | 4.9 |
| 6 | 620 | 4.7 |
| 7 | 360 | 5.0 |
| 8 | 8,400 | 4.7 |
The company with the most reviews came eighth. One with about 14 times fewer came second. The only perfect rating came seventh.
This is one search, in one city, on one day, and we ran it from outside Ohio. Someone standing in Columbus would probably see a different order. It can't tell you why any of these companies landed where they did, and neither can anyone else outside Google. But it does show that no single number decides this.
How Google says it decides
Google names three main factors:
- Relevance: how well your profile matches what someone searched for.
- Distance: how far you are from the person searching.
- Prominence: how well known you are, which Google says depends partly on your reviews and on how many websites link to you.
It's also blunt about money: "There's no way to request or pay for a better local ranking on Google." Ads can buy a spot on the page, but that's an ad, not a ranking.
Google doesn't publish more than that. The most useful outside view is Whitespark's 2026 Local Search Ranking Factors survey, which asks local search specialists what they think matters. For Maps, here's how they rated a few factors:
| Factor | Experts' rank for Maps |
|---|---|
| Primary category on your profile | 1 |
| Distance from the person searching | 2 |
| Keywords in the business name | 3 |
| Number of Google reviews | 9 |
| How recent your reviews are | 11 |
| A dedicated website page for each service | 24 |
That's informed opinion, not Google's formula. Still, look at where review count sits compared with category and name, which rarely come up in the usual advice.
The part you can't fix
Distance is close to the top of that list, and you can't do much about it. If the other company's shop is closer to the homeowner than yours, that's a real advantage for them on that search. It's also why you can rank well in one neighborhood and disappear a few miles away.
Don't try to fake your way around it. Google says a rented address you don't operate from isn't eligible for a profile, so a virtual office across town can put your listing at risk.
It also means the search you run at the shop tells you very little. You're seeing what someone standing next to your shop sees.
A better test: for one week, have each tech search "furnace repair" on their phone from every job site, with location turned on, and text you a screenshot. Phones aren't perfectly neutral, so treat it as a rough picture. But it costs nothing, and a week of screenshots shows you where you appear and where you don't.
Where they may be beating you
1. Primary category
This is the first category on the profile, and experts rate it above everything else. All eight companies in our Columbus search showed "HVAC contractor". Look at what yours says. If it describes one narrow part of your work and not the jobs you most want, fix that first. It takes a minute.
2. The business name
"Smith Comfort" and "Smith Comfort Furnace Repair Columbus" are not on equal footing, and experts rate keywords in the name third. If that really is the company's name, on its vans and website, it's a genuine advantage. If it isn't, it's against Google's rules, which say the name should match the real-world one and that extra information can lead to suspension. Don't copy it. We'll come to what you can do about it.
3. Reviews, and how recent they are
The total matters, but it isn't the only thing a homeowner sees. A company with 80 reviews, several from this month, looks more alive than one with 300 and nothing since spring. Sort your reviews by newest and be honest about what that says.
The fix is a habit, not a campaign: ask at the end of every job, with a link or QR code ready, and reply to what comes in. Don't offer a discount for it. Google treats incentives as fake content and prohibits them.
4. Links from other websites
Google specifically mentions links as part of prominence, and they're easy to overlook. Start with what you've already earned: manufacturer dealer pages, trade associations, your local chamber, and teams or events you sponsor.
5. Your website
Your website is the part we'd love to tell you is the whole answer, and it isn't. Experts rate dedicated service pages 24th for Maps. They rate them first for the regular search results underneath the map, so they still bring in customers, just mostly through a different door.
Of the eight Columbus listings, five linked to a homepage, one to a contact page, and two to a page about Columbus. Those two came second and fifth. That isn't proof of anything, but it's a cheap thing to get right.
The bigger reason to care comes after the click. Ranking gets you the visit. If the homeowner with no heat can't tap to call or can't tell whether you serve their street, the visit goes to the next listing.
When they're breaking the rules
Sometimes the worse company is above you because its listing isn't honest. Common signs:
- A name stuffed with services or city names that doesn't appear on its website or vans
- An address that turns out to be a mailbox store or an empty suite
- Several listings that share a phone number or website under slightly different names
Check before you report. Look at their website and your state's business registry, because some of those long names are real. Take screenshots. Then use Google's reporting tools:
- Wrong name or details: open the listing in Google Maps and select Suggest an edit.
- Misleading listing: select Suggest an edit, then Place is closed or not here, then Offensive, harmful, or misleading. Menu wording can vary by device.
- Possible fraud in a name, phone number or website: use Google's Business Redressal Complaint form.
Keep your expectations low. Google says the form doesn't guarantee action, and you won't get status updates. It's worth doing where the case is clear, but don't build your plan around it.
The 10-minute scorecard
Pick the company directly above you and open both listings in Google Maps. Score whoever's better on each line:
| Check | You | Them |
|---|---|---|
| Primary category matches the jobs you most want | ||
| Name on the listing matches the vans and website | ||
| Total Google reviews | ||
| Reviews in the last 30 days | ||
| Owner replies to recent reviews | ||
| Hours are accurate, and someone really answers then | ||
| Listing links to a relevant page, not just the homepage | ||
| Website has its own page for your main service and city |
Hours are on the list for a reason. Seven of the eight Columbus listings showed "Open 24 hours" when we looked. If you do take no-heat calls at night, make sure your listing says so. If it says so and nobody picks up, you've earned that call and handed it to the next company.
Then look at where you lost. A pattern will tell you more than any ranking report.
What to fix first
- Today: primary category, hours, phone number and a real business name. These are free and take minutes.
- This week: add the review request to how every job ends, and reply to your recent reviews.
- This month: make sure your site has a page for your main service and the areas you most want, and that your profile links somewhere useful. Pick up the links you've already earned.
- Where it's clear-cut: report listings that are breaking the rules.
Then give it a couple of months and repeat the technician screenshots. That's your real measure, more than where you appear from the shop.
What nobody can promise you
Nobody can promise you the top three, and we won't either. Google controls the ranking, and distance alone means some searches in your service area may never go your way. Be wary of anyone who guarantees otherwise.
What you can do is stop losing the searches you should be winning, and make sure that when a homeowner with a dead furnace finds you, your listing gives them a reason to call.
If your scorecard points to your profile and you'd like a second opinion, we'll check your Google Business Profile for free. If it points to your website, that's what we do too.