22 September 2026 · 7 min read · Oscar Markham
How to rank in the Google map results in Ireland
For most local searches in Ireland the map results sit above everything else, and a large share of people never scroll past them. Getting into that box is worth more than any amount of ordinary SEO. Here is what decides it, in the order that matters.
Proximity, which you cannot change
The single biggest factor is how close your verified address is to the person searching. This is why no business dominates a whole city, and why results change as you walk down the street.
It also means a service-area business with no premises in a town is at a structural disadvantage for searches in that town. Anyone promising you the map pack in a city where you have no address is either mistaken or lying. The realistic goal is to own your own catchment, not the county.
Reviews, which decide everything else
Between two businesses at similar distance, reviews decide it — count, average and recency all matter, and recency more than people expect. A profile with thirty reviews and none in the last year looks worse than one with twelve where three arrived last month.
Ask every satisfied customer, send the short review link rather than telling people to search for you, and never offer anything in exchange. Incentivised reviews breach Google's terms and can get the whole profile stripped.
A profile that is actually filled in
Most profiles are left at whatever was entered on the day they were created. The ones that rank are complete:
- Correct primary category, which matters more than any other single field
- Every service listed individually rather than as a paragraph
- A description written around what people search for, not a mission statement
- Real photographs, added regularly rather than once
- Opening hours that are right, including bank holidays
- Posts, weekly if you can manage it — almost nobody does this and it is a live signal
Consistency across the web
Your name, address and phone number should appear identically everywhere they appear — directories, your own site, your social profiles. Variations confuse the matching, and an old address on a directory you forgot about can quietly hold you back for years.
This is dull and it is worth doing once, properly.
What does not work
Keyword-stuffing your business name. It is against the guidelines, competitors report it, and profiles get suspended.
A virtual office or mailbox address to fake a presence in a town. This is the fastest way to lose a verified profile entirely, and it can take the original listing with it.
Written by Oscar Markham, founder of Dublin Growth Digital. We run lead generation for Irish estate agents and trades, reported every Friday in enquiries and booked work.