How to Dominate the Google Map Pack for Septic Services
The Map Pack drives 44% of clicks for local searches. Here's exactly how to optimize your Google Business Profile to rank in the top 3.
When someone searches "septic pumping near me," Google shows three business listings with a map before any other results. This is the Google Map Pack, and it captures 44% of all clicks on the first page.
If you're not in the Map Pack, you're invisible to nearly half of potential customers—regardless of how great your website is or how long you've been in business.
This guide explains exactly how to optimize your Google Business Profile to rank in the top 3 and dominate your local market.
Key Takeaways
- 44% of clicks go to Map Pack results—missing it means losing nearly half your potential leads
- Three ranking factors determine position: relevance, distance, and prominence
- Reviews are critical—quantity, quality, recency, and keywords all matter
- Complete profiles win—fill out every field, add services, upload photos weekly
- Consistency is key—your NAP must match exactly across all citations and your website
Why the Map Pack Matters for Septic Companies
The Map Pack is prime real estate for local service businesses because:
High visibility: It appears before organic results, often pushing everything else below the fold on mobile.
High intent: People searching local service terms are looking to hire, not just browse.
Trust signals visible: Star ratings, review counts, and years in business are displayed directly, helping customers choose quickly.
Easy contact: Customers can call directly from the listing without visiting your website.
For septic companies, appearing in the Map Pack for terms like "septic pumping [city]" or "septic service near me" can generate consistent, high-quality leads. This is why local SEO services are essential for septic businesses looking to grow.
How Google Ranks Map Pack Results
Google considers three primary factors when deciding which businesses appear in the Map Pack:
1. Relevance
How well does your business match what the searcher is looking for? This is influenced by:
- Your primary and secondary business categories
- The services listed on your profile
- Keywords in your business description
- Keywords in your reviews
2. Distance
How close is your business to the searcher's location? This is straightforward—closer businesses tend to rank higher for nearby searchers.
For service-area businesses (which most septic companies are), Google considers the areas you've listed as your service area.
3. Prominence
How well-known and trusted is your business? Factors include:
- Number and quality of reviews
- Your review velocity (new reviews coming in)
- Citations (mentions of your business across the web)
- Website authority and optimization
- Engagement with your profile (clicks, calls, direction requests)
Understanding these factors is crucial for any local SEO strategy for septic companies.
Want to Dominate Your Local Map Pack?
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Step-by-Step: Optimizing Your Google Business Profile
Step 1: Claim and Verify Your Listing
If you haven't already, go to business.google.com and claim your business. Google will verify you through a postcard, phone call, or email depending on your situation.
If your business shows up on Google Maps but you haven't claimed it, do this immediately. An unclaimed listing can't be optimized and is vulnerable to being claimed by competitors or spammers.
Step 2: Complete Every Field
Google rewards complete profiles. Fill out every available section:
Business name: Use your exact legal business name. Don't add keywords like "Best Septic Service" to your name—this violates Google's guidelines and can get your listing suspended.
Primary category: This is the most important category setting. For most septic companies, choose "Septic system service" as your primary category.
Additional categories: Add all relevant secondary categories:
- Septic tank cleaning service
- Portable toilet supplier (if applicable)
- Plumber (if licensed)
Address or service area: If customers come to you (rare for septic), list your address. If you go to customers (typical for septic), hide your address and list your service area by city/zip code.
Phone number: Use a local phone number, not a toll-free number. Local numbers perform better for local searches.
Website: Link to your homepage or a dedicated landing page. If your website needs improvement, consider our septic web design services.
Business hours: List accurate hours. Update them for holidays. Google may suppress listings with suspected inaccurate hours.
Business description: You have 750 characters to describe your business. Include your primary services, service area, and what makes you different. Don't keyword stuff, but naturally incorporate terms customers might search.
Step 3: Add All Your Services
Use the Services section to list every service you offer. Be comprehensive:
- Septic tank pumping
- Residential septic pumping
- Commercial septic pumping
- Septic system installation
- Septic tank replacement
- Septic system repair
- Drain field repair
- Septic inspections
- Real estate septic inspections
- Grease trap pumping
- Emergency septic service
- Septic maintenance
Add a brief description to each service. These descriptions can include relevant keywords naturally.
Step 4: Upload High-Quality Photos
Businesses with photos get more engagement. Google explicitly states that photos improve your visibility.
Photos to upload:
- Logo: Your company logo, clearly visible
- Cover photo: Your best truck or team photo
- Trucks and equipment: Shows you're established and equipped
- Team photos: Puts faces to the business, builds trust
- Job photos: Before/after shots (with customer permission)
- Office/shop exterior: If you have a physical location
Upload at least 10 photos initially, then add new photos regularly—at least once per week. Fresh photos signal an active, thriving business.
Step 5: Build a Review Strategy
Reviews are the most impactful factor you can directly influence. They affect both your ranking and your click-through rate. Learn more in our guide to online reviews for septic companies.
Quantity matters: More reviews generally correlate with higher rankings.
Quality matters: Higher average ratings win more clicks.
Recency matters: Recent reviews signal an active business.
Keywords in reviews matter: When customers mention specific services or locations in reviews, it reinforces your relevance for those terms.
How to Get More Reviews
- Ask every satisfied customer. Make it part of your service completion process.
- Make it easy. Send a direct link to your Google review page via text message.
- Time it right. Ask immediately after service when satisfaction is highest.
- Follow up. Send a reminder 3-5 days later if they haven't reviewed.
Getting the Direct Review Link
From your Google Business Profile dashboard, go to "Ask for reviews" to get a short link you can share with customers.
Responding to Reviews
Respond to every review:
Positive reviews: Thank them personally. Mention their name and the service if possible. Keep it genuine, not templated.
Negative reviews: Respond professionally and promptly. Acknowledge their concern, apologize if appropriate, and offer to make it right offline. Never argue publicly.
Your responses show potential customers how you handle both praise and problems.
Step 6: Post Regular Updates
Google Business Profile has a Posts feature. Use it to share:
- Seasonal tips (winterizing septic systems, spring maintenance)
- Special offers or promotions
- Company news and updates
- Links to blog content
- Before/after project highlights
Posts expire after 7 days, so aim to post at least weekly. Fresh posts signal an active business and give Google more content to understand your services. For seasonal content ideas, check out our seasonal marketing guide for septic businesses.
Step 7: Answer Questions
The Q&A section on your profile allows anyone to ask questions—and anyone to answer them. Monitor this section and answer questions quickly and thoroughly.
Pro tip: Seed your own Q&A with common questions customers ask, then provide helpful answers. This adds useful content to your profile.
Need Help With Your Google Business Profile?
We'll audit your current profile and show you exactly what's holding you back from Map Pack rankings.
Advanced Map Pack Strategies
Citation Building
Citations are mentions of your business name, address, and phone number on other websites. They reinforce your legitimacy to Google.
Priority citations for septic companies:
- Yelp
- Bing Places
- Apple Maps
- Facebook Business
- Better Business Bureau
- Angi
- HomeAdvisor
- Thumbtack
- Yellow Pages
- State/local septic associations
Ensure your NAP (Name, Address, Phone) is identical across all citations. Inconsistencies confuse Google and hurt rankings.
Website Optimization
Your website supports your GBP ranking. Ensure your site includes:
- Your exact business name, address, and phone
- Location-specific content for your service areas
- Schema markup (LocalBusiness schema)
- Embedded Google Map
- Links to and from your GBP
A well-designed septic website that converts is essential for supporting your Map Pack rankings.
Engagement Signals
Google tracks how users interact with your listing:
- Clicks to call
- Clicks for directions
- Website clicks
- Photo views
High engagement signals that your listing is relevant and useful, which can improve rankings.
Common Map Pack Mistakes
Keyword stuffing your business name: Adding "Best," "Cheap," or location keywords to your business name violates Google's guidelines. Violators risk suspension.
Using a virtual office or PO Box: Google requires a real business address if you list one. Service-area businesses should hide their address entirely.
Neglecting negative reviews: Unanswered negative reviews look worse than the complaints themselves. Always respond professionally.
Inconsistent information: Your NAP must match exactly across your website, GBP, and all citations.
Letting your profile go stale: No new photos, posts, or reviews signals an inactive business.
Tracking Your Map Pack Performance
Monitor your progress through:
GBP Insights: Shows how customers find you, what actions they take, and where they come from.
Ranking trackers: Tools like BrightLocal or Whitespark can track your position for specific keywords across different locations.
Call tracking: Track how many calls come from your GBP listing specifically.
For a comprehensive approach to tracking all your marketing efforts, read our guide on measuring septic marketing ROI.
The Long-Term View
Map Pack rankings don't change overnight. It takes consistent effort over weeks and months to climb the rankings in competitive markets.
Focus on:
- Generating steady new reviews
- Adding fresh photos weekly
- Posting updates regularly
- Maintaining accurate information
- Building quality citations
The businesses that consistently execute these fundamentals will outrank competitors who treat their GBP as a set-and-forget listing.
Start with a complete profile audit. Make sure every field is filled out, your categories are correct, and your information matches your website. Then build habits around reviews, photos, and posts. Over time, these small consistent actions compound into dominant Map Pack rankings. Learn more in our comprehensive guide to local SEO.
If you're wondering whether to hire a septic marketing agency or handle it yourself, Map Pack optimization is one area where professional help can accelerate results. You can also combine Map Pack optimization with Google Ads and Local Services Ads for maximum visibility.
Ready to Dominate Your Local Search Results?
Get a free Map Pack audit and see exactly where you stand against your competitors. We'll show you the fastest path to the top 3.
Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Google Map Pack?
The Google Map Pack (also called the Local Pack or 3-Pack) is the section of Google search results that shows three local business listings with a map. It appears at the top of search results for local queries like "septic pumping near me" and captures approximately 44% of all clicks on the first page of results. For local service businesses like septic companies, appearing in the Map Pack is one of the most effective ways to generate leads.
How do I get my septic company in the Map Pack?
To get your septic company in the Map Pack, you need to: 1) Claim and verify your Google Business Profile at business.google.com, 2) Complete every field in your profile including business name, categories, services, and description, 3) Build a consistent stream of positive reviews from satisfied customers, 4) Upload high-quality photos regularly (at least weekly), 5) Post updates to your profile weekly, 6) Build citations on other directories like Yelp and Bing, and 7) Ensure your website supports your GBP with matching NAP information and local content.
How many reviews do I need to rank in the Map Pack?
There's no magic number of reviews required to rank in the Map Pack, as it varies by market competition. However, you should aim to have more reviews than your top competitors with a rating of 4.5 stars or higher. Focus on generating consistent new reviews rather than hitting a specific number—review velocity (the rate of new reviews coming in) matters as much as total count. In most markets, septic companies with 50+ reviews and consistent monthly growth will be competitive.
How long does it take to rank in the Google Map Pack?
Ranking in the Google Map Pack typically takes 3-6 months of consistent optimization, though this varies based on your market's competitiveness. New businesses may take longer to build authority, while established businesses with existing reviews may see faster results. The key is consistent effort: regular review generation, weekly photo uploads, frequent posts, and ongoing citation building. Markets with fewer competitors may see faster results.
Does my website affect Map Pack rankings?
Yes, your website affects Map Pack rankings as part of Google's "prominence" factor. Your website should include your exact business name, address, and phone number matching your GBP, location-specific content for your service areas, LocalBusiness schema markup, an embedded Google Map, and links to your Google Business Profile. A well-optimized website reinforces your relevance and authority to Google, supporting your Map Pack rankings.
Ready to grow your septic business?
Get a free marketing strategy session with our septic industry experts. We'll analyze your market and show you exactly how to get more leads.
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