How to Boost Your SEO Google Ranking: The 5 Places You Need to Show Up

If you’ve ever wondered why your competitors keep showing up everywhere on Google while your business barely makes the list, it’s not luck. It’s strategy.

There are five key places your business can show up on Google, and each one requires a different approach. When you understand how each one works, and optimize for all five, you’ll start to dominate your market and become the obvious choice for customers searching online.

Let’s break down exactly where your business needs to appear and how to boost your SEO Google Ranking in each spot.

1. Paid Search Ads – The Fastest Way to Get Seen

Let’s start with the obvious one: paid search ads.

These are the sponsored listings you see at the top of Google when you search for something like “plumber near me” or “best dentist in Tulsa.” If you’re just starting out or need quick visibility, this is where you can pay to play.

The key is not just running ads; it’s running smart ads. That means sending clicks to a specific landing page that matches the exact service people searched for.

For example, if someone searches for “drain cleaning Owasso,” don’t send them to your homepage. Send them to a page that literally says “Drain Cleaning in Owasso” and guides them to call or book.

This alignment between the search term, the ad, and the landing page tells Google (and your customers) that you’re exactly what they’re looking for. When you optimize this flow, you don’t just get more clicks, you get more conversions.

That’s how you start improving your SEO Google Ranking even from paid traffic.

2. Local Service Ads (LSAs) – The Secret Weapon for Local Businesses

If you’re a local service business, think plumber, electrician, or contractor, this is your goldmine.

Google’s Local Service Ads (LSAs) are those “Google Guaranteed” listings that show up above even the paid ads. You only pay when you actually get a lead, like when someone calls, books, or messages you directly through the ad.

It’s one of the best returns on ad spend you can get.

But here’s the catch: you still have to optimize your LSA to rank high.

That means:

• Making sure your Google Business Profile is complete and accurate.
  
  

• Responding to leads quickly (Google loves fast responses).
  
  

• Uploading real images.
  
  

• Choosing the right service areas and categories.
  
  

• Automating follow-ups so no lead slips through the cracks.
  
  

When done right, LSAs can bring in a steady stream of high-quality leads and boost your local visibility like nothing else.

3. Google Map Pack – The “Top 3” Every Local Business Wants

You know that box of map results that shows three businesses under the map when you search locally? That’s the Google Map Pack, and it’s prime real estate for local SEO.

Ranking here can literally transform your business.

To earn your spot, you need to optimize your Google Business Profile (GBP):

• Fill out every single field like address, phone, hours, services, and website.
  
  

• Keep your NAP (Name, Address, Phone number) consistent everywhere online.
  
  

• Collect steady, ongoing reviews, not 30 all at once, but a few every week.
  
  

• Upload new photos regularly.
  
  

• Use the “Posts” and “Q&A” sections to stay active and answer common customer questions.
  
  

Pro tip: Even if you don’t sell products, you can use the “Products” section to showcase your services and link them to specific landing pages on your site.

This not only helps people learn about your services, it also feeds Google more relevant information, which directly improves your SEO Google Ranking in the map pack.

One of Sean Garner Consulting’s clients, Half Moon Plumbing, used this exact strategy. In just a few months, they went from ranking eighth in Google Maps to averaging in the top three across a 20-mile area.

4. Organic Search Results (SERPs) – The Long Game for Authority

This is the classic SEO most people think about, ranking on the first page of Google’s regular search results.

To show up here, you need a solid holistic SEO strategy, not just keyword stuffing. Google rewards websites that are clear, fast, mobile-friendly, and filled with helpful, trustworthy content.

Here’s how to improve your ranking in the SERPs:

• Optimize your meta titles and descriptions with the right keywords.
  

• Write content that answers real customer questions in a conversational tone.
  

• Build internal links between your pages to establish topical authority.
  

• Earn backlinks from reputable sites (like your Chamber of Commerce or local directories).
  

• Make sure your site loads quickly and works perfectly on mobile.
  

When Google sees people clicking on your site, staying to read, and taking action, it interprets that as a positive ranking signal. That’s how you build long-term authority and keep climbing in the search results.

5. AI Overviews – The New Frontier of SEO Google Ranking

This one’s brand new and super exciting: AI overviews.

When you search for something like “Who’s the best plumber in Tulsa?”, Google now generates an AI-powered answer right at the top of the page.

This new feature pulls from trustworthy, optimized content, and if you do your SEO right, you can show up there too.

There’s no special trick for ranking in AI overviews. The secret is doing everything else better:

• Create genuinely helpful, well-structured content.
  

• Use natural, conversational language.
  

• Share authentic photos instead of stock images.
  

• Build trust and authority across your entire online presence.
  

Sean’s client, Half Moon Plumbing, showed up in an AI overview simply because their content was strong, their website was optimized, and they had proof of authority online.

AI is just showing what Google already believes is the most helpful and trustworthy content, so keep proving that your business deserves that spot.

So, Is SEO Dead? Not Even Close.

People are still searching for your services every day. The only thing that’s changed is where and how they search.

If you want to win, you have to show up in all five places:

1. Paid Search Ads
   

2. Local Service Ads
   

3. Google Map Pack
   

4. Organic Search Results
   

5. AI Overviews
   

Each one requires a different strategy, but together they make you unmissable online.

If this sounds like a lot to manage, that’s because it is, and that’s where we come in.

At Sean Garner Consulting, we help local service business owners grow their business, get more leads, and dominate their industry using smart, story-driven marketing that works.

Want to know exactly how to boost your SEO Google Ranking and show up everywhere your customers are looking?

👉 Schedule a call at seangarner.co