Local SEO for contractors: what the Google Maps top 3 have in common
Short answer: in 50 Google Maps searches for general contractor and remodeling contractor businesses in 25 large US cities (October 29, 2026), the top 3 had a median of 67 reviews and 152 photos, against 50 reviews and 112 photos for positions 4 to 10. The most-reviewed business was #1 in 8% of these 50 searches, and 66% of the top 3 had fewer than 100 reviews.
These numbers come from our study of 500 Google Maps searches. They describe what top-3 businesses have, not why they rank. Distance from the searcher was not measured.
The numbers for contractors
| Top 3 | Positions 4 to 10 | Positions 11 to 20 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Businesses | 150 | 350 | 500 |
| Median reviews | 67 | 50 | 43 |
| Median rating | 5.0 | 5.0 | 4.9 |
| Median photos | 152 | 112 | 95 |
| Median additional categories | 3 | 3 | 3 |
The review bar: the median #1 result had 85 reviews; the median #4 result had 48.
#1 against positions 4 to 10 for contractors
In 25 general contractor searches (October 29, 2026), the #1 business had a median of 50 reviews against 41 for positions 4 to 10, and 88 photos against 62. Of the two, photos differed most. For remodeling contractor searches (25), the medians were 104 reviews against 59, and 242 photos against 156. This shows what #1 had, not why it ranked first. Across all 20 trades in our Map Pack study, among the top 10, recent reviews are what differs most (499 searches, recent reviews measured in a 100-search sample).
A worked example: one general contractor search
One real search from the study: "general contractor [city]" in a large metro in the Midwest, October 29, 2026. Names are removed and counts are rounded.
| Position | Rating | Reviews | Photos | Primary category | City in homepage title |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | 4.9 | 50 | 600 | General contractor | No |
| #2 | 5.0 | 30 | 30 | Same as #1 | No |
| #3 | 4.8 | 75 | 220 | Same as #1 | Yes |
| #7 | 4.5 | 25 | 190 | Same as #1 | Yes |
| Median of #4 to #10 | 4.7 | 50 | 95 |
If you were the business at #7: you would be about 25 reviews behind #1 and about 410 photos behind, with the same primary category. In this search, 5 of the 9 businesses at #2 to #10 had more reviews than #1. A gap that size can close with a steady habit of asking every customer for a review. A free audit shows these numbers for your own search.
The category the top 3 use
66% of top-3 contractors use "General contractor" as their primary Google category. Others seen in the top 3: "Construction company", "Remodeler", "Contractor". If your primary category is something else, that is the first thing to check. Our free gap audit compares your categories with the 3 businesses above you.
Website basics in this trade
| Homepage signal | Top 3 (n = 131) | 4 to 10 (n = 312) |
|---|---|---|
| City in the title tag | 63% | 68% |
| Service in the title tag | 69% | 65% |
| LocalBusiness schema | 46% | 55% |
| Click-to-call link | 69% | 73% |
| 1 or more location pages | 53% | 54% |
Where contractors should be listed
Start with the core listings every US business needs (Yelp, BBB, Facebook, Nextdoor, Foursquare, Yellow Pages, LinkedIn), then the home-services directories: Angi, HomeAdvisor, Thumbtack first, then Houzz, Porch, BuildZoom, Networx, Bark, Expertise, eLocal. The full list and order is in our local citations guide, and the citation checker shows which of these the businesses above you have.
What to work on first
- Match the primary category most of the top 3 use, if it fits your business.
- Close the review gap with your own top 3, not the national median. In this trade the median #1 had 85 reviews, but 66% of the top 3 had fewer than 100.
- Add photos regularly. The top 3 had a median of 152.
- Check your rank across your whole area. One search point hides most of the map; the Google Maps rank checker shows it point by point.
How we measured
One Google Maps search per city ("general contractor