How to Rank in Surrounding Cities

here's a useful checklist

June 05, 2026

If you're located just outside a city border on Google Maps, you may not even appear in local results for searchers inside that city.

The obvious solution for this local SEO problem is to move your business or open a second location inside the city border. But this is not realistic for most small businesses. So, here are some alternatives:

1. Specialize in something that’s uncommon in the nearby city

Provide a service that most of your competitors aren’t providing. For example, if you’re a pool contractor, specialize in natural swimming pools. This will force Google to expand your ranking radius to match searchers’ queries for your specific service.

Other ways to stand out from the crowd are:

  • extending your business hours to rank at the top when your competitors are closed

  • including amenities that your competitors don’t have (like dog-friendly seating)

2. Focus on other powerful ranking factors

You may not have control over your proximity to searchers, but you can aim to get more and better reviews than your competition, optimize your GBP better, and write more valuable content for your website.

3. Invest in your AI local SEO

While Google’s local pack and Maps are limited by proximity, large language models aren’t. See what businesses LLMs return for your target search terms and what sources they cite. Get your business mentioned in these sources and work on your brand’s online popularity. Get your brand name mentioned on:

  • local and industry blogs

  • YouTube

  • Podcasts

  • Best-of lists

  • Citation sites

  • Press releases

  • etc.

Miriam Ellis just published a brilliant guide to combating the proximity problem in local SEO. She covers 4 common location challenges and multiple solutions for each one.

You can also download a copy of our Second Location Eligibility Checklist if you decide to move or expand your business.

Read it here 👇️

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Darren