The shortcut we won't take
11 of the 80 listings had a service and an area added to the business name, and 6 of them were ranked first. The names looked like this:
- [Clinic name] | Best physiotherapy in [area] | [Doctor]
- [Centre name] - Best IVF Center in [area], Delhi
- [Firm name] | CA In Delhi
- CA in [area] Delhi
Google's guidelines say a Business Profile name should be the business's real-world name, and that adding unnecessary information can get the profile suspended (Google Business Profile Help). Anyone can suggest an edit to a name on Maps, including a competitor. We use your real name and win the place with reviews, photos and a complete profile.
How we collected this
Searches on google.co.in in English, from a browser Google placed in West Delhi, across trades that commonly hire SEO help: dentists, physiotherapists, skin clinics, a pathology lab, an IVF centre, CAs, lawyers, interior designers, movers, AC repair, gyms, salons, an IAS coaching centre and property dealers. We took the rating, review count and website button of the top three listings for each search.
We counted a name as keyword-stuffed only when a service and a place were joined onto the brand (with |, -, / or brackets) or the whole name was the search phrase. Chain branches and names that could be the registered name were left out, so the real figure may be higher. We don't publish the businesses.