Google Business Profile signals: the part of SEO that is not on your website.
For a search like "RV park Prescott," the three parks on the map are chosen mostly by their Business Profiles, not their websites. A site audit never touches the profile. For a park, it is often the single biggest lever there is.
IN ONE PARAGRAPH
The Business Profile is Google's listing for your park: the pin on the map and the panel beside the results. Google ranks the map pack largely on profile signals: whether the profile is complete, whether the category is right, how many photos it has, whether it is updated, and above all the reviews, their count, how recent they are, and whether you answer them. None of that is on your website, so no crawl can check it. It takes a person looking at the profile against a checklist, every month. We do that on every site we maintain.
The signals, in order of weight
- Reviews. Count, average, how recent, and whether the owner replies. The largest factor by a distance.
- Category. "RV park" or "Campground" as the primary category. The wrong one keeps a park out of its own town's results.
- Completeness. Hours by season, phone, website, address, attributes, description, all filled in. Google ranks complete profiles higher.
- Photos. Count, quality, and recency. Profiles with recent photos get more direction requests and clicks.
- Activity. Posts, answered questions, updated hours. A profile touched monthly outperforms one set up once.
- Consistency with the website and directories. Same name, address, phone everywhere. Covered on its own page.
What it looks like for a park
The profile was claimed by a former manager in 2017 and verified to an email nobody has. The category is "Tourist attraction." The hours say open in January. There are four photos, one of them a map screenshot. Forty reviews, the newest from two summers ago, none answered. A competitor across town with fewer sites has two hundred reviews from this season, each with a reply, and holds the top map spot for every search.
What it costs a park
The map pack gets most of the clicks for a local search, and the profile decides who is in it. A park with a better website and a neglected profile loses to a park with a worse website and a tended profile. The fix is not code. It is someone owning the profile and doing the same short list of things each month.
How to check your own
- Search your park's name and look at the panel. Is the category right, are the hours right for this season, is the phone yours?
- Count the photos and check the date on the newest one.
- Count the reviews from the last ninety days and see whether any have replies.
- Search "[your town] RV park" and see whether you are in the three on the map. If not, compare your profile to the three that are.
What we do about it
Our Listings + Reviews and Marketing bands include the profile: category and completeness fixed, hours updated by season, photos added, questions answered, posts made, and every review answered within the week in your voice. We report the profile's own numbers monthly: searches you appeared in, direction requests, calls, and website clicks. The profile, field by field. How to get and answer reviews.
Questions about this.
What matters most on a Google Business Profile for an RV park?
Reviews: how many, how recent, and whether the owner replies. Then the primary category, completeness of every field, photos, and regular activity.
Can an SEO audit tool check my Business Profile?
No. A crawl reads your website; the profile is a separate Google listing. It has to be reviewed by a person against a checklist, and kept up monthly.
Why is a competitor with a worse website ranking above me on the map?
Almost always the profile: more and newer reviews, the right category, more photos, and recent activity. The map pack is decided mostly by profile signals, not the website.
How often should a park update its Business Profile?
Monthly at minimum: check hours, add a photo, answer questions, reply to reviews, and post an update. Seasonal hours and closures need updating on the day they change.
Want this checked on your park site?
Send us the address. We run the full check and tell you what we found, in plain words. SEO for parks starts at $250 a month.
Part of the RV park SEO guide, section: What a script cannot see. Previous: Mobile rendering: Google reads the phone version, and so do your guests. Next: Name, address, and phone: why every listing has to say the same thing.