On September 8, a column in Search Engine Land laid out research that had recovered the names of 72 ranking signals from an internal Google Maps system called Oyster Rank. For anyone who has wondered why one business sits in the map pack and another doesn't, it's the closest look anyone outside Google has had at how local ranking works.

It also set off a predictable wave of "72 Google Maps ranking factors" checklists. That's the wrong lesson, and the research itself says so. Once you look at what was actually found, the real takeaway is more useful: "just get more 5-star reviews" still isn't the strategy.

Here's what the leak shows, what it doesn't, and what's worth doing about it.

What was actually found

An outside research team recovered a Google binary that exposed part of Geostore, the database Google uses to represent real-world places. They cross-referenced it against Maps network traffic, Google's web index, mobile and on-device components, and material from Google's 2024 search documentation leak.

What came out of it:

  • 72 named ranking signals in Oyster Rank
  • 25 of them explicitly marked deprecated
  • 793 data source providers feeding information about places
  • 446 types of local search intent — distinct categories of what a searcher is looking for

The named signals include Google reviews, how often people search for a business by name, listing impressions and opens, direction requests, website clicks, chain membership, Wikipedia mentions, landmarks, and road usage.

What it doesn't tell you

This part matters more than the list.

The researchers recovered names, not weights. Nobody knows how much any signal counts, or whether a given signal is used in today's rankings at all. A name on the list proves Google measures something. It doesn't prove that thing moves your position.

A third of the list is marked retired. At least 25 of the 72 signals are deprecated, and the status of the rest is unknown.

Google hasn't confirmed any of it. This is reverse-engineering, not documentation.

So anyone selling a "72-factor optimization package" is guessing about the only part that matters: which signals count, and by how much.

It's an architecture, not a checklist

The more useful finding is about structure. Google has said publicly for years that local results come down to three things: relevance, distance, and prominence. The research fills in how those fit together.

Distance sets the radius. How close you are largely decides whether you're considered for a search at all. (The researchers' distance tests ran in Paris, so the exact radius in your town will differ.) Everything else ranks you inside that radius — and that happens in stages: working out what the searcher means, finding businesses that fit, then scoring the candidates. It isn't one formula with 72 dials.

That's why a checklist misleads. If Google doesn't understand what you do, you never become a candidate for the searches you want, and no number of five-star reviews fixes that. Google tracks hundreds of kinds of local intent because it's working hard to understand what kind of thing someone wants. Your job is to make it unmistakable that you're that thing.

What to actually do about it

None of these are new tricks. They're where the research points, and they hold up whether or not every detail of the leak is right.

1. Make your categories match what you really sell

Your Google Business Profile categories are how Google first decides what you are. Check that your primary category describes your core service the way customers search for it, and that your secondary categories cover the rest. A vague or neighboring category quietly keeps you out of searches you'd otherwise win. Our profile optimization checklist walks through every field.

2. Make your website back up your profile

Google cross-checks. If your profile says you offer a service in a town, your website should say so too — the same business name, address, and phone, and a plain statement of what you do and where. A site that's vague, slow, or missing gives Google less to confirm. And website clicks are on the signal list for a reason: a site worth clicking earns them.

3. Pay attention to what your reviews say, not just your stars

Reviews are on the list, but a star average is the least interesting thing about them. Reviews are also text, and that text describes your business in customers' own words.

Picture a party rental company with a perfect 5.0 rating whose reviews praise friendly staff and on-time delivery — and never once mention party rentals. The stars say trusted. The words never say trusted for what.

When you ask for reviews, ask customers to mention the specific service they used. You're not scripting them; you're reminding them what to describe.

4. Earn engagement signals — don't buy them

Listing opens, direction requests, and website clicks all appear as signals. They're the result of being the best answer, not a lever you can pull. Be wary of anyone selling fake clicks or direction requests. Manufactured engagement is exactly what Google's spam systems exist to catch, it puts your listing at risk, and with no known weights you'd be paying to game a signal nobody can show matters.

5. Give people a reason to search for you by name

One named signal is demand from outside Google's own surfaces: how often people go looking for a specific business. That's word of mouth showing up in data. Sponsoring a local team, turning up at community events, doing work people talk about — the reputation you build offline becomes a signal online.

What doesn't change

For all the noise, the leak confirms more than it overturns. A complete, accurate profile. Consistent business details everywhere you're listed. A steady stream of genuine reviews. A website that clearly says what you do. That was the right playbook before September 8, and it's still the right one — now with better evidence for why it works.

What shifts is the emphasis. The businesses that win aren't chasing a longer checklist. They're the ones that make it easy for Google to understand exactly what they are.

See how Google reads your business

Our free reputation audit checks the things this research points at. It reviews your Google Business Profile for completeness, looks at whether your reviews actually mention what you do, checks whether your homepage clearly says what you offer, and tests your site's mobile speed and security. It takes about a minute, and it shows you how you stack up against the competitors ranking above you.

Want to see where you stand? Get your free reputation score below.

Source: "Inside Google Maps: 72 ranking signals and the architecture behind local search," Search Engine Land, September 8, 2026.