For a decade, the fastest way to win the Calgary map pack was to be physically close to the searcher. That is still the single largest factor, but across our tracked set the correlation weakened measurably this summer: profiles with a steady drip of new reviews held rankings 3-7 km further out than they did in the spring.
The practical read: a plumbing company with 4 new reviews a week now outranks a closer competitor sitting on 180 reviews collected two years ago. Recency is doing work that raw count used to do.
What we changed: every retainer client now gets an automated review request fired at job close via their CRM, plus a scripted 15-second ask for the tech. Target is 4-8 new reviews per month, forever. Not a campaign - a standing operating procedure.
Second change: service-specific review text. A review that says 'furnace replacement, same day' is worth more for the query 'furnace replacement calgary' than five generic five-star ratings. We prompt for the job type in the request link.