What actually moves the needle for Google Maps rankings in 2026?

I see a lot of businesses obsess over posting every day on their Google Business Profile, but in my experience, that is only one small piece of Local SEO.

The bigger factors usually come down to:

Proper GBP categories
Service and location relevance
Reviews and review consistency
Website optimization
Local landing pages
Citations and NAP consistency
Proximity
Local authority and backlinks
User engagement and conversions

What are you seeing make the biggest difference right now?

Especially interested in what is working in competitive markets like Houston, Sugar Land, Fort Bend County and other Texas cities.