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Let’s paint a picture. Someone is planning a fly fishing trip to your area. They pull out their phone, type ‘fly fishing guide near me,’ and a map pops up with three listings front and center. One of them is your competitor. Two of them are other competitors. You are nowhere to be found.
That’s not a hypothetical. That’s Tuesday.
Google Maps — and the ‘map pack’ that appears at the top of search results — is prime real estate for outdoor businesses. It’s where booking decisions get made before a potential client ever visits your website. And yet most outfitters, lodge owners, charter captains, and guest ranch operators have either never set up their Google Business Profile properly, or set it up years ago and completely forgot about it.
This guide is going to fix that. By the end, you’ll know exactly what to do to show up on Google Maps, how to optimize your listing so it outperforms your competition, and what to do consistently to stay there.
Let’s get into it.
First, Understand What You're Actually Dealing With
Google Maps results aren’t random. Google uses a specific set of signals to decide which businesses show up in the map pack for any given search. There are three main factors:
- How closely your business matches what someone searched for. Relevance
- How close your business is to the person searching (or the location they specified). Distance
- How well-known and trusted your business appears to Google — reviews, links, mentions, activity. Prominence
You can’t control distance — you are where you are. But relevance and prominence? Those are entirely in your hands. And that’s what your Google Business Profile (GBP) is all about.
Your Google Business Profile is not just a listing. It's your most powerful free marketing tool — and most operators treat it like an afterthought.
Step 1: Claim and Verify Your Google Business Profile
Before you can optimize anything, you need to make sure you actually own and have verified your listing. Here’s how:
If you haven’t set one up yet:
- Go to business.google.com and click ‘Manage now’
- Search for your business name — Google may have already auto-generated a basic listing
- If it exists, claim it. If not, create it from scratch.
- Select the most accurate business category (more on this in a moment)
- Add your address or service area, phone number, and website
- Complete verification — Google will typically send a postcard, call, or offer instant verification
If you set one up a while ago:
Log in and check three things immediately: Is the business name spelled correctly? Is the phone number current? Is the website URL pointing to a live, correct page? You’d be shocked how many businesses have outdated info sitting on their GBP driving potential clients to a dead end.
⚠️ Common Mistake to Avoid -Don't add extra keywords to your business name (e.g., 'Blue River Lodge - Best Fly Fishing Montana'). Google considers this 'keyword stuffing' and it can get your listing suspended. Your business name in GBP should match exactly how it appears on your signage and website
Step 2: Nail Your Business Category (This Is Bigger Than You Think)
Your primary business category is one of the single most important ranking factors in local search. Google uses it to decide when to show your listing — so getting this right matters enormously.
Here’s the thing most operators get wrong: they pick a generic category when a more specific one exists. Google has hundreds of categories, and specificity wins.
| Business Type | Recommended Primary Category | Useful Secondary Categories |
|---|---|---|
| Fishing Charter | Fishing Charter | Boat Tour Agency, Outdoor Activities |
| Lodge or Resort | Lodge | Resort, Vacation Rental, Hotel |
| Guest Ranch | Guest Ranch | Resort, Horseback Riding Service, Campground |
| RV Park | RV Park | Campground, Vacation Rental, Recreational Vehicle Rental Agency |
| Tour Operator | Tour Operator | Outdoor Activities, Adventure Sports, Sightseeing Tour Agency |
| Hunting Outfitter | Hunting and Fishing Store | Outdoor Activities, Outfitter, Guide Service |
You can also add secondary categories. If you run a lodge that also offers guided fishing, add both. Secondary categories expand the searches you’re eligible to appear for without diluting your primary signal.
Step 3: Write a Business Description That Works Hard
You get 750 characters for your business description. Most operators use about 200 of them and call it a day. Don’t be that operator.
Your description won’t directly rank you higher — Google has said it’s not a ranking factor. But it absolutely influences whether someone who finds your listing decides to click through to your website or book a call. Think of it as your elevator pitch to someone who has never heard of you.
What a Strong GBP Description Includes: Lead with what you offer and where you're located, then speak to who you're best for and what makes you different. Weave in a natural mention of your top outcomes — catch rates, all-inclusive experience, years in business — and close with a soft call to action like "Visit our website to check availability." Keep it under 750 characters and make it earn every one of them.
One thing to naturally weave in: the keywords your clients actually search. If you run a fly fishing lodge in Montana, make sure ‘fly fishing,’ ‘Montana,’ and ‘lodge’ all appear in your description organically. Don’t cram them in — write naturally and they’ll fit.
Step 4: Load Up Your Photos (And Keep Adding Them)
This is the step most operators either skip or do once and forget. Big mistake.
Google’s own data shows that businesses with photos receive significantly more requests for directions and website clicks than businesses without them. For outdoor businesses specifically, photos are everything — you’re selling an experience, and people want to see it before they buy it.
You are selling an experience. Photos aren't decoration — they're your most persuasive sales tool on Google.
What photos to add:
- Exterior shots — so guests can recognize you when they arrive
- Action shots — guests fishing, riding, exploring (with permission)
- Accommodation photos if you’re a lodge, resort, or RV park
- Food and dining if that’s part of the experience
- Team/guide photos — people book guides they feel they know
- Seasonal variety — show what your property looks like in multiple seasons
How often should you add photos?
Aim to add new photos at least once a month. Google rewards active profiles. Even pulling a few great shots from your latest season and uploading them keeps your listing fresh in Google’s eyes — and in your potential clients’ eyes.
Pro tip: Don’t just upload to your profile — encourage guests to upload their own photos too. User-generated content carries extra credibility.
Step 5: Build Your Reviews (This Is Your Secret Weapon)
Here’s an uncomfortable truth: reviews are probably the single biggest factor separating the businesses that dominate the map pack from those that don’t appear in it at all.
More reviews. Better reviews. Recent reviews. All of it matters.
Google uses reviews as a trust signal — both the quantity and the quality. A fishing charter with 87 reviews averaging 4.8 stars is going to outrank a competitor with 12 reviews at 4.5 stars almost every time, all else being equal.
How to get more reviews without being annoying about it:
- Ask in person at the end of the trip or stay — this is the highest-conversion moment
- Send a follow-up text or email 24–48 hours after departure with a direct link to your GBP review page
- Make it easy — never make them hunt for where to leave a review
- Put your Google review link in your email signature and post-trip communications
- Train your guides and staff to ask — ‘If you had a great time today, we’d love a Google review’
Respond to every review — positive and negative. For positive ones, thank them personally and mention something specific about their trip. For negative ones, stay calm, acknowledge the issue, and offer to resolve it offline. Never argue, even if they're completely wrong. How you respond is as much a sales tool as the review itself.
Step 6: Use Posts, Q&A, and Services to Stay Active
Most people don’t know that your Google Business Profile has a built-in posting feature — similar to a very basic social media feed. Google Posts let you share updates, offers, events, and seasonal announcements directly on your listing.
Are Google Posts a massive ranking factor? Debatable. Do they show up on your listing and give potential clients more reasons to choose you? Absolutely.
What to post:
- Seasonal availability announcements (‘Spring walleye season is open — spots filling fast’)
- Special offers or packages
- Recent trip highlights (one great photo + a sentence or two)
- Links back to relevant blog posts on your website
Don’t ignore the Q&A section:
Your GBP has a Q&A section where anyone — including you — can ask and answer questions. Most operators don’t know this exists. Go in and proactively add the most common questions you get: What’s included? Do you provide gear? What’s your cancellation policy? Is it family-friendly?
If you don’t populate this section, anyone can answer questions about your business. Control the narrative.
Step 7: Make Sure Your NAP Is Consistent Everywhere
NAP stands for Name, Address, Phone number. And consistency across the internet matters more than most people realize.
Google cross-references your business information across dozens of directories — Yelp, TripAdvisor, your own website, Facebook, local chamber of commerce listings, you name it. If your phone number on Yelp has a different area code format than your GBP, or your address is abbreviated differently on one site vs. another, Google gets confused. Confused Google does not reward you with prominent map placement.
Go audit your listings. Make sure your business name, address, and phone number are exactly the same — character for character — everywhere your business appears online.
Inconsistent NAP data is one of the most overlooked reasons outdoor businesses don't rank locally. It's an easy fix with a big payoff.
The Bottom Line
Getting on Google Maps isn’t rocket science, but it does require intentional effort that most of your competitors aren’t putting in. That’s the opportunity.
To recap what you need to do:
- Claim and verify your Google Business Profile
- Set the right primary (and secondary) business categories
- Write a full, keyword-natural business description
- Load up high-quality photos and keep adding them
- Build a steady stream of reviews and respond to all of them
- Use Posts, Q&A, and Services to keep your profile active
Audit your NAP consistency across all online directories
Do all of this consistently, and showing up in the map pack for your most valuable search terms is not a matter of if — it’s a matter of when.
If you want to go even deeper on your website’s overall online presence — not just Google Maps or outdoor industry SEO, but your full Digital footprint — we put together a free resource just for outdoor businesses.
Paul Wingfield
Paul Wingfield is a native to Northeast Tennessee and has been a passionate outdoorsman for all of his life. From guiding rafts in Colorado, Wisconsin and Tennessee to fly fishing throughout the Southeast' mountain streams and tailwaters, he's done it all. He's the owner of Outfitter Marketing Pros, a digital marketing agency that works exclusively with Outfitter and Tour Operator owners to help grow their businesses and get their internet marketing right. His business helps to support his missional efforts in Latin America to "equip church leaders to create sustainable ministry solutions using entrepreneurial skills." He's married to his wife Erin, and they have 3 children together.
