How the Google map pack works, and how to rank in it
How Google chooses the businesses in the local map pack: relevance, distance and prominence explained, why rankings change street by street, and what you control.
Read →Glossary
What is Map pack?
Also called: local pack, 3-pack, local 3-pack, Google Maps results.
When you search for something local, like ‘plumber near me’, Google often shows a map with a few pins and a short list of businesses underneath it, before the normal website results. That block is the map pack, sometimes called the local pack or the 3-pack.
The listings in it come from Google Business Profiles, not directly from websites. Google picks them based on three broad things it has publicly described: how relevant the business is to the search, how close it is to the searcher, and how prominent or well-known it seems, which includes reviews.
On a phone, the map pack can fill most of the screen, so appearing in it is often worth more than ranking first in the ordinary results below.
Why it matters for your business
Getting into the map pack for your main service in your town is one of the most valuable spots a local business can hold, because it comes with a Call button and your star rating right there. People with an urgent problem, like a leak or a lockout, often ring the first sensible option they see.
Example. A search for ‘emergency electrician Bristol’ shows a map with three electricians, each with stars, opening hours and a Call button. Everyone else is further down the page, below the fold on most phones.
Related terms
Google Business Profile · Local SEO · Review management · Above the fold
How to move a website without losing Google rankings (redirects explained)
How to migrate a website to a new platform, design or domain without losing Google rankings: URL mapping, 301 redirects explained, Search Console steps and the mistakes that cause traffic to vanish.
Read →Apple Business Connect (now Apple Business): get on Apple Maps
How to claim your business on Apple Maps using Apple Business, formerly Apple Business Connect: setup, verification, place cards and what to fill in.
Read →£299to set up
£99a month
3working days to launch
You approve it before anything goes live.
Designed from scratch, every word written for you, hosting and Google setup included. Or pay £1,795 once and £49 a month with no minimum term.
Let’s get your phone ringing.
£299 setup, then £99 a month. Live in 3 working days. Tell us what your business does - we reply the same working day.