Local search
Map pack
The map pack is the group of local business listings with a map shown in local search results, usually three results with an option to see more.
What is map pack?
The map pack is the group of local business listings with a map shown in local search results, usually three results with an option to see more. Position in it is decided by relevance, distance and prominence, weighted differently by query.
Why this is worth knowing
It occupies the most valuable space on a local results page and often answers the query without any click to a website.
How it works in practice
Position is measured across a grid of points rather than from one location, because proximity is computed from where the searcher is and results change street by street.
The usual mistake
A single-point rank check describes one street corner. Businesses routinely believe they rank well because they checked from their own office.
That is the whole of it. Anything more specific depends on the site in front of you.
Where this comes up in the work
It is part of Ecommerce SEO, and more specifically of Retail measurement. Across the rest of the work it shows up in:
- App Store Optimization, where it sets the ceiling on making the app discoverable through Siri and the assistant layer, not only search
- Marketplace Marketing, because finding the attribute fields that decide whether a filter shows you depends on it
- Content and Editorial, in which it shows up as attaching proof to each claim instead of asserting it
- Lifecycle and Email, where it decides authenticating properly so the messages arrive at all
What to check
Two questions that establish whether this is actually in order on a given site:
- Whether what the report says about it matches what a crawl of the site says
- Whether it was reviewed since the last platform change
Common questions
Will fixing map pack move rankings?
Not on its own, and claims that it does are usually overselling. It occupies the most valuable space on a local results page and often answers the query without any click to a website. Do we need a blog? covers the setup, Does Google penalise AI-written content? the maintenance nobody budgets for.
How do you check map pack on a site?
Position is measured across a grid of points rather than from one location, because proximity is computed from where the searcher is and results change street by street. Where this gets detailed is Content gap analysis; where it gets argued about is Content refresh.
Whose job is map pack?
Whoever is accountable for working out how much of the reported conversion volume is actually incremental. Problems with this tend to persist because nobody is. What this leaves out is in Brand and Creative for Real estate and property, and some of it in Content and Editorial for Real estate and property.
Is map pack expensive to get right?
It depends entirely on where the problem originates. Establishing that is the first piece of work.
How urgent is map pack?
It comes before work that assumes it is already handled, and after anything actively blocking indexation.
How would we know map pack is a problem?
The symptom is usually downstream: it occupies the most valuable space on a local results page and often answers the query without any click to a website, showing up as something else entirely in the reporting. Anyone scoping this ends up comparing AI Platform Optimization in Bengaluru against Analytics and Measurement in Bengaluru sooner or later.
Get a view you can act on this month
We would rather tell you the work is not worth the money than take it and report on activity.