Glossary
Map pack
The map pack is the short list of local businesses that Google shows with a map when someone searches for a service nearby. Map pack is the industry's name for it; Google calls these local results.
Also called local pack.
What decides who appears
You will not find the phrase map pack in Google's help pages. They talk about local results, and the page on local ranking says those are mainly based on relevance, distance and popularity, then discusses the third under the heading Prominence (Google Business Profile Help).
Relevance is the fit between the search and what your listing says you do. Distance runs from the person searching to your business. Prominence is how well known you are, and the page names two things it draws on: the number of websites that link to your business and the number of reviews you have (same page).
What you can change
Relevance and prominence are partly up to you. Google writes that businesses with complete and accurate information are more likely to show, and that more reviews and positive ratings can help a business's local ranking (Google's ranking tips). A full, correct profile works on relevance. Asking every customer for a review, in the same words each time, works on prominence.
Do not stretch the business name to reach more searches. Adding a service or a town to it breaks Google's guidelines, which want the name you trade under with nothing unnecessary attached (guidelines). Relevance has to come from the categories, services and description instead, and from a website that says plainly what you do and where.
Why results change from street to street
Because distance is one of the factors, the list depends on where the searcher is standing. Two customers a few miles apart can type the same words and see different businesses, and you may appear for one of them and not the other.
Why no one can sell you a place in it
Google says there is no way to request or pay for a better local ranking (Google Business Profile Help). So no one can promise you a spot in the map pack, and anyone who does is guessing. When a seller shows you a screenshot of a business at the top of the map, ask where that search was made from.
Questions
Why do I show up at home but not across town?
Because distance is one of the main factors Google weighs, the results shift with the searcher's position (Google Business Profile Help). When you search from your own base, few businesses are closer to you than yours. Customers across town are closer to other businesses, so judge your visibility from several points in your area, not one.
Can I pay to be in the map pack?
No, not for a place in the local results themselves. Money buys ad space on the same page, while the places under the map go by relevance, distance and prominence (Google Business Profile Help). Spend on your profile and your website instead, and ask every customer for a review.
Does the free scan show where I am in the map pack?
No. The scan reads your website, and map positions are on its list of what it does not measure. Map-pack tracking is part of the Local plan. What the scan checks are the site signals that back up your listing, such as your city in your main headline and one phone number across your pages.
Where this fits in our work
We handle this as part of Local SEO: Your Business Profile, reviews, listings and site worked on together for the map results and local searches your customers make.
Related reading
Guides
- How much does local SEO cost? What local SEO costs, what the price should buy, and our own published prices beside a sourced market range.
- SEO or paid search: which should a local business pay for first? How paid clicks and organic work differ in cost, speed and what is left when you stop paying, with sourced ad costs.
- Is local SEO worth it for a small business? How to tell whether local SEO can pay for itself, using your own numbers, and when it is not the right spend.
Posts that use this term
- What should I do about a fake review of my business? Report it for the policy it breaks and reply once without accusing anyone. If Google keeps it, appeal once. Never answer a fake review with a fake one.
- How often should I post on my Google Business Profile? Google names no schedule, only a six month clock on posts without a date range. How to set a rhythm you can keep, and what to put in each post.
- What happens to my Google ranking if I change my business name or address? A move keeps your profile and, for most businesses, your reviews. A new name may not. Where Google draws the line, and what to update first.
- Should I answer every Google review, even the good ones? Google calls replying a best practice. What a short, specific reply says, how to handle a bad review inside the rules, and the time it takes.
- Do I need a separate page for every town I serve? When a town earns its own page, what Google calls doorway abuse, and one plain way to cover every other town you serve.
Related terms
- NAP consistency: Keeping your business name, address and phone number the same on your site, your profile and everywhere else.
- Local citations: Mentions of your business name, address and phone on other websites, and which ones are worth your time.
- Rank grid: A map of where a business shows in local results from points across its area, and how to read one without being misled.
Sources
- Google Business Profile Help: Tips to improve your local ranking on Google. Checked September 26, 2026.
- Google Business Profile Help: Guidelines for representing your business on Google. Checked September 26, 2026.