Map pack
When someone searches a service plus a place, or any service query on a phone with location on, Google puts a map and three businesses at the top. Those three are drawn from Google Business Profiles, not from websites, which is why a business with a beautiful site can be invisible while a competitor with no site at all takes the calls.
The three slots rotate by where the searcher is standing. There is no single "number one" in the map pack — you might hold the top slot downtown and appear nowhere eight miles out. That's why rank is measured on a grid of points across a metro rather than as one number.
Below the three results is a "More places" link. Traffic falls off a cliff past the third listing, so in practice the local market is a three-slot auction that resets for every neighborhood.
For local service searches the map pack sits above everything else and takes most of the taps. Getting into it is usually worth more than any amount of organic ranking work.
Common questions
How many businesses show in the Google map pack?
Three, in almost all cases. Some queries show an expanded local finder with more results, but the standard pack on both desktop and mobile is three listings plus a link to see more.
How do I get into the map pack?
Rank on the three factors Google uses: relevance (categories, services, and profile content matching the query), distance (which you can only influence with your service areas and verified location), and prominence (review count and velocity, profile completeness, activity, and web signals).
Related terms
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