Local Pack: the three businesses Google shows at the top
When someone searches for a service near them, Google puts three businesses above the ordinary links. That trio is known as the Local Pack. This page shows what it is, why no two people see the same thing and how it can be measured.
I want to know where I standThis is what it looks like
Look at the first slot. That one is paid, you can buy it through ads and it disappears the moment you stop paying for it.
The three below it are not for sale. Google picks those businesses itself and keeps them there until someone convinces it that they deserve the spot more. Those three are what this is about.
It looks like a detail. For a local business it is the most valuable piece of screen on Google.
How the trio differs from the links below it
It comes first
It sits above the ordinary results. People see it before anything else and on a phone it often fills almost the whole screen.
It carries the deciding facts
Rating, number of reviews, opening hours, distance. The customer decides from that without opening a single website.
You can be called straight from it
The call button and the directions button are right there in the result. From search to phone call is one click.
Your profile decides it, not your website
A good website alone will not get you into the trio. Google mostly looks at your business profile, your reviews and what it finds about you elsewhere on the internet.
This is not Google Maps
Almost everyone confuses the two, and it makes sense, because part of a map is visible next to it.
People open Google Maps when they already know where they are going. They want the address, the route, the parking. They have decided.
Here it works the other way round. Someone types what they need into ordinary search and Google offers them three businesses. At that moment they have not decided yet. They decide based on what they see.
That is what makes it more interesting for a business than Maps. You reach the customer one step before they pick someone.
It looks different for every person
Google does not show everyone the same thing. It picks businesses based on where that person is standing.
If you search for your own business from your workshop or your office, you will almost always see yourself. You are right there, so Google shows you. But your customer is not standing in your workshop.
The ranking changes every few hundred metres. A few streets away it is already different. That means two things:
- Searching for yourself tells you nothing about your visibility. You are measuring from the wrong place.
- There is no single number. You are not "third in Prague". You are somewhere else in every district.
And that is exactly why it has to be measured point by point, not with one search.
How we measure it
We use a tool called LeadSnap. This is not our impression or an estimate, it is a measurement that can be repeated.
Every point is one place
We split the area into dozens of specific places. At each one we ask Google the same phrase, as if a customer were standing there.
The number is your position
Each point holds your rank. Green means Google shows you in the top three from that place. Yellow means you are close. Red means people there will not find you.
It is measured repeatedly
Same phrase, same area, same number of points, same tool. Otherwise two results could not be compared.
Your competitors right next to you
The measurement does not show only you. It shows the whole ranking in the area, so you can see who is above you and by how much.
Average rank
Where you stand across all measured points. One number for the whole area that can be tracked over time.
Share in the top three
The percentage of points where you are among the first three. This is the number we care about.
Share of the market
How much of the visibility in the area belongs to you and how much to your competitors. It shows how much room is still left.
From red to green
Two identical measurements for one business, 78 days of work between them. Same phrase, same area, same points.
Why we call it the top three
Local Pack is the technical term. Map Pack is sometimes used for the same thing, it is one and the same spot in search results.
In plain conversation we put it differently, because it is easier to follow: the top three on Google and the points across the city where you are in that trio or you are not. Whenever you come across the top three on our site, this is exactly what it means.
Frequently asked questions
How do I find out whether I am in the top three?
Searching for yourself will not tell you, because you are searching from your own location and Google will show you there almost every time. You need a measurement from several places in the area. That is exactly what we do with LeadSnap and we send you the result as an image.
Are Local Pack and Map Pack the same thing?
Yes. They are two names for one thing, for the trio of businesses above the ordinary links. We call it the top three on Google because that is easier to follow.
Why am I not visible across the whole city when my reviews are good?
Reviews are only one signal. Google also looks at your categories and how complete your profile is, at your website, at what it finds about you elsewhere on the internet, and at the distance from the person searching. A business with excellent reviews can be invisible three kilometres away.
Is it the same as being first in Google Maps?
No. Maps is opened by someone who already knows what they are looking for. This trio appears in ordinary search at the moment they are still deciding. That is why enquiries come from it.
Can I get into the trio with paid ads?
One of the slots at the top is usually paid and can be bought. The trio we are talking about here is not paid. Google puts businesses there that it judged to be the most relevant and the most trustworthy in that area.
How long does it take to get there?
With the Optimal package we have 90 days and a guarantee. How exactly we measure, what we need from you and what happens if we miss the deadline is on the guarantee page.
Want to see what it looks like for you?
We will measure your area point by point and send you the result. No commitment.