What is the Google map pack?
Short answer
The Google map pack is the block of local business listings, usually three, that Google shows beside a map on a search results page when a search has local intent. The listings come from Google Business Profiles, not from websites. It's also called the local pack or the 3-pack, and a position in it can't be bought.
When Google decides a search has local intent, it shows a block of local business listings with a map on the results page, usually three of them, and that block is the Google map pack. People also call it the local pack or the 3-pack. Search “AC repair” from a house in Chula Vista and it typically sits near the top of the page, above the ordinary website results. It matters to a home-service company because a searcher can call a business straight from it without ever visiting a website.
What a map pack listing shows
Each listing is drawn from a Google Business Profile, not from a website, and that is the point owners most often miss. You’ll typically see:
- The business name, star rating and number of reviews.
- The category, such as “Plumber” or “Air conditioning contractor”.
- Whether the business is open now.
- Buttons to call, get directions or visit the website, depending on the device and the business.
Google sometimes adds a short line under a listing taken from a review or from the business’s website, where it matches what was searched. The layout changes often, so the surest way to see the current version is to run a search for your own service on a phone and on a computer.
How the map pack differs from the rest of the page
Several blocks share the page, and each is fed by something different.
| Part of the page | Fed by | Paid? |
|---|---|---|
| Local Services Ads and other sponsored listings | Your ad accounts | Yes, and labeled as sponsored |
| Map pack | Your Google Business Profile | No |
| The longer list behind the link under the pack | The same profiles, with more of them shown | No, apart from labeled ads |
| Website results | Your web pages | No |
The Google Maps app uses the same profiles, but it’s a separate product. In practice the order there doesn’t always match the map pack for the same search, so being first in one doesn’t prove you’re first in the other.
When Google shows a map pack
A search that Google reads as a hunt for a nearby business gets one. A service name alone is often enough: “water heater repair” or “roofer” will do it, and so will “electrician near me”. Adding a city, as in “plumber Escondido”, does the same. Searches that ask for information, such as “why is my furnace making a clicking noise”, usually get website results and no map.
You can’t make a map pack appear for a search. You can only be eligible when one does.
Does it always show three businesses?
No. Three is the usual count, which is where the name 3-pack comes from, but Google tests layouts constantly. You may see a sponsored listing placed with the three, or a different number on some searches and devices. I wouldn’t build a plan around the exact count. The practical target is to be among the first few listings shown to searchers in the neighborhoods you serve.
How a business gets into it
The entry requirement is a verified Google Business Profile that Google judges to be a good match for the search, close to the searcher and well known. Google states that there’s no way to pay for a better local ranking.
The three shown also change from one searcher to the next, because each person is in a different place, and that is a large part of how Google decides which three businesses show. Improving your chances comes down to map pack ranking work and Google Business Profile optimization.