Google Local Pack

What is Google Local Pack?

The Google local pack is the block of local results that Google Search shows for searches with local intent. It combines a map with pins and a short list of nearby businesses, usually three, each with its star rating, review count, category, opening hours and buttons for directions, calls or the website.

When someone searches for "ramen", "brunch near me" or "pizza delivery", the local pack often sits at or near the top of the results. That makes it one of the most valuable pieces of space in search for a restaurant, because the people who see it are deciding where to eat soon.

Every listing in the local pack is a Google Business Profile. The profile is the listing you manage; the local pack is the search feature where Google chooses which profiles to show.

Improving your position therefore starts with the profile, which is why profile work sits at the heart of local SEO for restaurants.

How the local pack works

Google shows a local pack when it judges that a search has local intent. That includes searches with a place ("sushi in Austin"), searches with "near me", and many searches for a type of food or business with no place at all, where Google uses the searcher's location.

For each search, Google picks a handful of profiles from its local index, ranks them and shows the top results with a map. A link below the list opens the full set of local results, where searchers can scroll, filter and move the map.

What Google says determines local pack ranking

Google's Business Profile help page on how to improve your local ranking says that local results are based mainly on three factors. Google describes them as follows.

Google adds that prominence draws on information it has from across the web, such as links, articles and directories, and that review count and review score are part of it. It also says that a business farther away can rank higher than a closer one if Google judges it more likely to have what the searcher wants.

Google keeps the details of its local ranking private and states that there's no way to request or pay for a better local ranking. Any list of specific "ranking factors" beyond these three comes from industry studies and practitioners' experience, which is useful context and is best treated as informed opinion.

A local pack example

Imagine a guest standing near your downtown location who searches "tacos". Google looks for profiles that match tacos, through categories such as "Taco restaurant", menu items and reviews that mention tacos. It then weighs how close each one is and how well known it is.

Your downtown location may appear first for that guest. A guest three miles north, searching the same word, may see a different set of three, with your uptown location or a competitor in first place. Both results are correct, because each reflects the searcher's position.

How restaurants appear in the local pack

A restaurant usually appears in the local pack for three kinds of searches, and each one rewards slightly different work.

Branded searches usually show your own profile, because relevance is so high. Category and dish searches are where the competition is, and where the work on relevance and prominence pays off.

The details shown in the listing also affect whether guests choose you. A strong star rating, a clear "Open now" status and an attractive photo can win the click even from the second or third position.

What operators can influence in the local pack

Distance is fixed by your address, so most of your influence goes through relevance and prominence. The work is practical and repeatable across locations, which suits restaurant groups well.

• Choosing the right categories. The primary category is the clearest relevance signal you control, so it pays to choose the most specific one that's true.
• Keeping details complete and accurate. Hours, menu, attributes and photos help Google match you to searches and help guests trust what they see.
• Building a steady flow of reviews. Google names review count and score as part of prominence, so a consistent review velocity at every location matters, with every guest invited the same way.
• Replying to reviews. Google's local ranking help page lists responding to reviews among its tips for managing a profile, and replies show future guests how you treat feedback.
• Strengthening each location's web presence. Consistent listings across directories, links from local press and a useful location page on your website all contribute to how well known a location is.

Our local SEO playbook for multi-location brands walks through these steps location by location.

How to track the local pack across locations

Because results change with the searcher's position, a single search from head office tells you little. Reliable tracking uses a fixed set of searches, checked from fixed points, at regular intervals.

1. Choose the searches that matter. Pick five to ten category and dish searches per location, such as "burger", "burgers near me" and "family restaurant".
2. Check from several points. Many teams use a grid of points around each restaurant, a technique local SEO tools call geogrid or grid tracking, to see how far each location's visibility reaches.
3. Record presence and position. Note whether the location appears in the top three and, if so, where.
4. Track over time. Monthly or weekly checks show whether changes to the profile or review program are moving results.

Local pack visibility example

A simple way to summarize the results is the share of checks where a location appears in the top three. Suppose a brand tracks 5 searches from 4 points around each of 10 locations, which makes 5 × 4 × 10 = 200 checks.

If the brand's locations appear in the top three in 84 of those checks, its local pack visibility is 84 ÷ 200 × 100 = 42%. Comparing the same figure by location quickly shows which restaurants need attention.

This share is an internal measure that depends on the searches and points you choose. Keeping them the same each month is what makes the trend meaningful.

Local pack vs. Google Maps vs. organic results

The local pack and Maps draw on the same profiles, so improvements to a location's profile usually show up in both. Organic results are a separate system, and well-built location pages help there, as explained in why your location pages aren't ranking.

Limitations of local pack tracking

Local pack data is useful, and it has real limits that are worth keeping in mind when you report on it.

• Results are personal. Location, device, language and search wording all change what a guest sees, so any tracking is a sample.
• Rankings move often. Google updates its systems and the layout regularly, which can shift positions without any change on your side.
• Visibility is one step. Appearing in the local pack matters only if guests choose you, so pairing rank data with calls, direction requests and website clicks from your profile gives a fuller picture.
• Causes are hard to isolate. Several changes often happen at once, so it's wise to treat a single month's movement with caution.

Best local pack tools

Tools for the local pack fall into two groups. Listings tools keep each location's details accurate and consistent, while review tools help you build and answer the reviews that Google counts toward prominence. For a restaurant group, reporting across every location is essential in both.

Dedicated rank trackers with grid views are also widely used for measuring local pack positions. Comparing tools against your own locations and search terms, during a trial, is the most reliable way to choose. Momos's review boosting helps you invite every guest to share their experience.

Common local pack mistakes

• Checking rankings from one place. A search from head office shows only one point of view, which can make a location look stronger or weaker than it is.
• Adding keywords to the business name. It breaks Google's guidelines and can lead to a suspension, which removes the location from the local pack entirely.
• Choosing a broad category. "Restaurant" alone gives Google little to match against specific searches such as "pho" or "brunch".
• Letting reviews stall at some locations. A location whose newest review is months old can look less active to guests, which is why review recency is worth watching alongside your rating.
• Expecting to rank everywhere. Distance is a core factor, so a location will usually be strongest in its own neighborhood.
• Treating paid and unpaid results as one. Sponsored listings follow Google Ads rules and budgets, so their results are best reported separately.

History of the local pack

Google launched Google Local in 2004 and merged it with Google Maps in 2005. By the late 2000s, Google was blending local listings with a map directly into its main search results, which search marketers came to call the "10-pack" and later the "7-pack" as the number of listings shrank.

In August 2015, Google reduced the standard pack to three listings with a simpler, mobile-friendly design, a change widely reported by search marketing publications at the time. The "3-pack" name, along with "map pack", has stuck since.

Google has also changed how it understands local searches. In December 2019, Google's Search Liaison account confirmed that Google had begun using neural matching in early November to generate local results, helping it relate the words in a search to businesses that don't use those exact words.

Paid placements arrived alongside these changes. Google Ads can show sponsored listings in local results when an advertiser links a Business Profile through location assets, and they're labeled as sponsored.