What is the Google map pack?
Definition
The map pack is the box of local results Google shows near the top of the page for searches like "plumber near me" or "pizza": a map with pins and, usually, three businesses listed under it. Each listing comes from a Google Business Profile, with its rating, hours and buttons to call or get directions.
Why the map pack matters to a local business
For many local searches, the map pack is the first thing people see, and plenty of them call straight from it without scrolling down to the regular results. It's also called the local pack or the 3-pack. A sponsored listing sometimes sits at the top of it, and Google Local Services Ads can appear above it.
Google names three main factors for local results: relevance (how well your profile matches the search), distance (from the searcher, or from the place they typed) and popularity, which Google also calls prominence (how well known you are, from reviews, links and mentions around the web). You can't move your shop closer, but you can work on the other two.
For plumbers and HVAC companies without a storefront, the profile shows a service area instead of an address, so the right categories and towns carry more weight. For restaurants, photos, hours and a menu link do much of the selling. For contractors, the pack shows for searches like "kitchen remodel" or "deck builder", so list each service you offer, not just one broad category.
Your website plays a part too. Google reads it to understand what you do and where, so a site that names your services and towns, and matches your profile's business name, address and phone (NAP), backs that profile up.
How to improve your chances in the map pack
- Claim and verify your Google Business Profile, then fill in every field.
- Pick the most specific main category, and add the other services you offer.
- Set your real service area, or your address if customers come to you.
- Match your profile's name, address and phone to your website, character for character.
- Request reviews from satisfied customers and answer each one.
- Add fresh photos of real work every month or so.
- Give each main service and each busy town its own page on your website.
How Future handles it
No website, Future included, can promise you a spot in the map pack: Google decides. Future's part is a website that supports your profile: titled, described pages, your business details on all of them, and space for a page about every service and town.
Fresh reviews help, so Pro and Premier ask each customer whose visit was booked on your site to leave one. Premier will also get local map rankings, Coming soon, to show where you appear on the map.