What is the Google local pack?

The fuller answer

What does the local pack show? Each listing in the pack shows the business name, star rating and review count, category, a snippet of hours or address, and buttons to call, get directions or visit the website. Google builds it from Business Profile data, so the quality of your profile is what you see in the pack.

Local pack vs local finder vs Maps - **Local pack:** three listings and a map on the main results page. - **Local finder:** the longer list you reach by choosing to see more places. Many more businesses appear here, so ranking 4th to 20th still gets seen. - **Google Maps:** the full app and site, where results change as you pan and zoom. They draw on the same profiles but can rank differently. The free [local finder position checker](/tools/local-finder-checker/) shows where a business sits in the longer list.

Which searches trigger a local pack? Google shows one when it judges the search has local intent. That includes searches with "near me", a city or neighborhood, and plain category searches like "dentist" when the searcher is nearby. Many one-off searches get no pack at all, such as informational questions. Because the pack depends on the searcher, your own search from your own desk tells you little. See [near me SEO](/guides/near-me-seo/).

How does Google decide who gets into the pack? Google says local results are based mainly on relevance, distance and prominence ([Google's explanation](https://support.google.com/business/answer/7091)). Relevance is how well your profile matches the search. Distance is how far you are from the searcher, or from the location they named. Prominence is how well known you are, partly from reviews and links. Google also states plainly that there is no way to request or pay for a better local ranking.

How do you get into the local pack? - Complete and verify your Business Profile, with an accurate primary category. - Keep your name, address and phone consistent on other sites ([NAP consistency](/questions/what-is-nap-local-seo/)). - Earn recent reviews and reply to them. - Add services, products, photos and posts that match what people search. - Make sure your website has a page for the location. The order of work is in the [local SEO ranking factors](/guides/local-seo-ranking-factors/) guide.

Do ads appear in the local pack? Paid placements can appear near the pack and are labeled as ads. The organic pack itself cannot be bought. Local ads are a separate budget and channel; see [local services ads](/guides/local-services-ads/) for the service-business version.

How do you check your own pack position? Your rank changes block by block, so one search from one place misleads. Check from several points around the location with the free [Maps rank checker](/tools/local-rank-checker/), or track weekly with a [local rank tracker](/guides/local-rank-tracking/). More background is in the [local pack glossary entry](/glossary/local-pack/).

Same profiles, different lists. Check each.

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