The map pack is the small group of businesses shown on a map above the ordinary search results. Usually three appear, and those three take most of the clicks for anything with a location behind it.
This article explains what decides it and what you can do.
Why the map pack matters so much
Two reasons, and the second is the one people underestimate.
First, position. It sits above everything except adverts, so it is what somebody sees before scrolling. Second, completeness. A map result carries your rating, your hours, your phone number and a directions button, so a person can act without visiting your website at all.
Consequently a business in the map pack can win a customer who never sees its site, while a business ranked first below it gets skipped entirely.
What decides the map pack
Three factors, and only two are within your control.
Relevance is how well your listing matches the search. Your primary category does most of that work, followed by the services you have listed and the words in your reviews.
Distance is your proximity to the searcher or to the place they named. Nothing you do changes it, and it is why nobody ranks across a whole city.
Prominence is how established you appear: the number and recency of reviews, mentions of your business elsewhere, and the strength of your website. This is where most of the available work sits.
Why the map pack changes street by street
People check their ranking, see themselves first, and assume they are winning. Then a customer two miles away sees somebody else entirely.
Both results are real. Because distance is a factor, the map pack is calculated from where the searcher stands, so there is no single position to hold. A business can dominate its own street and be invisible four miles away, and that is normal rather than a fault.
It also means checking your own ranking from your own phone tells you very little. Your device knows where you are, so it flatters you consistently.
What actually moves you into the map pack
Four things, roughly in order of return.
- A complete, accurate listing with the correct primary category.
- A steady flow of recent reviews, ideally mentioning the service and the place.
- Consistent details wherever your business is mentioned elsewhere.
- A website that clearly serves the same area and services as the listing.
Notice that three of the four have nothing to do with your website. That is the part businesses find hardest to accept, particularly after paying for a site.
What does not move the map pack
Several popular ideas do very little.
Posting daily on the listing is not a ranking lever. Adding twenty secondary categories dilutes rather than strengthens. Buying local citations in bulk creates inconsistency. Meanwhile paying for ads gets you into the paid slot above, which is a different thing entirely and stops when the budget does.
Keyword stuffing your business name works until somebody reports it, and then the listing is suspended, which costs weeks.
Competing when you are further away
Distance cannot be changed, and it can be outweighed. A business slightly further out with far more recent reviews, a sharper category and a stronger site will frequently beat a nearer competitor with a neglected listing.
The practical version is to accept a realistic radius. Aim to appear reliably in the areas around you rather than across a whole city, and build the prominence that lets you stretch a little further than your postcode.
The map pack and the results underneath it
Below the map sit the ordinary blue links, and the two are ranked separately. That produces a situation businesses find confusing: appearing in one and not the other. Two separate sets of rules produce that, so why the map and the blue links differ is worth understanding first.
It is normal, and it tells you where the work is. Present in the map pack but absent below usually means a strong listing and a weak website. Present below but absent from the map usually means the reverse, and the listing is the cheaper of the two to fix.
Ideally you want both, since they occupy separate space on the same page. A business holding a map position and a top link takes up roughly twice the screen, and somebody scrolling sees the same name twice. That repetition does more for recall than either position does alone, which is an argument for fixing the weaker of the two rather than pushing the stronger one higher.
How to check your position honestly
Not from your own phone, and not while logged in. Use a tool that reports results from a set location, or ask somebody in the area you care about to search and tell you what they see.
Then measure the actions rather than the position. Your listing reports calls, direction requests and website clicks, and those are far closer to enquiries than any ranking. A map pack position that produces no calls is not the win it looks like.
Frequently asked questions
What is the map pack?
It is the small group of businesses, usually three, shown on a map above the ordinary search results. It takes most of the clicks for anything with a location behind it, because it sits high and carries enough information to act on directly.
What decides who appears in it?
Relevance, distance and prominence. Relevance comes mostly from your primary category and listed services, distance is your proximity to the searcher and cannot be changed, and prominence is reviews, mentions elsewhere and the strength of your website.
Why do I rank first for myself but not for customers?
Because distance is a factor and results are calculated from where the searcher stands. Your own phone knows where you are, so it flatters you consistently. There is no single position to hold, which is why the map pack changes street by street.
What is the fastest way into the map pack?
A complete listing with the correct primary category, then a steady flow of recent reviews. Those two account for most of the movement available, and both cost time rather than money. The website matters, and it matters less than owners expect.
Do posts on my listing help me rank?
No. Posting is presentation rather than a ranking lever. It occupies space a competitor without posts lacks, which helps somebody comparing two listings, but it will not move you into the map pack on its own.
Can I rank across a whole city?
Very rarely, because distance is a factor in every search. A realistic aim is to appear reliably in the areas around you and to build enough prominence to stretch a little further than your postcode, rather than to cover everywhere.
Does paying for ads get me into the map pack?
No. Advertising can place you in a paid slot above the map pack, which is a different thing entirely and stops the moment the budget does. The organic positions cannot be bought, which is precisely what makes them worth earning.
How should I check my position?
Not from your own phone and not while logged in. Use a tool that reports from a set location, or ask somebody in the area to search and tell you. Then measure calls and direction requests, which are far closer to enquiries than a position is.