Local Pack
SEOAlso: Map Pack · Google 3-Pack · Local Finder
Quick definition
The local pack is the box of three business listings with a map that Google shows above regular search results for searches with local intent, like "plumber near me" or "cafes in Fitzroy". It pulls from Google Business Profile data rather than standard webpage rankings.
How it varies across Australia
Local pack visibility varies enormously across Australian service categories. Trades and hospitality see the highest click-through from the pack, while B2B service categories see far less local-intent search volume overall. The businesses winning the pack consistently are rarely the ones with the best website, they're the ones with the most complete and most reviewed Google Business Profile.
Compare local visibility across Australian industries →The three ranking factors Google names
How well your profile matches what the searcher typed.
How close your business is to the searcher's location.
Reviews, citations and general online visibility of the business.
What it actually means
The local pack is the three-listing box with a map that shows up when Google decides a search has local intent. Search "electrician" from your phone in Brisbane and Google assumes you want one nearby, so it shows the pack before it shows organic results.
This is a different ranking system to standard search engine optimisation (SEO). Local pack placement runs on Google Business Profile (GBP) signals: how complete the profile is, how many reviews it has, how recent and positive those reviews are, and how consistent your business name, address and phone number (NAP) are across the web. Your website's domain authority barely factors in.
The three ranking inputs Google names directly are relevance, distance and prominence. Relevance is whether your profile matches the search. Distance is how close you are to the searcher, which is why the pack looks different for every person who searches. Prominence is a mix of review volume, review quality, and general online visibility including local citations and backlinks.
Most businesses treat their Google Business Profile as a directory listing to set up once and ignore. The businesses that actually win the pack treat it like a live channel that needs the same attention as a landing page.
The local pack doesn't care how good your website is. It cares how convincing your Google Business Profile looks to someone standing in a search results page.
How it shows up
Local pack presence shows up as the three-listing map box above organic results on Google Search, and as your pin ranking on Google Maps itself. It shows up in Google Business Profile insights as calls, direction requests and website clicks attributed directly to the profile rather than to organic traffic. If a business drops out of the pack, the most visible symptom is a sudden fall in phone calls and direction requests with no change to the website itself, because the two systems are ranked independently.
The Australian context
The Australian local pack rewards businesses with a physical presence over those without one, which matters for service-area businesses like tradies who don't want their home address public. Google allows a service-area business setup that hides the exact address while still competing for nearby searches, but it ranks slightly differently to a business with a visible storefront.
Competition for local pack spots is fierce in dense metro categories like hairdressers, cafes and dentists in inner-city Melbourne and Sydney, and comparatively open in regional areas and specialised trades where few competitors have bothered to optimise their profile at all.
Where people get this wrong
Related terms
Common questions
What is Google's local pack?
It's the box of three business listings with a map that appears above organic search results for searches with local intent, such as "cafe near me". It pulls from Google Business Profile data rather than standard webpage rankings.
How do I get my business into the local pack?
Claim and fully complete your Google Business Profile, keep your business name, address and phone number consistent across the web, and actively collect recent reviews. There's no shortcut, it's ongoing profile management rather than a one-time setup.
Does my website's SEO affect local pack rankings?
It has some influence through the prominence signal, since Google factors in general online visibility. But it's a minor input compared to Google Business Profile completeness, review signals and directory consistency, which do most of the work.
Why did my business drop out of the local pack?
Common causes are a drop in recent reviews relative to competitors, inconsistent business details across directories, a suspended or incomplete Google Business Profile, or a new competitor closer to the searcher's location outranking you on distance.
Debrief
Get the next one
No spam. No fluff. Just the next article, straight to your inbox.
Keep exploring
About New Rebellion
New Rebellion is a marketing intelligence consultancy. We build tools, score Australian businesses on how their marketing actually performs, and publish Debrief every day. This dictionary is part of how we work in the open.
How we think →