How Google Ranks Local Businesses: The Local Pack Explained
Relevance, distance, and prominence — how Google assembles the Local Pack.
Google assembles local search results using three signals: relevance, distance, and prominence. Understanding these signals helps you focus effort where it matters. See What Is Local SEO? for the plain-English introduction and The Local SEO Operating System for the full model.
The three signals
Google documents these signals in its Business Profile help. They are not a formula you can optimize directly — they describe how Google matches businesses to local queries.
| Signal | What it means | What you can influence |
|---|---|---|
| Relevance | How well the listing matches the search | Categories, services, content |
| Distance | Proximity to the searcher or searched location | Service areas, accurate address |
| Prominence | How well-known the business is | Reviews, links, brand presence |
The Local Pack
The Local Pack is the map-based result that appears at the top of many local searches, typically showing three businesses. Inclusion depends on the three signals combined. You cannot pay for Local Pack placement.
Local organic results
Below or alongside the Local Pack, Google shows local organic results — standard web results ranked by relevance and authority. These are influenced by on-page content, links, and technical SEO. See Technical SEO Audit.
Primary sources
- How Google ranks local results — Google Business Profile Help (accessed 2025-01-15)