Local Pack

The Local Pack is the boxed result block that Google surfaces above the 10 blue links for queries with local intent. Three business listings sit alongside a map showing their locations; each listing pulls its data from the business’s Google Business Profile (GBP) — name, category, hours, star rating, distance, and a click-to-call or directions button.

Users can expand the Pack via the “More places” link, which opens a longer scrollable list. Most click-through, though, happens inside the first 3. That’s why local SEO operators talk about “ranking in the 3-Pack” — the expanded list is technically visible but it’s not where searchers actually click.

The Pack uses Google’s local-ranking signals, which differ from organic. Our GBP grader scores against the categories that actually move the needle — see backend/app/core/gbp_grader/scoring.py for the full rubric.

• Primary category + service list. Picking the right primary category is one of the biggest single levers. Adding a complete services list expands the queries you’re eligible for.
• Hours, photos, attributes. Complete business hours (including special hours), 10+ high-quality photos, and the full attribute set (wheelchair accessible, women-owned, etc.) all feed the algorithm.
• Reviews — volume, recency, response. Review count and average rating matter, but recency and owner response rate matter at least as much. Profiles with active owner engagement out-rank review-dormant profiles with higher absolute counts.
• NAP consistency across citations. Name, address, phone — identical across your website, GBP, and third-party directories. Drift here is one of the most common reasons a business underperforms its profile-quality score.
• Proximity to the searcher. Strongest single factor and the one you can’t fully control. Why a geo-grid scan tells the truth about where you actually rank — not the address you happened to be at when you Googled yourself.

Proximity is the dominant variable. A business with a storefront in the eastern half of town will out-rank you in eastern cells regardless of how strong your overall GBP is — Google’s local algorithm gives a big boost to results geographically close to the searcher. The result is that a single “my rank” number is misleading: it’s only true for the geocoded point where you measured it.

A geo-grid scan exposes the truth. Where the rank-1 spot in the eastern cells goes to a competitor and the rank-1 spot in the western cells goes to you, you can decide whether to defend, expand, or open a second location. None of that is visible from a single ranking check.

Pack ranking is dynamic. Competitors update their category. Google flips your profile to a different primary category. Your hours get edited by a third-party suggestion. Reviews land that change the star average. Falcon Guard (P-9) monitors your GBP for these changes and alerts you when something flips — without it, you’d only notice via the rank drop a few days later.

Pair that with daily geo-grid scans and you get the full picture: the cells where your Pack rank changed recently and the GBP edits that explain why.