The three local business listings that appear at the top of Google search results for location-based queries.
The Google Maps Pack — also called the Local Pack or Map Pack — is the block of three business listings that appears near the top of Google search results when someone searches for a local service. For example, when a homeowner searches "HVAC contractor near me" or "plumber Dallas TX," Google shows three local businesses with their name, rating, review count, address, and hours before any organic website results.
Getting into the top three positions of the Google Maps Pack is the single most important marketing goal for most home service contractors. Research consistently shows that the top three businesses in the local pack receive over 70% of all clicks for local service searches — everyone outside the top three splits the remaining 30%.
Google determines local pack rankings based on three factors: relevance (does the business match what the user searched for?), distance (how close is the business to the user?), and prominence (how well-established is the business online?). Of these three, prominence — measured primarily by Google reviews, review recency, and profile completeness — is the most actionable lever for an independent contractor.
Contractors who dominate the local pack in their market share two consistent traits: they have a high volume of recent Google reviews (collected consistently after every job), and they maintain a complete, active Google Business Profile with photos, updated hours, and service listings. Neither requires a marketing agency — just a consistent system.