Google’s local “7-pack” has recently transitioned into a “3-pack,” with only 3 local businesses appearing in Google’s search results. Prior to this change, the local pack appeared in search results only 25 percent of the time. A recent study shows that the new 3-pack comes up in the number one position roughly 93% of the time. This means that 99% of the time, you’ll see the 3-pack in the top 2 positions which is a significant improvement versus 31% of the time.
seoClarity, who determined these statistics, documented their strategy:
- On 7/25 they began with a list of keywords which were visible on the 7-pack map listing
- On 8/15 the list was narrowed down to only those that were showing up on the 3-pack format
- Overview the rank position at which the local pack became visible for each date
- Compared the 7-pack map listings vs. the 3-pack listings