What is a Local 3-Pack?
Local 3-packs are a specific piece of the Google knowledge graph which lists three local businesses that fit the criteria of a given customer search. For example: ‘Jeep dealer in Evanston’ or ‘oil change near me.’
Local 3-packs include:
- A map and pins for each of the businesses
- A list of basic business information: address, website, phone number and directions.
If a search query has a local 3-pack listing, it is always the first organic listing. However, ads can appear above a local 3-pack.
What Triggers a Local 3-Pack to Appear?
Local 3-packs DO NOT appear for every search query. They can show up in the following instances:
- There are three or more relevant businesses for a search query.
- The search query is intended to find location-based answers.
- The map is a major portion of the local 3-pack, and its intent is to take a searcher to a business.
- “Jeep Dealer Evanston” or “Jeep Dealer Near Me” could trigger a local 3-pack.
- “Jeep Renegade” will not trigger a local 3-pack.
Why Local 3-Packs Matter
Local 3-packs are important from a strategic SEO standpoint, both for the types of searches you show up for and the premium positioning.
Google wants users to be happy with the results shown. As such, it will show the best fit for a user’s query, as well as the best-quality businesses.
Search results are also based on location, and Google prioritizes the location of the searcher. That’s why optimizing pages with local 3-pack triggering keywords and location-based keywords drives a lot of organic traffic for a dealer and fuels search rankings with Google.
Best Practices for Showing Up in Local 3-Pack Results
- Google My Business
- Optimize your GMB listing to work with the Google algorithm
- Ensure you have accurate business information listed
- Hours of operation
- Special hours (holidays or certain circumstances)
- Address
- Phone number
- Website
- Business description
- Post messages, photos and videos
- Encourage reviews
- Positive reviews and active responses boost your ranking in search.
- Local citations
- Claim your local citations outside of GMB to make sure they are consistent and optimized for search.
- Audit keywords
- Use keywords that trigger local 3-pack searches, especially location-based keywords for your city and “near me” searches.
- Social media platforms
- Use social media to send organic traffic to your website.
- Link all social media profiles to your GMB Listing.
- Ensure all of your social pages have accurate and up-to-date information about your business.
Local 3-packs are an Important Piece of the Google Search Result Landscape for Dealers. They bring in a large portion of local organic search traffic. L2T’s SEO packages are designed to help dealers dominate their market. Local 3-packs are a powerful marketing tool, which is why our SEO strategies emphasize the importance of a dealer’s GMB and optimize for high-performing keywords that trigger local 3-pack results.