Study: Google’s New Local Pack Shows In The Number One Spot 93% Of The Time

Earlier this month, Google replaced their “7-pack,” the local results box that showed seven local businesses in the Google Web search results, with the 3-pack. The change was significant: Four fewer businesses than before were showing up in the local pack.

But a new report from seoClarity shows what is possibly an even more shocking change. The local pack, before it changed to the 3-pack, used to show up in the number one slot in the Web search results only 25 percent of the time. Now, with the new 3-pack, the study says it shows up in the number one position 93 percent of the time.

Here is a rank graph from seoClarity showing the before and after rank distributions:

As you can see, the top spot now will show a local pack 93 percent of the time versus 25 percent of the time. And 99 percent of the time, you’d see it in the top two positions, a dramatic improvement versus 31 percent of the time.

Here’s how seoClarity documented their methodology:

• Start with a list of keywords which on 7/25 showed the 7-pack map listings
• Narrow down the list to only those that showed the new 3-pack format on 8/15
• Retrieve the rank position at which the local pack showed for each date
• Compare the visibility of the old 7-pack map listings vs. the new 3-pack local listings

You can see, even based on the 7-pack to 3-pack switch chart, that there was an uptick in seoClarity’s data:

And even Mozcast shows a similar pattern:

You can learn more about these data at seoClarity.

About The Author

Barry Schwartz

Barry Schwartz a Contributing Editor to Search Engine Land and a member of the programming team for SMX events. He owns RustyBrick, a NY based web consulting firm. He also runs Search Engine Roundtable, a popular search blog on very advanced SEM topics. Barry's personal blog is named Cartoon Barry and he can be followed on Twitter here.