During the past few years, the branding of Google’s local results has changed frequently. Alternating from Google Places, Google+ Local, to Google My Business. These changes have made for interesting conversation but have not had a meaningful impact on how search results are displayed.
More notably, the most recent change is affecting the amount of local results that are displayed in the search engine results. Until recently, Google seemed to have rested on a the 7 pack variation allowing 7 different businesses to appear in the results.
Earlier in August, Google rolled out a map pack change reducing number of listings from 7 to 3. It has been over a month and the 3 pack appears to be the universal default.
Local map optimization has become much more competitive forcing businesses to compete over 3 result spaces rather than 7 spacs. Is your business in a position to compete? Check out our local map services and see how your local online presence measures up.