Why isn't my business showing up in the Google map pack?

The map pack - the three businesses shown on the map above the regular results - is where most local clicks go. If you are not there, it is almost always one of a handful of fixable reasons. Here is how to work through them.

You are checking from one location (and it lies)

Your map-pack rank changes with the searcher's location. You might rank fine near your business and be invisible across town - for the same keyword, on the same day. Before assuming you are missing everywhere, check your rank from a grid of points with a geo-grid scan. You may be there, just not where you happened to look.

Your profile is unclaimed or incomplete

An unclaimed, unverified, or half-filled Google Business Profile barely ranks. Claim it, verify it, and complete every field. This is the number one reason a business is genuinely absent from the pack.

Your primary category is wrong

If your category does not match the search, Google will not show you - proximity cannot save a relevance mismatch. Make your primary category the specific thing people search for. A quick GBP grade will flag this in seconds.

You do not have enough reviews to compete

If competitors in your area have hundreds of recent reviews and you have a handful, you will lose the pack even when you are closer. Reviews are the biggest lever for extending your ranking radius. Start asking every customer, consistently.

You are outside the proximity range

For competitive terms in dense areas, Google may only show businesses very close to the searcher. If you are a few miles out, you may simply be outside the range for that spot - which is exactly why you build service-area pages and reviews to stretch your reach. See the whole picture with a map-pack scan.