Over the past few months, Google has been testing a new layout for its Local Pack on desktop search results pages. With a bigger map now side-by-side with the top three results taking up more of the available space, this redesign is sure to make navigating local results easier and more intuitive for searchers. With easy-to-use Rating, Price and Hours selectors, business owners should see more high-intent traffic to their sites as well.

Google confirmed this change in a statement to Search Engine Land. A Google spokesperson said,

“We’re constantly exploring ways to connect people with the helpful information that they’re seeking. We’re currently rolling out an update to the Search interface on desktop so when people search for places or businesses nearby, like ’parks near me’ or ’restaurants near me,’ they’ll easily see local results on the left and a map on the right. We expect this to be broadly available over the coming weeks.”

Why Should You Care About This Change?

Sure, as a searcher you might be excited - after all, a bigger map means easier navigation, and better filters mean more relevant results - but does the Google Local Pack layout update matter for your business?

In short, absolutely it does. Local SEOs are already seeing ranking changes in the past weeks, some of which could be predicated on Google’s November 2021 core update which saw widespread volatile ranking changes for various businesses. However, there’s also evidence that those ranking shifts have been based in part on the number of reviews each business has, which is more likely caused by the local pack change.

What Can You Do To Improve Your Local Rankings?

What this means for local businesses is clear: if you want to rise to the top of Google Search Results pages, especially on desktop search, you need more customer reviews for your business. The best way to achieve this is by providing an excellent customer experience that people will want to write about. You’ll also want to perform extensive Google Business Profile optimization by making sure your business hours, prices, service and product offerings, and other business information are accurate.

(If you haven’t heard, Google My Business was rebranded to Google Business Profile in November.)

Not only does the redesigned Local Pack feature businesses more prominently, it’s the very first thing to populate on the first page in local results - which can be a huge boon to your business if your listing gets to the coveted top three spots.

If you’re not sure where to begin in optimizing your Google Business Profile listing, contact our team at Click Here Digital for help. Our local SEO experts have extensive experience in creating, optimizing and managing business listings on Google, backed by nearly 30 years of experience in getting our clients to the top of search results pages. Schedule a demo today!