What more than 50 million search results reveal about Google 3-Pack rankings

Why is it crucial to Local 3-Pack?

When a person searches for a local business on Google (e.g. “plumber in Madrid”.” o “restaurant near me”), the first visible results are almost always three business profiles accompanied by a map.Google calls this the Local 3-Pack.

This space is pure gold for local businesses because:

📍 Captures most local search clicks.
📍 Increase calls, visits and direct actions.
📍 It does not depend solely on the Traditional SEO but from local signals such as reviews, ratings and relevance.

What did Local Falcon analyse?

This report is based on:

✔ 50.4 million search results in the US.
✔ 1,993 different business categories.
✔ Data obtained during the Q4 of 2025.
✔ Combination of metrics of reviews, ratings (stars), and location.

Key concepts explained

Before going into the data, let us define three terms that the report uses repeatedly:

Finding 1: Review requirements vary by industry

One of the most important conclusions is that there is no fixed number of reviews to be in the 3-Pack.

Review requirements are highly dependent on the sector., due to differences in transactional volume and user expectations.

📍 Examples of required reviews (medium)

➡️ This tells us that a restaurant needs a lot more reviews than an electrician to compete, because restaurant users expect more reviews before deciding.

Finding 2: Stars matter as much as number of reviews

Although quantity matters... the quality of the reviews is even more critical.

📌 The report shows that:

✔ Almost all competitive outcomes have minimum 4.5 stars.
✔ Most of the winners of the 3-Pack have 4.8-4.9 stars.
✔ Less than 4.3 stars makes it extremely difficult to position oneself in 3-Pack.

➡️ This reflects something that experts in local SEO are already observing: the reviews are your public reputation and your relevance score for Google..

Finding 3: Location matters, but not as much as you thought it would.

📍 Physical proximity is still a factor ... but does not determine the final ranking as strongly as before.
According to recent observations, even if two businesses are close to the search location, the one with better review signals and quality tends to rank higher.

 Real example of location impact

• In large consultations (“best plumber”), authority and reviews trump location.

• In consultations with explicit locality (“...in Valencia”), more 3-Pack and less AI Overview.

Practice of Local SEO: Don't just focus on being close to the centre: optimise reviews, ratings and profile relevance.

Finding 4: AI is reading your reviews

One of the most innovative strategic insights of this study:

👉 AI systems that summarise local businesses (such as Google AI Overviews or ChatGPT) use signals similar to those of the 3-Pack: ressages, ratings, textual content, frequency and recency.

In other words, you're not just competing with reviews for Google Maps: AIs powered by public data are learning from your reputation.

 Your profile optimised with relevant reviews:

• Increases the chances of respond in AI-generated results.

• Act as a “resume” of your business for digital assistants.

• Attract clicks, bookings and conversions directly from AI suggestions.

Suggested graph: Relationship between average rating and position in 3-Pack

(This graph can be generated by you for your blog, using data such as X-axis = average rating and Y-axis = percentage of 3-Pack business.)

Trend observed:

• 4.9 stars → High probability top 3

• 4.7-4.8 stars → Consistently competitive

• 4.3-4.6 stars → Erratic presence

• <4.3 stars → Virtually unranked

Recommended optimisation strategies (Local SEO 2026)

This is where the really practical part comes in: how to use this data to position yourself and outperform your competition.

✅ 1. Collect quality reviews, not just quantity.

💡 Ask for reviews focused on specific services/products.
💡 Avoid short reviews without context.
💡 Encourage mentioning local keywords (e.g. “servicio técnico Madrid”).
💡 Respond to all your reviews.

 Not only does this improve your average rating, but it also enriches the content that Google and AI systems read.

2. Quality before quantity

 500 reviews with 4.8 ⭐ >> 2000 reviews with 4.2 ⭐ >> 2000 reviews with 4.2 ⭐ >> 500 reviews with 4.8 ⭐ >> 2000 reviews with 4.2 ⭐.

Google values very highly the quality of customer experience, and this is reflected in the fact that 4.8-4.9 is present in most of the 3-Pack.

 3. Optimise your Google Business Profile 

It includes:

✔ Precise and relevant categories
✔ Updated timetables
✔ Professional photos
✔ Full descriptions
✔ Frequent posts with business keywords

 Remember: the complete and active profile is more likely to rank.

✅ 4. Consolidates complementary local signals

While reviews and ratings are vital, they are also influential:

📍 Keywords in the business name
📍 Local backlinks
📍 Citations (consistent NAPs)
📍 Behavioural signals (clicks, calls, addresses)
📍 Relevant content on website targeting local SEO

Importance of AI in local SEO

🔹 AI Overviews appear in a large number of local consultations.
🔹 This reduces the traditional visibility of the 3-Pack.
🔹 Having a strong profile and strong reviews positions you in both classical and AI results.

💡 Tip: create content that answers questions like:

• What is the best X service in [city]?

• What do customers say about your business?

• What makes your local business different?

Industry strategy table of reviews

Conclusion

The investigation of Local Falcon on 50 million search results leaves us with a number of powerful lessons for mastering the Google Local 3-Pack:

✅ The reviews and ratings are the main driver of the local ranking.
✅ Quality and recency of opinions are crucial.
✅ The AI is learning from your public data, which amplifies the importance of local SEO.
There are no shortcuts: consistency and long-term strategy win.