Google Maps Ranking Letchworth How the Local Pack Actually Works

The bit that trips everyone up

Right, so you've got a Google Business Profile. You've filled in the categories, chucked in some photos, maybe got a few reviews. And you're sat there wondering why you're not showing up when people search for your thing in Letchworth.

Or worse, you ARE showing up, but you're third in the pack. And the business above you has fewer reviews, dodgy photos, and hasn't updated their opening hours since 2023.

The local pack, those three map results at the top of Google when someone searches "plumber near me" or "accountant Letchworth", looks simple. Three slots. Whoever's best gets in. Except it's not that. Not even close.

I've been doing this for 15 years and the local pack still does things that make absolutely no sense until you look at what Google's actually trying to do. Which isn't what you think it's trying to do.

What Google's actually ranking

Everyone thinks it's reviews. Or distance. Or how complete your profile is.

It's all three. And none of them. Depends entirely on what someone typed and where they are when they type it.

Look, Google's got one job with the local pack: show the searcher three businesses that answer their question without them needing to click through and faff about. That's it. The ranking isn't "best business wins". It's "most relevant to this specific search at this specific moment wins".

Someone in Baldock searching "electrician" gets different results than someone in Letchworth searching "electrician". Same keyword. Different intent, different location, different pack.

Someone searching "emergency plumber Hitchin" at 11pm gets different results than someone searching "plumber Hitchin" at 2pm on a Tuesday. Google knows one's urgent, one's research.

And here's the bit that does my head in. Someone searching "coffee shop" while walking down Leys Avenue gets different results than someone searching "coffee shop Letchworth" from their sofa at home. Even if they're both IN Letchworth when they search.

Google interprets the second one as research. Might be planning for later. Might want something specific. So it shows you a different set of results with more variety.

The first one? You're moving, you're searching, you want something NOW. Google's going to show you what's closest and open, even if it's not technically the "best" coffee shop in town.

The three things that actually matter

Alright, so there's three main signals. Relevance, distance, prominence. Everyone knows this because Google literally tells you in their documentation.

But what they mean by those words isn't what you think they mean.

Relevance isn't "do you do the thing they searched for". It's "does your profile data match the specific language and intent of what they typed".

Got a profile that says you're a "digital marketing agency"? Great. Someone searches "SEO agency Letchworth", you might not show up. Even though you DO SEO. Because your profile doesn't SAY you do SEO in the right places.

This is where categories matter. Not your primary category, necessarily. Your additional categories. I've seen businesses in Hitchin completely miss local pack rankings because they picked the wrong primary category and didn't add the secondaries that actually match search terms.

And it's where your description matters, your services list matters, your Google Posts matter. Not for keywords, exactly. More like... semantic signals. If your profile is all "we're a full service agency" and never mentions the specific thing someone searched for, Google doesn't know you're relevant.

Distance is obvious, right? How far you are from the searcher.

Except it's not that simple either. If you're searching from home, Google uses your home location, not where you're standing. If you're searching on mobile while moving, it uses your actual GPS. If you're searching with a location in the query ("plumber Letchworth"), it uses that location as the centre point, not where you are.

And distance is weighted differently depending on the search. Someone searching "emergency dentist" will see results from further away than someone searching "coffee shop". Google knows one's worth travelling for, one isn't.

I'm in Letchworth, we're at 6 Woolston Avenue. When someone in Royston searches "SEO agency near me", we're not showing up. Obviously. We're 10 miles away. But when they search "SEO agency Letchworth", suddenly distance doesn't matter as much because they've told Google they're willing to look in Letchworth specifically.

Prominence is the messy one. It's basically "how well-known are you". Reviews are part of it. Your review count, your average rating, how recent they are, whether you respond to them.

But it's also your wider web presence. How many citations you've got (directory listings with your NAP: name, address, phone). How many links point to your website from local sources. Whether you've got articles or mentions on local news sites.

And, this is the bit people forget, your website's SEO matters for the local pack. Google's not just looking at your Business Profile in isolation. It's looking at whether your actual website ranks for the search term. If your site's on page three for "accountant Letchworth", your Business Profile isn't going to rank in the local pack for that search either.

The stuff that doesn't work the way you think

Photos. Everyone thinks more photos equals better ranking. It doesn't. Google cares that you HAVE photos, and that they're recent, and that they're actually OF your business, not stock images. But 200 photos doesn't rank better than 50 good ones.

Reviews. More is better, obviously. But a business with 80 reviews at 4.8 stars often ranks higher than a business with 50 reviews at 5.0 stars. Google knows perfect ratings look dodgy. Also knows that businesses with more reviews are probably more active, more established, more... prominent.

And the timing of reviews matters more than people think. Get ten reviews in January then nothing for six months? That's weird. Looks like you gamed it. Get one or two a month consistently? That's natural. Google prefers natural.

Response rate. If you respond to every review within an hour, that's... also weird? Like you're sat there refreshing your profile all day. Responding within a day or two is fine. Not responding at all is bad. But obsessive responding doesn't help as much as you'd think.

Q&A section. Barely anyone uses it. But Google does look at it. If you've got questions with answers (even if you answered them yourself), it's more data about what you do. More relevance signals.

Posts. Google Posts are that thing where you can publish little updates to your Business Profile. Most businesses ignore them. Which is mad, because they're basically free chances to tell Google what you're relevant for. Post about a new service, Google now knows you offer that service. Post using location-specific language, Google knows you're focused on that area.

We do them once a week for our Letchworth stuff. Takes ten minutes. Does it directly boost rankings? Not really. Does it keep your profile active and feed Google more semantic data about what you do? Absolutely.

Why your competitor ranks higher with worse everything

This is the question I get constantly. "They've got fewer reviews, their photos are rubbish, their website's from 2015, why are they above me?"

Few reasons.

One, they might just be closer to wherever the search centre point is. If someone's searching from the north end of Stevenage and your competitor's on that side of town, they win on distance even if everything else is worse.

Two, their website might rank better organically. Even if it LOOKS worse. Google's not judging design, it's judging whether the content matches the search. Old ugly website with 50 pages of keyword-rich content beats beautiful new website with five pages of vague marketing speak.

Three, they might have better citation coverage. They're listed in 60 directories, you're in 15. Most of those directories are useless for actual traffic, but Google counts them as prominence signals.

Four, and this is the annoying one, they might have been there longer. Google has historic data about them. Knows they're stable, established, not going anywhere. Your business is two years old. Even if you're better, Google's cautious about ranking new businesses too high too fast.

Five, category mismatch. You picked "Marketing Agency" as primary category. They picked "SEO Agency". Someone searches "SEO agency", they're a closer relevance match even though you both do the same work.

The AI search angle

Right, so this is all about Google Maps and the local pack today, May 2026. But it's not going to stay that way.

We're already seeing ChatGPT and Perplexity giving local recommendations. "Best plumber in Letchworth" in ChatGPT doesn't give you a local pack, it gives you a written answer with a couple of names. Where's it getting those names? Your Google Business Profile, yeah, but also your website content, your citations, mentions of your business across the web.

This is AEO, answer engine optimisation. It's not about ranking in a list anymore, it's about being the business that gets named in the answer.

And the signals are similar but different. AEO cares more about structured content on your actual website. Service pages that clearly explain what you do and where you do it. Location pages for each town you serve. Not for Google's algorithm, for AI to read and understand.

If your website just says "we serve Hertfordshire", an AI doesn't know if that includes Letchworth specifically. If you've got a page that says "we provide SEO services in Letchworth Garden City, covering the town centre, Grange Estate, Jackmans, and the surrounding area", now the AI knows. It can confidently name you when someone asks about Letchworth.

We're doing a lot of this for clients in Hitchin and Baldock right now. Not replacing their Google Business Profile work, adding to it. Because in 12 months, maybe 18, a decent chunk of "near me" searches won't even hit Google. They'll go straight to AI chat interfaces.

What to actually do about all this

OK so if you want your Business Profile to rank better in the local pack, here's what actually moves the needle.

Get your categories right. Primary category should be the most specific match for your main search term. Add every relevant additional category. Don't overthink it.

Fill in everything. Services, description, attributes, all of it. More data equals more relevance signals.

Get reviews consistently. Not in bursts. One or two a month is better than ten in a week then nothing. Ask customers when it's natural, not with automated emails five minutes after they've paid.

Respond to reviews. Not instantly, not robotically. Just... respond. Show you're active.

Post regularly. Once a week, once a fortnight. Doesn't matter. Just keep your profile active and keep feeding Google content about what you do and where you do it.

Make sure your website actually ranks. If your site's nowhere for your target search terms, your Business Profile won't rank either. The two are connected.

And look, if this all sounds like a lot of faff, it is. But it's also the difference between being in the pack or not. Between getting calls or watching your competitor get them instead.

We do this stuff day in, day out for businesses around Letchworth and North Herts. If you want someone to just sort it for you, book a call and we'll have a look at what's actually stopping you ranking.