The local pack, also called the map pack, is the block of results Google shows for location-based searches, featuring a map and usually three business listings with ratings, hours and contact details, displayed prominently above the regular organic results.
For local service searches, the local pack is where the action is. It sits at the top of the page, and most people choose from those three listings rather than scrolling to the organic results below.
It runs on different signals from regular SEO. Proximity, the Google Business Profile, review count and rating, and listing consistency drive local pack placement, so a business can win it without a large website.
Three slots, lots of competitors. Being the fourth-best business in the area means being invisible in the pack, which is why the local signals have to be actively maintained, not set once.
Someone searches mechanic near me. Before they see a single normal website link, they see a map and three workshops with star ratings, review counts and a call button.
They pick one of those three, almost certainly the one with a strong rating and a complete, photo-filled profile, and call it.
A workshop that is not in those three slots effectively does not exist for that search, no matter how good its actual website is.
In-House works the local pack directly through the SEO agent and the Google Business Profile integration: complete profile, photos, review flow, consistent listings.