A managed service provider in South Dakota came to us in May for a full marketing rebuild: website, content, social, all of it. Before we touched any of that, we tested how visible they were in Google Maps.
They showed up in the map pack at 2 out of 121 points across a 15 mile radius. That's 1.65%. Three weeks later, after working only on their local signals, they were in the top three at 84% of that same grid. When we doubled the radius to 30 miles, they held the top three at 94% of points and appeared at all 121 of 121.
We never changed their website. No ads, no new content, no social posts. Here is exactly what we did, and why local search is now the first thing we look at for every MSP we work with.
What the Map Pack Is (And Why MSPs Need to Be in It)
The map pack is the boxed set of three business listings, with a small map beside them, that Google shows at the top of the results page for local searches. It sits above the regular blue links, and on a phone it's often the entire first screen.
That placement matters most for the searches that actually bring in clients: "managed IT services," "IT support near me," or "IT services [city]." Someone typing those words is usually looking for a provider right now, and the map pack is the first thing they see.
It's also where buyers check you out. BrightLocal's 2026 Local Consumer Review Survey found that 97% of consumers read reviews for local businesses, and the same survey found the share of people using ChatGPT and other AI tools for local recommendations jumped from 6% to 45% in a single year. The signals that put you in the map pack are the same signals those AI tools lean on.
How We Measured It: 121 Points, Not One Search
Map results change depending on where the searcher is standing. An MSP can own the map pack outside its own building and be invisible eleven miles away, and a single search from your office will never show you that.
So we ran their main money keyword, "IT services [city]," from 121 separate points across a 15 mile radius using a grid scan. The before picture:
- Top three at 2 of 121 points (1.65%), both right beside their own office
- Average map position of 12.9
- 9th place out of the 68 businesses competing in that grid
Three weeks later, same keyword, same 121 points:
- Top three at 84% of the grid
- Average position of 2.8
- 2nd place out of 68 competitors, with the established number two losing 16 points of share
Then we widened the scan to 30 miles, twice the area. They held the top three at 94% of points and appeared somewhere in the results at every single point.
The Four Things We Changed
None of this is secret. Most MSPs simply never get it done properly, so you're welcome to take this list and use it.
1. We filled out the Google Business Profile properly
Every service was entered individually as a service: managed IT, help desk, cybersecurity, backup and disaster recovery, Microsoft 365, and so on. Most MSP profiles bury all of this in one description paragraph, which gives Google far less to match against specific searches.
2. We added realistic service areas
Almost nobody fills this in, and the MSPs who do usually get it wrong by listing major cities 80 miles away. We set service areas that reflect where they actually work and can realistically win business.
3. We rewrote the description in the buyer's language
The new description talks about the problems their clients describe: downtime, slow support, security worries, compliance pressure. It doesn't read like a list of the tools in their stack.
4. We listed them on local directories with matching descriptions
This is the step most people underrate. Google is constantly deciding how much it trusts what it knows about your business. When the same services, description, and service area appear consistently across several independent sources, that trust goes up and Google shows you to more people. When every listing says something slightly different, Google hesitates.
The same consistency matters for AI search. An Ahrefs study of 75,000 brands found that branded web mentions correlated more strongly with visibility in Google's AI Overviews than backlinks did. Every matching listing is another place your business is described the way you want it to be.
Why We Now Start With Local Search
Local signals are the fastest moving asset an MSP owns. When we build a new website, we typically see meaningful movement in organic rankings over three to six months. Done properly, local search optimization can move the map pack in a couple of weeks.
It also feeds everything else. When we strengthened the local footprint for an MSP in Calgary, their map pack rankings for "IT company in Calgary" climbed within six weeks, and their organic rankings and AI visibility followed in the same window. Local credibility is what national and AI visibility get built on.
Local search is one piece of a bigger strategy. If you want the full picture of how it fits with service pages, content, and authority, read SEO for MSPs: What Actually Drives Leads Now.
Common Map Pack Mistakes We See on MSP Profiles
- A single generic category with no individual services listed
- Service areas stretched across half a state, which tells Google nothing about where you're actually relevant
- Directory listings with old addresses, old phone numbers, or old descriptions left over from previous agencies
- Reviews that only live on Google, when buyers now check several review sites before choosing a provider
- Judging visibility from one search at the office, which almost always looks better than reality
Where Does Your MSP Stand in the Map Pack?
Aureatix now offers a fixed-scope starting point called the Local Search Kickoff, as part of our local SEO for MSPs service. It includes an initial grid scan on your main keyword, Google Business Profile optimization, basic recommendations for your next steps, and a re-scan at 30 days so you can see exactly what moved.
It's $500, fixed scope. If you decide to keep working with us afterward, the $500 comes off your first month.
Book a 15-minute intro call and we'll talk through where your MSP stands today.
