Local organic results
Also called: localized organic results, local web results, localized web results
Local organic results are the traditional blue-link web results that appear below the local pack on a search with local intent. They link to a business's own website (not its Google Business Profile) and are ranked by Google's core web signals with the searcher's location factored in.
On a query with local intent (for example plumber near me or dentist austin), Google usually stacks two things: the local pack (a map plus three Google Business Profile listings) and, beneath it, the classic list of blue links. That lower list is the local organic results. Same page, two different ranking systems.
Two result sets, two rulebooks
The pack runs on Google’s local algorithm. The Business Profile Help center sums it up as relevance, distance, and prominence, and every listing points to a Google-hosted profile. Local organic results run on Google’s core web ranking instead: content quality, on-page optimization, inbound links, and technical health, with the searcher’s location layered in so a nearby, locally relevant page can outrank a generic national one. A click here lands on your own site.
BrightLocal’s factor breakdown mirrors this split: the pack leans on profile completeness and reviews, while localized web results lean on on-page work and links. So the levers differ. GBP tuning moves the pack; a stronger website moves the organic slot.
They are not mutually exclusive. A business can hold a pack slot and an organic slot on the same query, which is two unpaid entries on one screen instead of one. Because the systems rank separately, your pack position and your organic position rarely line up, and gains in one do not automatically carry to the other.
How it affects your traffic
The pack caps at three slots, so for most local queries the organic list is where the rest of the clickable, website-bound traffic lives. Holding both a pack slot and a top local organic position doubles your footprint on a single screen and catches searchers who scroll past the map to compare real websites. Our Local SEO work runs both tracks at once: Google Business Profile, reviews, and citations for the pack, plus location pages, on-page optimization, and links for the organic ranking a strong site earns.
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