Google is experimenting with a new local pack layout that places the map above the business listings rather than beside them. The shift was first spotted by Khushal Bherwani and later confirmed by Punit Gupta, both sharing screenshots on X. Search Engine Roundtable’s Barry Schwartz flagged the change on July 3, noting that the test also repositions and restyles the action buttons attached to each listing.
The current local pack format has held for years: a map on the right rail, three or so business results on the left, each with call, directions, and website buttons stacked beneath the name. Moving the map to the top inverts that hierarchy and puts a visual element ahead of the text listings a searcher would otherwise scan first. On a phone screen, that reordering can push the first business name and its reviews below the fold entirely.
That ordering change matters for click behavior. A map placed above the fold competes directly with the business names and star ratings for the first glance a mobile searcher gives the results. If Google keeps this arrangement, local businesses that rely on a strong name and review snippet to earn a tap may see that snippet pushed further down the screen, even if their map pin still renders prominently. A pin on a map carries less identifying detail than a business name paired with a rating, so the swap could favor recognizable brands over newer listings competing mainly on review quality.
Schwartz himself said he was unsure which version he preferred, and Google has not commented on the test or confirmed any percentage of users seeing it. That combination, an unconfirmed test with no stated criteria, is the pattern Google follows before nearly every interface change it eventually ships broadly and the pattern it follows before changes it abandons entirely. Search Engine Roundtable’s report gives no indication of which outcome is more likely here.
For a local SEO team, the correct response to a spotted test like this is not to redesign a listing strategy around it. It is to check Search Console and analytics for any local pack impression or click-through shift in the affected geography, and to keep the check running for a few weeks rather than reacting to a single screenshot. Google runs interface tests constantly. Only a small share reach general availability, and the company rarely announces when a test ends without shipping.
The action button changes deserve the same caution. Until Google specifies which buttons move and how, agencies managing Google Business Profile listings gain nothing by adjusting call-tracking or click-to-website setups in anticipation of a layout that may never leave testing. Watch the metric, not the mockup.
Search Engine Roundtable’s Barry Schwartz reported on the local pack layout test on July 3, 2026.
