{"id":1210,"slug":"pigeon-update-jul-24-2014-3-pack-shrink","title":"Pigeon update (July 24, 2014) — tied local algorithm to core web-ranking signals; credited with shrinking the local results from 7-pack to 3-pack","kind":"reference","scope":"business","status":"current","audiences":["kevin","smb-owner","candid-team"],"topics":["local-seo","algorithm-updates"],"reference_body":"**Claim:** Google's **Pigeon update on July 24, 2014** tied the local-search algorithm to core web-ranking signals, improved proximity/distance handling, and is **widely credited** with helping shrink the local results from a 7-pack to today's **3-pack**.\n\n**Source:** Search Engine Land coverage July 2014; subsequent industry pattern observation.\n\n**Confidence:** Verified (the update + that the 3-pack is now standard). **Industry-consensus** on Pigeon's causal role in the 3-pack shrink — Google itself said little officially.\n\n**Why this matters for Candid:** Local became brutally competitive after Pigeon — only **three businesses** get prime \"near me\" visibility. This is the structural reason GBP optimisation matters so much: there is no fourth slot. Cross-link [[rule-gbp-still-primary-local-lead-surface-for-near-me-2026]].","rationale_body":null,"metadata":null,"links":{"outgoing":[{"slug":"google-local-stack-timeline-2004-2014-rebrand-to-gbp","title":"Google local-listings tool timeline: Google Local (March 2004) → Maps (2005) → Places (2009) → G+ Local (2012) → Google My Business (June 2014) → Google Business Profile (November 2021)","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"}],"incoming":[{"slug":"research-brief-businesses-found-on-web-google-smb-june-2026","title":"Research brief: How businesses got found on the web — a then→now timeline (Google-focused, SMB lens, June 2026)","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"recurring-pattern-google-shifts-early-adopters-win-laggards-lose","title":"The recurring pattern: every major Google shift changed what got surfaced; early adapters captured the new surface, laggards lost the old one — and the pattern is repeating now with AI answers","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"},{"slug":"rule-gbp-still-primary-local-lead-surface-for-near-me-2026","title":"Rule: For Ontario service-business clients in 2026, the Google Business Profile is still the primary local-lead surface — lock it down before anything else","kind":"rule","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"}]},"created_at":"2026-06-18T00:10:55.807Z","updated_at":"2026-06-18T00:10:55.807Z"}