Research · Q3 2026
Metro Vancouver Local Search Report: Q3 2026
We sampled the Google results that local service businesses actually compete in across five Metro Vancouver cities, plus five years of demand data for twelve trades. This is what the Map Pack, the AI answers, and the seasons looked like this quarter.
The Digital Handshake Local Search Index is a quarterly read of Google's local results in Metro Vancouver, built from live search data, not opinion. Four findings this quarter: a Map Pack seat was held with a median of 34 reviews, and more than a quarter of pack holders had fewer than 20; the Map Pack does not appear on every query, and where it is missing the AI answer takes its place; an AI Overview showed on two thirds of the local commercial queries we tracked; and local demand is sharply seasonal, with each trade's peak landing in a predictable month. The full method and the raw figures are below.
By the numbers
- 34 reviews was the median for a business holding a Map Pack seat across 60 pack appearances in five cities. Range: 2 to 278. DHM DATA
- 28% of pack holders had fewer than 20 reviews, and 53% had fewer than 35. Only 13% had 100 or more. DHM DATA
- 18 distinct businesses held the 60 pack seats we sampled. The top three holders took 21 of them. DHM DATA
- 22 of 33 target local queries returned a Google AI Overview. DHM DATA
- 0 of 5 cities showed a Map Pack for the query "google maps seo". It is an organic and AI-answer result, not a map result. DHM DATA
- ~55% of Local Pack ranking is still estimated to be the searcher's distance from the business. INDEPENDENT RESEARCH
What we measured
Three data sets, all pulled from live Google results in early September 2026 through a search API, using Canadian settings (google.ca).
- Map Pack composition. Five commercial queries ("local seo agency", "seo agency", "seo company", "local seo services", "google maps seo") run from five cities: Surrey, Vancouver, Burnaby, Langley, Delta. For every Map Pack shown, we recorded each listed business's rating, review count, primary category, and stated years in business. That is 25 result pages and 60 pack appearances.
- AI Overview presence. A wider set of 33 local and commercial queries, checked for whether Google returned an AI Overview, which sources it cited, and what questions it triggered underneath.
- Demand seasonality. Five years of Google Trends interest for twelve trade terms, scoped to British Columbia, reduced to a monthly average so each trade's peak and trough month are visible.
One data point is one business in one Map Pack, or one query, or one trade's five-year monthly curve. Names of individual businesses are not published here. The figures are distributions, not a directory.
Finding 1: what it took to hold a Map Pack seat
We sampled 60 pack appearances. The review count needed to be visible was lower than most owners assume. Rating alone told us almost nothing.
| Measure | Reviews |
|---|---|
| Lowest | 2 |
| Lower quartile | 17 |
| Median | 34 |
| Mean | 56 |
| Upper quartile | 51 |
| Highest | 278 |
| Share with fewer than 20 | 28% |
| Share with 100 or more | 13% |
The rating spread was narrow. The median was 5.0 stars. More than three quarters of pack holders sat at 4.9 or above. A strong rating is the entry ticket, not the thing that sets you apart. Review count, and from other research review recency, are where the gap between listings opens.
Age helped but did not gate. The most common bucket was seven or more years in business. Still, about one in five pack appearances came from a business only three or more years old. A newer business that was set up correctly held seats in every city we checked.
The concentration number matters most. Eighteen businesses held the 60 seats. The top three took just over a third. That is a market with a hard core of incumbents and real room below them. It is the shape a geo-grid is built to read. See how the geo-grid works.
Finding 2: the Map Pack is not on every result
Every city we checked showed a three-business Map Pack for four of the five queries. The exception was the same in all five: "google maps seo" returned no Map Pack anywhere.
That query returns regular blue-link results with an AI Overview on top. There is no map, no three-listing block, no profile card to win. A business that only tunes its profile for that phrase is competing for a result that is not there. The point is not "ignore the profile". It is that the search intent decides the surface. Some high-value phrases are won on the website and the AI answer, not the map. More on how the Local Pack works.
Finding 3: AI Overviews on local commercial queries
Of the 33 local and commercial queries we tracked, 22 returned a Google AI Overview. For the tighter set of five city-level buyer queries, "seo company" triggered one in all five cities. "local seo services" triggered one in three of five.
Every AI Overview we read had the same shape. One plain definition sentence. Then a short labelled list of three to six items. Then short paragraphs. The pages it cited were the ones built that way. A page that buries its definition in the third sentence, or answers in one long block, is not in the format the overview pulls from.
We publish this because it is our own data and the report is meant to be checkable. On the queries above, the site you are reading was cited in zero AI Overviews this quarter. The content that targets them is weeks old and mostly not yet indexed. Next quarter's report will show whether that moved. How AI-answer citation actually works.
Finding 4: local demand is seasonal, and the peak month is predictable
Five years of British Columbia search interest, averaged by month, gives each trade a clear peak. The swing column is the gap between the busiest and quietest month as a share of the peak. Above roughly 35% means the trade is genuinely seasonal and the profile and review work has to be done six to eight weeks before the peak, not during it.
| Trade term | Peak month | Quietest month | Seasonal swing |
|---|---|---|---|
| landscaping | April | December | 67% |
| tree removal | May | December | 61% |
| hvac repair | May | January | 91% |
| roofing company | July | December | 80% |
| plumber near me | July | February | 88% |
| pest control | July | December | 44% |
| google business profile | March | September | 57% |
Two practical reads. Trades with a hard weather peak (roofing, HVAC, tree work, landscaping) should have the map work finished over the winter. And "google business profile" itself peaks in March, which is when business owners sit down to fix their own listing, so that is the window to publish or refresh anything that helps them do it.
Finding 5: the local queries that are growing
From the same five-year window, the fastest-rising related searches in British Columbia point at where new demand is forming:
- "local seo for contractors" registered as a breakout term, meaning growth too large to express as a percentage. There was no single page built around that exact framing until recently.
- "seo agency for small business" rose about 350%. It is the plainest statement of what most local buyers are actually looking for.
- The "is seo dead" cluster ("is seo dead in 2026", "because of ai", "with chatgpt") is dense and growing. The demand is for a straight answer, not a defence.
None of these need a new tactic. They need a page that answers the exact question, in plain words, with the definition first.
What this means if you run a local business
Four things the data supports directly. First, a Map Pack seat in these markets is reachable on a review count most established businesses can build in a year. A slow review habit is the most fixable gap you have. Second, check which surface your best queries return before you tune for one. Some of them have no map result at all. Third, put a plain answer at the top of your key pages. That is the format the AI Overview pulls from. Fourth, if your trade is seasonal, the map and review work has to be done before the peak. This report tells you which month that is.
Want your own version of Finding 1, for your industry and area? That is what the free audit produces. You get a geo-grid of where you actually rank, and the review and citation gap between you and the businesses holding the pack.
Questions we get
Frequently asked questions
Is this report about specific companies?
No. It reports distributions: the range and median of review counts, the share of pack holders under a threshold, the number of distinct businesses holding seats. Individual business names are not published. It is a read of the market, not a directory or a review of any competitor.
How often is it updated?
Quarterly. Each edition re-runs the same queries from the same cities so the numbers are comparable over time. The next edition covers Q4 2026.
Can I cite this data?
Yes. Attribute it to the Digital Handshake Local Search Index, Q3 2026, and link to this page. If you are a journalist or researcher and want the underlying query list or a specific cut, ask through the contact page.
What is the sample size, and what are the limits?
Twenty-five result pages and 60 Map Pack appearances for Finding 1, 33 queries for the AI Overview count, and twelve five-year trade curves for seasonality. Results vary with the searcher's exact location and change day to day. The ranking-factor weights quoted are third-party practitioner estimates, not Google's disclosed formula. Treat every figure as directional.
Why publish market data that could help competitors?
The findings are things any business can verify with the same searches. Publishing the aggregate read, honestly including where our own site is not yet cited, is more useful to a local business owner deciding what to do than another vendor claim. That is the trade we are comfortable making.
Read next
Where to go from here
Sources and method
- Digital Handshake Media, live Google results captured through the SerpApi search API, early September 2026, Canadian settings (google.ca, gl=ca). Five cities, five commercial queries for the Map Pack sample; 33 queries for the AI Overview count. DHM DATA
- Google Trends, British Columbia, five-year window, reduced to a monthly average per term, for the twelve trade terms in Finding 4. DHM DATA
- Whitespark, Local Search Ranking Factors (2026 edition): proximity approximately 55% of Local Pack weight, Google Business Profile signals approximately 32%, review recency now above review count. Practitioner survey, directional.
- Google Business Profile Help, Improve your local ranking on Google: local results are based on relevance, distance, and prominence, and there is no way to pay for a better local ranking.
Figures are distributions from the samples described above and are directional, not exact values for any one business, market, or day.
Next step
See where your business actually ranks across your area.
The free Map Pack audit runs the same kind of grid this report is built on, for your industry and your service area. You keep the results either way.
Or call 778-200-8644 · One client per industry, per area. No guaranteed rankings.