Google Maps ranks local results through multiple systems, not one algorithm—72 Oyster Rank signals are just one layer

Search Engine Land obtained a binary exposing Google's Geostore—the system representing geographic entities in Maps—and cross-referenced it with leaked 2024 documentation to map the architecture underlying local search rankings. The analysis reveals that a Maps listing is the rendered output of a canonical entity built from 793 data sources, passed through multiple ranking and retrieval systems, and personalized before display. Oyster Rank, Google's internal scoring system, contains 72 signals including reviews, query volume, impressions, clicks, and chain membership, but 25 are deprecated and their weights are unknown; more importantly, these signals score only the entity itself—actual search results flow through separate query understanding, semantic matching, candidate generation, and geographic filtering stages, making local search a multi-stage pipeline rather than a single algorithm. Testing revealed that geographic footprint is dynamic, expanding or contracting based on query density and local population density rather than operating within a fixed radius.