What is a geogrid in local SEO?
A geogrid (or geo-grid) is a grid of GPS points laid over a map around a business. From each point, a rank tracker runs the same Google Maps search and records where the business shows up. The result is a heatmap of your local rankings: green where you're in the top 3, red where you don't show up.
You need a grid because Google doesn't show everyone the same list. When someone searches "plumber" or "pizza" on Maps, the results depend on where they are, or on the area they're looking at. A customer outside your door may see you first. Another one 2 km away may not see you at all. That's also why checking your rank from your own phone, in your own shop, is misleading: you'll usually see yourself near the top.
Google says local results are based mainly on relevance, distance and prominence. Distance changes with every point of the geogrid, so the map usually goes from green near your address to red further out. How quickly it turns red depends on the other two factors, and on how many competitors are nearby.
Paid local rank trackers such as Local Falcon, BrightLocal, Semrush or Whitespark made this view popular with agencies. This tool gives you the same snapshot for free, one keyword at a time.
How to read your geogrid: SoLV, ARP and ATRP
Each pin is one Google Maps search, run from that spot. The number is your position in the results:
- Green (1 to 3): you're in the map pack, the three businesses Google Search usually shows in its map block. This is where you get most of the clicks.
- Yellow (4 to 10): you're on the list, but customers have to scroll.
- Orange (11 to 20): you're there in name only. Few people scroll that far.
- Red (20+): you're not in the first 20 results.
Below the map, the three scores rank tracking tools use:
| Score | What it measures |
|---|---|
| SoLV (share of local voice) | The share of points where you're in the top 3: how much of the area sees you first |
| ARP (average rank position) | Your average position on the points where you appear in the top 20 |
| ATRP (average total rank position) | Your average position over every point, counting 21 when you're not in the top 20. It drops when you show up in more places |
The table underneath lists the businesses that take the top 3 most often. Click any pin to see who's in the top 3 at that spot.
Which keyword should you scan?
Start from the words your customers use, not the ones on your sign. A pizzeria can rank well for "pizza" and be invisible for "Italian restaurant". Scan two or three terms:
- Your main category, the one shown under your name on Google ("Bakery", "Dentist", "Hair salon"). The tool suggests it by default.
- Your main service or product, if people search for it directly: "brunch", "emergency plumber", "laser hair removal".
- A more specific term that sets you apart: "organic bakery", "sports physiotherapist".
Match the radius to where your customers come from: 1.5 km for a café or a bakery in town, 3 km for most local services, 6 km for a business people drive to. In a dense city center, a small grid gives the more useful picture: at 6 km, almost every pin will be red.
How to rank higher on Google Maps
You can't move your address, but you can work on relevance and prominence. Google gives every business the same advice:
- Choose the right primary category. It tells Google what you do more clearly than anything else on your profile. Add secondary categories for your other services, without stretching it.
- Complete your profile. Hours, phone, website, services, attributes, description. Google says complete, accurate information helps it match your profile to the right searches. A Google Business Profile audit lists what's missing.
- Get reviews, steadily. Google states that review count and review score factor into local ranking. Ask every happy customer, with a direct review link or a QR code at the counter. The competitor review analysis shows how many reviews you need to catch up with the businesses ahead of you.
- Reply to reviews. Google recommends it, and customers can see someone is listening. FullReviews can reply to each one automatically, in your tone.
- Keep your profile active. Add photos, keep your hours up to date, holidays included, and post updates.
- Make your website match. Your address, your services and the towns you serve should be on your site, and your name, address and phone number should be the same everywhere online.
Don't add keywords to your business name on Google. Its guidelines forbid it, and profiles that do it can be suspended.
Changes take a while to show. Run the same keyword over the same grid again a few weeks later and compare your SoLV.
Free geogrid or a paid local rank tracker?
Local Falcon, BrightLocal (Local Search Grid), Semrush (Map Rank Tracker), Whitespark, Local Viking and Localo all run geogrid scans. They're built for agencies and regular monitoring: scheduled scans, larger grids, many keywords, history and client reports.
This tool answers a simpler question, for free: where do I show up on Google Maps today, for this keyword, and who's ahead of me? It runs a 7 × 7 grid (49 points) over 1.5, 3 or 6 km, up to 3 scans a day, with no account.
If you need to follow dozens of keywords every week, a paid tracker is worth it. If you want to know where you stand before deciding what to work on, start here.
Where the data comes from, and its limits
The grid is centered on your address on Google Maps. Points are evenly spaced: 500 m apart for a 1.5 km radius, 1 km for 3 km and 2 km for 6 km. From each point, the tool runs a Google Maps search for your keyword, in the map view a mobile user would see, and reads the first 20 organic results. Sponsored listings are left out.
A few things to keep in mind:
- It's a snapshot. Local rankings move from day to day. Two scans a week apart can differ by a place or two on some pins.
- Google personalizes results. A signed-in customer's history can change what they see. The tool shows a neutral search.
- Maps and Search are close, not identical. The tool reads Google Maps. The map pack in Google Search usually draws from the same businesses.
- Same scan, same day, same answer. A scan is kept for 24 hours, so running it again during that time shows the saved result.
The tool is free, up to 3 scans a day per visitor.