Local search has a measurement problem. A plumber standing in his shop searches “plumber near me”, sees himself in the map pack, and concludes local SEO is fine. Meanwhile a homeowner four miles north gets three other plumbers. Google’s map results depend on where the searcher is, so a single check from a single spot can’t tell you how a business is doing across the area it serves.
RankThat’s local SEO tool handles this with three parts: a Local Rank Grid that searches from many points across your area, a Reviews page for Google reviews, and a Citations audit for your name, address and phone number across directories. This article covers how each works, the settings that matter, and how to read the results without fooling yourself.
The Local Rank Grid, step by step
Go to Local SEO › Local Rank Grid and click Create Tracker.
- Name the business exactly as it appears on Google. Add the Google Place ID if you have it; it makes matching certain.
- Set the center. Type the address (RankThat converts it to coordinates) or enter latitude and longitude. For a service-area business, use the middle of the area you serve rather than your office.
- Pick a grid size: 3×3, 5×5 or 7×7 points.
- Pick a radius, from 0.5 to 50 miles (5 by default). This is the distance from the center to the edge.
- Choose a schedule: manual only, monthly (on the 1st) or weekly (on Sundays).
- Add keywords, one per line, up to 50.
A cost estimate updates as you change the settings, since every point for every keyword is a real search.
Choosing the grid size and radius
Points are spread evenly across a square twice the radius wide. A 5×5 grid with a 5-mile radius covers a 10-mile square with points 2.5 miles apart. That is a sensible start for a suburban trade business.
| Business | Suggested grid | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Dentist in a dense city | 5×5, 1 to 2 miles | Patients don’t travel far, and rankings change block by block |
| Plumber or HVAC across a metro | 7×7, 8 to 12 miles | Large service area, need to see where coverage stops |
| Restaurant | 5×5, 1 mile | Most diners search close to where they are |
| Rural contractor | 5×5, 15 to 25 miles | Few competitors, long distances |
Too large a radius on a dense market makes every outer point red and tells you nothing. Too small and you miss the edges of the service area.
What each point is
Each point is a live Google Maps search run from that exact coordinate, reading the top 20 results. RankThat finds your business in them by Place ID, then by exact name, then by close name match. A point Google doesn’t answer is shown as “no data” rather than “not found”, so a glitch doesn’t look like a ranking loss.
Reading the results
The tracker page shows Avg Rank (across the points where you were found), Visibility, Found x/y, and the scan date. Visibility scores each point from 1 (position 1) down to 0 (not in the top 20) and averages them, so it reflects both how often and how high you appear.
Tabs give you the Grid Map, a Results table with CSV export, Trends (visibility, average rank and found versus not found over time) and Settings.
The most useful feature for client conversations is View as. Pick a competitor and the map recolors to show their positions. RankThat knows a competitor’s position wherever they appear in the top 5, so you can see exactly which neighborhoods they own. More background in the local rank grid glossary entry.
A worked example: Coastline Plumbing
Coastline Plumbing is based in south Austin and serves the whole metro. The agency sets a 7×7 grid with a 10-mile radius for “emergency plumber” and “water heater repair”, scanning monthly.
The first scan shows Coastline in the top 3 at most points south of the river and not found at all across the north. View as on the strongest competitor shows they hold the north from an office near the northern suburbs. Two conclusions follow. Proximity is part of the gap (see proximity), so the north may never match the south. But the competitor also has three times as many reviews.
The agency focuses on what can move: a review request campaign, location pages for the northern suburbs Coastline actually serves, and fixing a mismatched phone number on two directories. Three months later the north-central points have moved from not found to positions 6 to 10. Not a win yet, but visible progress the owner can see on a map.
Reviews
Local SEO › Reviews tracks the business’s Google reviews. It uses public Google data, so it needs a grid tracker linked to the business’s Google listing. Reviews are fetched weekly, again on the 2nd of each month for the report, and whenever you click Fetch latest.
The page shows total reviews, reviews in the last 30 days with their average stars, your owner reply rate across the newest reviews, and how many are waiting for a reply.
Drafting replies
Filter to “Waiting for a reply” or “3 stars or less” and click Draft a reply on any review. RankThat writes a short reply (35 to 90 words) in the brand voice. For low ratings it apologizes, makes no excuses, takes the conversation offline, and doesn’t offer discounts or refunds. You edit the draft, then Copy reply and paste it into Google. Posting replies directly from RankThat needs approval from Google that isn’t in place yet, so for now the last step is a paste.
You against local competitors
A table compares your rating and review count with the businesses you meet in the map pack, along with each one’s share of top-3 map positions and best rank, all from your latest grid scans at no extra cost. There is also an Ask for reviews kit: your Google review link to copy, plus email and text message templates. An alert fires when a new low-star review arrives. For why this matters, see online reviews.
Citations
Local SEO › Citations checks whether your business details are right across directories. Confirm the business name, phone, address, city and website (pre-filled from the Google listing) and click Run citation audit. It takes about a minute.
RankThat checks 36 directories, choosing the ones that count by country and industry. General ones include Facebook, Yelp, BBB, Yellow Pages, Foursquare, Nextdoor and MapQuest. Trades get Angi, Thumbtack, HomeAdvisor and Houzz; healthcare gets Healthgrades, Zocdoc and Vitals; there are UK, Canadian, Australian and Danish directories too.
Results show a citation score and counts of listings that match, need a check, have wrong details, or weren’t found, followed by a fix list and earlier audits for comparison. Each row shows what Google displays for that listing, so you can see a wrong phone number without opening the directory. See NAP and local citations for why consistency matters.
Several locations
A business with three locations should treat each one as its own local business. Set up a grid tracker per location, centered on that location, with the same keywords, so you can compare them fairly. Link each tracker to the right Google listing, because reviews come from the linked place. Agencies often find one location doing well and two lagging; the grid usually shows whether the gap is proximity (nothing to fix) or reviews and listings (plenty to fix).
What the local tools don’t do
- The grid only reads the top 20 map results at each point.
- Competitor heatmaps show top-5 positions only. Below that, a competitor shows as not found.
- Reviews cover Google only, and replies are copied into Google by hand.
- Citations doesn’t submit or update listings. It finds problems and links you to each directory to fix them.
- No Business Profile insights. Profile views, calls and direction requests need Google API access that isn’t in place yet.
A monthly local routine
| When | Task |
|---|---|
| 1st | Grid trackers set to monthly scan automatically |
| Week 1 | Compare visibility with last month; use View as on the top competitor |
| Week 1 | Reply to every review waiting, starting with low ratings |
| Quarterly | Re-run the citation audit and work the fix list |
| Report time | Grid, reviews and competitor table appear in the monthly report |
The grid covers the map pack; for regular results, use the Rank Tracker. Businesses with several locations can set up one tracker per location. More ideas in the local SEO checklist and on the local business page.
Tip: scan the same keywords with the same grid every time. Changing the radius or center resets the comparison, and the trend is the whole point.