Type your trade into Google Maps from the shop counter and you will probably see yourself near the top. Walk ten minutes up the road and try again, and the list can look completely different. A Google Maps heatmap exists because of that gap: a local rank tracker checks where you appear from many spots across your area and colours each one, so you see the map your customers see rather than the one on your own phone.
This post explains how that works, which numbers are worth your attention, and what to look for if you are choosing a tool. It is useful whether or not you ever pay for one.
Why a single rank check lies
Google says it ranks local results on three things: relevance, distance and prominence (its help page "How Google determines local ranking" sets these out). Distance is the one that makes single checks misleading. The results depend on where the person searching is standing, so "what position am I?" has no single answer.
A free Google Maps rank checker that runs one search from one point gives you one true answer for one spot. The problem is that it looks like an answer for your whole town. A plumber can be first on their own street and missing entirely two miles east, where half their customers live. Nothing in a single check tells you that.
Your own phone also knows you have visited your listing before. A tracker that searches from fixed points, the same way each time, gives you something you can compare week to week.
How grid tracking works
Grid tracking lays a set of points over your area, like pins on a map, and runs the same search from each one. At every point it records whether you appear and in what position. The result is a picture of your visibility: green where you are near the top, red where you are missing.
In Kerbrank, for example, the grid runs from 3×3 up to 15×15 points depending on plan. At each point it reads the top 20 map results. You can choose a circle, a square or draw your own area, and set the spacing in miles or km. Our guide to reading your map goes through what the colours and numbers mean.
Two details matter more than they seem:
- "Not found" and "no data" are different things. "Not found" means the search ran and you were not in the top 20, which should count against you. "No data" means no answer came back, and that should not be scored at all.
- The area should match where customers actually are. A circle centred on your shop is a fine start. If you serve one side of a river, or a strip of coast, draw the shape instead.
The numbers worth watching
A grid produces a lot of numbers. These are the ones that tell you something useful.
Top-three share
The share of points where you appear in Google's top three map results. It is the headline figure because the top three are what show in the map pack on a normal Google search. If only one number goes in front of a client, make it this one.
Average position
Your average position across every point. The honest version counts "not in the top 20" as 21, so missing points drag the average down, as they should. Lower is better.
You will often see a second figure, the average position only where you were found. It is flattering, because it ignores every point where you are missing. It is fine to look at alongside the honest number, but never on its own.
Blind spots
A blind spot is a cluster of neighbouring points where you do not appear. One stray red point is noise. Three or more together usually means a real gap, often an area where a competitor sits closer or a neighbourhood your listing does not seem connected to. Naming them by direction ("the north", "the south-west") makes them easy to talk about and act on. Our post on how to rank higher on Google Maps covers what to do about them.
How often to check
Weekly is a sensible rhythm for most small businesses. Local results move, but daily checks mostly show noise. Weekly readings give you a trend after a month or two.
An on-demand check is useful after a specific change, such as fixing your categories or moving your map pin, so you can see if it made a difference. Kerbrank scans automatically every 7 days and has a "Scan now" button with a daily limit.
The more important rule is to compare like with like. If you change the searches or the map area, the new reading is not comparable with the old one. A good tool tells you so rather than showing a misleading jump.
What to look for in a local rank tracker
There are several grid tools around. Local Falcon and BrightLocal are two you may come across, alongside Kerbrank. Whatever you pick, these are the questions worth asking.
- Does the spacing make sense for UK towns? UK towns are compact. A grid spaced for large American suburbs can put half its points in the next town. You want to set the spacing yourself, in miles or km.
- Are sea and empty points left out? If you are in a coastal town, a square grid will put points in the harbour or out at sea. Nobody searches from there, and counting those points drags your scores down for no reason. Kerbrank leaves out any point with no postcode nearby.
- Does it match on Google's ID or on your name? Name matching gets confused by similar names ("Smith Plumbing" and "Smiths Plumbing & Heating") and by businesses that change their listing name. Matching on Google's own place ID avoids both.
- Does it show search demand? Tracking a search that almost nobody makes can look great and mean nothing. Monthly search numbers for each tracked search tell you which rankings are worth caring about.
- Does it check AI assistants? Some customers now ask ChatGPT for a recommendation, so a check that asks customer-style questions and reports whether you get named is worth having. Our guide to ChatGPT visibility explains how Kerbrank's version works.
Pitfalls that make tracking pointless
Tracking town names
"Plumber Portsmouth" feels like the obvious search to track. The trouble is that naming the town changes how Google treats the search: it tends to flatten the map, showing similar results everywhere in town regardless of where the searcher stands. That hides the very distance effect you are trying to measure. Most people nearby just type "plumber" or "emergency plumber" and let their phone do the rest, so track those.
Tracking searches nobody makes
Take a Portsmouth skin clinic we track. "Aesthetics clinic" and "skin care clinic" get about 10 searches a month each in Portsmouth, while "lip filler" gets about 70. Ranking first for the quiet ones will not fill the diary. Our guide on choosing searches walks through picking ones with real buying intent.
Reading one week in isolation
A single reading can wobble. Look at the direction over several weeks before deciding something worked or failed.
Common questions
Is a Google Maps rank checker the same as a local rank tracker?
Often people mean the same thing. A basic Google Maps rank checker tends to run one search from one point. A local rank tracker usually runs searches from a grid of points and keeps the history, so you can see change over time.
How big should my grid be?
Big enough to cover where your customers come from, and no bigger. A salon that draws from a few streets needs a tight grid. A trade that travels across a county needs wider spacing.
Why does my average position look worse than my own search?
Because the honest average counts every point where you were missing as 21. Your own search is one point, usually close to your premises, where you are likely to rank best.
Can I try grid tracking for free?
Kerbrank has a 14-day free trial with no card needed, which covers a first reading and the weekly scans after it. You can start one here.