Local SEO: The Ultimate Guide (2024)

How to track the ranking of card packages

One of the first steps in any local SEO campaign is to determine where you stand.

More specifically, you want to see where you rank in The Map Pack. And track your rankings in the Map Pack over time.

Almost all GPS devices on the planet have a Map Pack tracking system.

The problem is that with local SEO, the location from which you are searching is HUGE. In fact, the Map Pack results can be completely different from one mile to the next.

For example, let's say someone is looking for a "coffee shop" on 72nd Street and 2nd Avenue in New York.

These results will be perfectly tailored to the individual's situation.

In fact, the same search conducted a few blocks away can bring up a completely different site from the Map Pack results (or the same results in a different order).

If you only track your local ranking from one location (like "New York"), you only see a small sample of your actual ranking.

That is why you want to get

I recommend a tool called Local Falcon for this type of detailed map tracking.

But there are others, like the local Viking, who do pretty much the same thing.

Anyway...

The first step is to choose the name of your company (Note: this feed comes directly from Google Maps. To use this tool, you must have a Google My Business profile already set up).

Next, choose a keyword for which you want to check your ranking.

Finally, choose the level of precision or coverage that you want for tracking your rank.

For example, here is an 8 km tracking radius.

It is made up of a grid of 7 x 7, which gives you an excellent idea of the rank of your company in this entire area.

This grid can go up to 15 x 15, if you really want to see the edges of where you could rank.

Next, it's time to check the rankings.

Once the tool has done its job, you will find yourself with a visual interface that shows you your ranking for each geographic position

As you can see, you get a beautiful interactive map that shows you where you are in many different places within the city.

As you can see, the rankings are better on the outskirts of the city... and gradually deteriorate as you move towards the city center.

It is not necessarily a problem. It is possible that a competitor has a more central location than your hotel. So, for someone conducting a mobile search from that location, Google considers the competitor to be better suited.

That being said, you should use the tool to find the places where you "should" rank well... but don't do it.

For example, you can see that this local paving company ranks number 1 in the far north of the city... except for one place.

In this case, you will want to click on the result to see who is surpassing you

In this case, a competitor is ranked number 1.

But if you are not satisfied with second place, check the address of the competitor in their listing. This way, you can cross-reference to see where they are located physically on this map.

And when you place the competitor's location on the ranking map, you can see why you are struggling to reach the first place.

The simple explanation is that this search location is MUCH closer to the competitor. So it is entirely logical that Google wants to make this competitor the top result.