Local SEO and Map Pack tracking
Set up the local rank grid around a business listing, choose keywords and cadence, cap the spend, and decide whether the client sees the results.
Map Pack tracking scans local search results on a geographic grid around a business listing, so you can see where the business appears in the map results and where it does not. It is the local-SEO counterpart to rank tracking, and it answers a question a national ranking number cannot: how far from the shop do we stop showing up?
You configure it in SettingsData & tracking, and you read it at ResultsLocal.
Before you start
You need a resolvable business listing — or a website domain the scan can match on — and a monthly budget for the scans. Every grid point on every keyword is a paid lookup, so the budget field is not optional in practice.
Set up the grid
Open Settings → Data & tracking
Find the Map Pack tracking panel.
Turn on Track local rankings
Pick the business listing
Choose from the candidate list. If nothing matches, use Enter a place ID manually…, or clear the saved listing to match by website domain only.
Set the scan grid
The grid size and geometry — for example 5 by 5 — decides how many scan points surround the listing.
Add keywords
Every keyword is scanned at every grid point, so add the phrases that matter, not every phrase you have.
Pick a cadence and a monthly budget
Then click Save.
Run a manual scan
Manual scan runs the grid immediately so you do not wait for the cadence.
Read Results → Local
Until the grid is configured, that view says Configure Map Pack tracking.
Settings reference
| Setting | What it changes | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Track local rankings | Enables the Map Pack scan schedule for this website. | — |
| Business listing | Which listing the grid is centred on. Includes an option to clear the saved listing and match by website domain only, and to enter a place ID manually. | — |
| Scan grid | Grid size and geometry — how many scan points surround the listing. | — |
| Keywords | The phrases scanned at every grid point. Cost scales with keywords multiplied by grid points. | — |
| Cadence | How often the grid re-scans. | — |
| Monthly budget (USD) | Caps monthly scan spend. An out-of-range value blocks Save with an inline reason. | — |
| Manual scan | Runs a grid scan immediately, outside the cadence. | — |
| Client visibility | Shows Map Pack results in the client's portal. Saves immediately, separately from the panel's Save button. | — |
Grid size and keyword count multiply
A 7 by 7 grid with ten keywords is 490 lookups per scan, not 17. If the budget looks tight, cut keywords before you shrink the grid — a smaller grid tells you less about the edges of the service area, which is the point of the exercise.
Out-of-range values block Save on purpose
The panel refuses to save a budget or a field outside its range and tells you why, rather than appearing to save and then snapping back. If Save does nothing, read the inline reason above the button.
Showing results to the client
Three switches under SettingsReporting & client decide what the client sees for this website. Each saves the moment you flip it.
| Setting | What it changes | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Active SEO | Shows SEO as an active service in this client's portal. Nothing SEO-related appears to them until this is on. | — |
| Live SEO dashboard | Lets the client open the live dashboard, a daily snapshot, independently of report delivery. | — |
| Map Pack results | Shows Map Pack scan results in the client's portal. | — |
Portal SEO access is strictly opt-in
Unlike most portal features, a client sees nothing for SEO until Active SEO is switched on for them. If a client says the SEO section is missing, check this before looking anywhere else.
Service-area pages
When a grid keyword underperforms on two consecutive scans, the optional Service-area page proposals lane can brief a page for that area. It is off by default, capped at two proposals a day, and it only proposes — nothing is drafted or published from it. Arm it under SettingsAutomation & budgetAdvanced.
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Results → Local says Configure Map Pack tracking | The grid has never been set up | Complete the panel in Settings → Data & tracking and save |
| Save does nothing | A field is out of range | Read the inline reason; the panel refuses rather than silently reverting |
| No listing candidates appear | The business listing could not be resolved | Use Enter a place ID manually…, or clear the listing to match by website domain |
| Scans stop partway through the month | The monthly budget for scans is used up | Raise the budget, cut keywords, or reduce the cadence |
| The client cannot see the grid | Map Pack results, or Active SEO, is off | Turn both on under Settings → Reporting & client |
| Client visibility did not save with the rest | That switch saves immediately and separately | It is already saved — the panel's Save covers the other fields |