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 | Read-only here: Client-visible or Hidden, with Manage to jump to where it is set, under Reporting & client. Tracking runs internally while it is off. | — |
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 & clientClient visibility decide what the client sees for this website — the same three as the client's Client visibility page. Each saves when you flip it; turning Blog posts on, or taking a service out of the client's plan, asks you first. The Client visible switch on Results → Local sets the same Map Pack setting.
| Setting | What it changes | Default |
|---|---|---|
| SEO reporting | Turns SEO reporting on in this client's portal: no offer wall on their SEO tab, an Ongoing progress card from the daily snapshot, and your published strategy summary once you publish one. | — |
| Blog posts | Shows autoblog posts on the client's calendar. | — |
| Map Pack results | Shows Map Pack results in the client portal and in SEO reports opened online. It shows inside SEO reporting: switched on while SEO reporting is off, it reads Not shown. | — |
SEO reporting is one of several doors
A client's SEO tab also opens when you attach a report, or when their plan includes the SEO Reporting service. If a client says the SEO section is missing, check SEO reporting first, then the attached reports and the services on the client's Client visibility page.
Service-area pages
The Service-area page proposals lane was retired on 2026-10-22, so no lane proposes a service-area page on its own any more. The grid still shows where a keyword underperforms across your service area; what to publish for that area is a call you make from the grid and the schedule's topic queue.
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 is off, or nothing has opened their SEO tab yet (the switch reads Not shown while SEO reporting is off) | Turn on Map Pack results; if the whole SEO tab is missing, turn on SEO reporting or attach a report |
| The panel's Client visibility row has no switch | It is set under Reporting & client | Click Manage beside it, or use the Client visible switch on Results → Local |