3 by 3, 5 by 5 or 7 by 7
Points spaced in kilometres or miles, checked as a phone or a computer.
Local rank tracker
See where each business ranks on Google Maps across its area
For businesses that serve a town, the map matters as much as the website. WPCentrify checks a search from a grid of points around the business, shows where it is in the top 3 and who shows above it, and keeps its Google reviews and the ones waiting for a reply in view.
Free during early access. Map checks and review checks use AI credits.
Updated
What is a local rank tracker?
A local rank tracker shows where a business appears in Google Maps results for a search, from many points across the area it serves. Because Google Maps favours places near the person searching, one position for a whole town hides most of the picture.
WPCentrify checks local rankings for the businesses behind the WordPress sites you manage. It draws a grid of 3 by 3, 5 by 5 or 7 by 7 points around each business, records its place at every point, and keeps the history. Its Google reviews sit beside it, with the ones waiting for a reply.
The local rank tracker at a glance
- A grid of 3 by 3, 5 by 5 or 7 by 7 points, spaced in kilometres or miles.
- Checked as a phone or a computer.
- The share of the area in the top 3, points found and the average place.
- Who shows at each point, with a link to Google Maps.
- History over every check with the same points.
- Google reviews: rating, count, stars and replies, from the newest 20 or 100.
- Waiting for a reply, with the low ones first.
- Uses AI credits; a point that does not come back is not charged.
Map rankings
Where the business shows across its area
Each point on the grid is what somebody standing there would see if they searched. The colours show the area the business wins and the area it does not.
Top 3 at each point
The places most people choose from, and the map box Google shows above the results.
Who shows there
Press a point to see the businesses ranking there, with a link to that spot on Google Maps.
Check by check
The share of the area in the top 3, over every check with the same points.
Honest gaps
A dash means Google lists nothing there. A point that did not come back shows a question mark and is not charged.
Map or table
Read it as a map or a table, and export it as a CSV or a PDF for the client.
Google reviews, and the ones waiting for a reply
Every review check keeps the business's rating and number of reviews, and reads the newest reviews with the business's replies.
A reply shows under the review for everybody who reads it, and the next customer reads the reply more than the review. "Waiting for a reply" lists the reviews nobody has answered yet, with the low ones first, and "Show the low ones waiting" filters to them in one press. Each review links to Google, where you reply.
- Rating and number of reviews, check by check
- Reviews by stars, as Google counts them
- Waiting for a reply, and the share replied to
- Search the words in reviews, and export them
How to check local rankings on Google Maps
Find the business
Search for it by name and town and choose it. It is followed by Google's own id for the place, not by its name.
Choose the search
Use the words a customer would type, such as "plumber" or "dentist near me".
Set the grid
Pick 3 by 3, 5 by 5 or 7 by 7 points and a spacing that matches the area served.
Read the map
Green is the top 3. Press the points where the business drops to see who shows instead.
Check again
Use the same points next month and compare the share of the area in the top 3.
How to rank higher on Google Maps
Google says local results depend on relevance, distance and prominence: how well a business matches the search, how near it is to the person searching, and how well known it is. Its guidance for businesses comes down to a few things you control:
- The right category. Choose the most exact category on the Google Business Profile.
- Complete details. Hours, services, areas served and photos, kept up to date.
- Steady reviews, answered. Ask happy customers for reviews and reply to every one, the low ones first.
- A website that matches. Name the town and the areas you serve on the site, with a page for each service.
The map grid shows whether that work is spreading the area where the business wins. For rankings in Google's ordinary results from a city, use the rank tracker; to plan a service page for a local search, use a content brief, which notes when Google shows a map for the search. To see the searches a nearby competitor wins, use the keyword gap.
What it does not do
- Change the Google Business Profile. Nothing is written to Google.
- Reply to reviews. It shows them and links to Google; you reply.
- Draw a street map. The grid is drawn plainly, and each point opens Google Maps at that spot.
Answers
Questions about local rankings and reviews
What people ask before they turn it on.
A geo grid rank tracker checks where a business shows on Google Maps for a search from a grid of points around it, as if somebody stood at each point and searched. It shows the area where the business is in the top 3 and where it disappears.
Google Maps puts nearby places first, so a business can be first on its own street and missing a mile away. Google ranks local results by how well a business matches the search, how near it is and how well known it is.
Choose 3 by 3, 5 by 5 or 7 by 7 points, with the spacing about the size of the area the business serves. A shop people walk to wants points close together; a business that drives to its customers wants them further apart. Compare checks made with the same points.
Yes. Press any point to see the businesses that show there, in order, with a link to that spot on Google Maps.
No. It shows the reviews and which ones are waiting for a reply, and links to each on Google, where you reply. It never writes anything to Google.
The newest 20 at each check, or the newest 100 when you ask for a fuller picture. The rating and the total number of reviews come from Google itself, so they count every review.
Each map check uses AI credits for each point checked, and a point that does not come back is not charged. A review check uses AI credits for the reviews read. The same check within a few hours opens again for free. WPCentrify is free during early access, and plans will be announced with pricing.
Related AI and SEO tools
Rank tracker
Google rankings from a city, on a phone or a computer
Read moreContent briefs
Plan the service page for a local search
Read moreClient reporting
Map rankings and Google reviews in the monthly white label report
Read moreSee every tool in one place: WordPress SEO tools for every site you manage.
Early access open
Show each local client where they win on the map
Connect a site, find the business and check the search that brings it customers.
Free during early access. Keep your data, export any time.