Why most ranking reports do not get read
The usual report is a spreadsheet: twenty keywords, a position for each, an arrow up or down. It looks thorough, but the owner cannot tell from it whether more customers can find the business. For local search it is also misleading, because a Google Maps position depends on where the searcher is standing. One number per keyword, checked from one spot, describes one street.
A good search engine ranking report for local SEO answers three questions in the first minute: did visibility grow, where did it grow, and what caused it. Everything below is built around those three questions.
1. A three-line summary at the top
Start with what happened, in plain words, before any chart. Three lines are enough:
Visibility for “dentist” grew this month: the clinic is now in the top five on 31 of 49 grid points, up from 24. Most of the gain is north of the clinic, after the services list was rewritten on the 6th. Next month we focus on “teeth whitening”, which is still outside the top ten on most of the grid.
Write the summary last, after you have looked at everything else, but put it first. If the reader stops here, they should still know the result and the plan.
2. The geogrid for each keyword, then and now
The centre of a local report is the geogrid: the same search repeated from a grid of points around the business, each cell coloured by position. Show the scan from the start of the month next to the latest one, keyword by keyword. Side by side, the reader sees the shape change, which a table of numbers never shows.
Keep the centre, grid size and spacing identical every month, or the grids cannot be compared cell for cell. If you have not set up tracking yet, our guide on how to track Google Maps rankings block by block covers keywords, grid size and spacing.
NearPinn colours cells with the same four bands everywhere, which the report should keep:
- 1–5, green. In or just below the map pack.
- 6–10, amber. Visible to people who scroll.
- 11–15, orange. Slipping out of view.
- 16–20, red. Effectively invisible; 20 means not found.
3. Two numbers per keyword: share of green and average rank
Under each pair of grids, give two numbers for last month and this month. The first is the share of grid points in the top five, which is the closest thing to “how much of the area can find us”. The second is the average rank across the grid, which is good for a trend line over several months.
Lead with the share of green. Average rank can fall because of one red corner towards an area the business does not serve, while the streets that bring customers improve. A reader who only sees the average will draw the wrong conclusion. Our comparison of grid tracking and standard rank tracking explains why one number hides so much of a google map ranking.
4. The weekly trend, not just the last scan
Rankings wobble from day to day. A report built from a single scan on the last day of the month can show a drop that was gone by the next morning, or miss a gain that held for three weeks. Scan each keyword weekly and show the four or five results as a small line for share of green and average rank.
- A steady climb across the month is a real gain.
- One bad week between good ones is usually noise; note it but do not act on it.
- Two or three weeks of decline is a trend and belongs in the summary.
A local rank checker that keeps every scan makes this easy, because the history is already there when the report is due.
5. What the rankings turned into: searches, calls and directions
Rankings are a means, not the result. Next to them, show what Google reports for the profile over the same month: how many searches it appeared in, how many calls came from it and how many people asked for directions. Compare each with the previous month.
These numbers move for reasons other than rank, such as seasons and holidays, so do not claim every change as SEO. But when the green area grows and calls rise in the same month, the reader sees the connection without being told. When rankings grow and calls do not, that is worth a line too: it may point to the profile itself, such as photos, reviews or opening hours.
6. The changes made this month, with dates
A report without a change log shows movement but not cause. List what was done and when, briefly:
- 6 Nov: rewrote the services list and added three missing services.
- 12 Nov: replied to all 14 new reviews.
- 19 Nov: added 10 photos of the new treatment room.
- Outside our control: a competing clinic opened two streets south.
Read against the weekly scans, the log shows which work earned the result. It also protects you in a bad month: if a competitor opened nearby, the report says so with a date instead of leaving the drop unexplained.
7. Next month’s target, in one or two lines
End with what happens next: one keyword or one edge of the grid, and the work planned for it. “Grow the green area south towards Garden Town for ‘dentist’ by adding that area’s services and photos” is a target. “Continue optimisation” is not.
Next month’s report then opens by checking this line, which turns a monthly document into a running record. If the target is about relevance, such as categories and services, our guide on how to rank higher on Google Maps sets out the order to work in.
Producing the report without a spreadsheet
Built by hand, this report means copying positions into a sheet, screenshotting maps and pasting it all into a document every month. For one business that is an afternoon; for an agency with many profiles it is the job.
NearPinn keeps every geogrid scan per keyword, runs weekly checks for tracked keywords, shows searches, calls and direction requests for each profile, and exports performance and ranking reports as PDFs written for clients to read. The Expert plan includes monthly PDF reports; plan details are on the pricing section. What stays manual is the part that should: the three-line summary and next month’s target, written by someone who knows the business.
Before the first report, scan a baseline grid for every keyword. Without it, month one has nothing to compare against. You can see how a grid is read on our free Google Maps rank checker page.
Frequently asked questions
- How long should a monthly search engine ranking report be?
- One page for the summary, plus one page per keyword if the reader wants the detail. Most owners read the summary and the next steps and nothing else, so put everything that matters there and treat the rest as an appendix.
- Should a local ranking report show average rank or individual positions?
- Both, but lead with the share of the grid where the business is in the top five. Average rank is useful as a trend line, yet one weak corner of the map can drag it down while the areas that bring customers improve. Show the grid itself so the reader can see where the change happened.
- How often should rankings be checked for a monthly report?
- Weekly. Four scans of the same grid give you a trend you can trust, while a single scan at the end of the month can catch a bad day. Report the month, not the last scan.
- What if rankings went down this month?
- Say so in the first line, show where on the grid the drop happened, and give the most likely cause from your change log, such as a new competitor or a category change. Then say what you will do about it. A report that hides a bad month loses more trust than the bad month itself.