What Is a Geogrid? Reading a Local Rank Map Cell by Cell

What a geogrid is

A geogrid is a square grid of map coordinates laid over your service area, centred on your business. A local rank checker runs one Google Maps search for your keyword from each coordinate, records where your listing appears, and draws the answers back onto the map as a grid of coloured cells. A 7×7 grid is 49 searches; a 13×13 grid is 169.

The point of doing it this way is that Google Maps does not give a business one ranking. It gives a different ranking to every searcher, because distance from the searcher is one of the three factors Google uses for local results, alongside relevance and prominence. A geogrid is the only practical way to see all of those rankings at once.

You will also see the same thing called a geo grid, a rank grid, a local rank map or a heat map. They are all the same object: one search per point, one colour per result. We compared it with ordinary position tracking in local SEO grid tracking vs standard rank tracking; this post is about reading the grid itself.

The three settings that shape every grid

Before reading a geogrid, know how it was made. Three settings decide what the cells can and cannot show.

• Centre. The middle cell is normally your verified address. If the centre is somewhere else, the whole grid is answering a different question.
• Size. The number of points on each side, from 3×3 up to 13×13. More points show more detail and cost more searches.
• Spacing. The distance between neighbouring points. A few hundred metres suits a dense city centre; a kilometre or more suits a town or a service-area business.

Size and spacing together set the area the grid covers. A 7×7 grid at 500 metres covers a square about 3 kilometres across; the same grid at 1 kilometre covers 6. When someone shows you a geogrid, the first question is always “what spacing?”, because a wall of green at 200 metres and a wall of green at 2 kilometres mean very different things. The free Google Maps rank checker page shows how each setting changes the scan.

Reading one cell: the number and its colour

Each cell holds one number: the position your listing held when the keyword was searched from that coordinate. NearPinn colours that number with the same four bands everywhere in the app, so a cell reads the same on the grid, in a list and in a report.

• 1–5, green. In the map pack or just under it. Searchers at this point see you without scrolling.
• 6–10, amber. On the first page of results but below the pack. Winnable with work on the profile.
• 11–15, orange. Slipping out of view. Few people scroll this far.
• 16–20, red. Effectively absent at this point. A 20 means not found in the first twenty results.

Two things are worth remembering about a single cell. First, it is one search at one moment, so a lone odd cell in a sea of green is usually noise, not a problem. Second, the number is relative: a 4 means three other businesses ranked above you there, and finding out who they are is often more useful than the number itself.

Reading the shape: cores, edges and holes

The cells matter less than the pattern they make. Five shapes cover most grids you will ever see.

1. A green core that fades evenly. Green around the address, amber further out, red at the corners. This is a healthy listing limited by distance. The job is to push the green edge towards the areas you serve, not to turn the corners green.
2. A lopsided grid. Green on one side, red on the other, with a sharp line between them. A competitor is closer to the red side. Open a red cell to see who holds the pack there; that business is your real benchmark.
3. A hole in the green. One or two red or orange cells inside an otherwise green area. Often a cluster of competitors around a shopping street, or a strong rival listing sitting exactly there. Worth watching, rarely worth chasing.
4. Amber everywhere, no green core. You are on page one across the area but never in the pack, even at your own address. That is a relevance problem, not a distance one: check the primary category, services and description first.
5. Red everywhere, including the centre. The listing is not ranking for this keyword at all. Either the keyword does not match the category, the profile is unverified or suspended, or the grid is centred on the wrong place.

The two summary numbers, and which to trust

A geogrid usually comes with an average rank: every cell’s position added up and divided by the number of cells. It is a convenient single figure and it is the one most reports lead with, but it hides the shape. A grid that is position 1 across the whole north and not found across the whole south averages around 10, the same as a grid that is amber everywhere, and those two listings need completely different work.

The better number is the share of green cells: how many of the 49 or 169 points put you in the top five. That is your footprint for the keyword, the fraction of the area where a searcher sees you first. It moves when the green edge moves, which is what you are trying to make happen, and it is immune to one red corner dragging a mean down.

Use both, in that order. Lead a search engine ranking report with the share of green then and now, show the two grids side by side so the shape is visible, and give the average rank as a supporting trend line. The rank grid section on the home page shows how NearPinn lays a finished scan out, with the average alongside the map rather than instead of it.

Comparing two geogrids week to week

One grid is a snapshot. The useful reading comes from putting last week’s grid next to this week’s. For that to work, the two must be scans of the same thing.

• Same keyword, spelled the same way.
• Same centre, size and spacing. A 9×9 and a 13×13 cannot be compared cell for cell.
• Same day of the week, roughly the same time.

Then compare in this order:

1. Did the green edge move? Count the cells that changed band, and note the direction. Three cells turning green towards the suburb you serve is a result; three cells turning green towards the motorway is not.
2. Did any cell change by more than two bands? A cell going from green to red in a week usually means a competitor change at that point: a new listing, a new category, a burst of reviews.
3. Does the change match your log? Keep a dated note of every profile change. If the green grew two weeks after you fixed the categories, that is the cause. If nothing moved after a batch of photos, spend the time elsewhere.

We walked through the weekly routine, including keyword choice and grid settings, in how to track Google Maps rankings block by block. The short version: scan weekly, change one thing at a time, and read the shape before the average.

Reading the competitors behind the cells

Every cell that is not a 1 has someone above you in it. A geogrid is most useful when you look at who. Pick three cells: one in your green core, one on the edge where the colour changes, and one deep in the red. Open each one and list the three businesses in the pack at that point.

The pattern is usually clear within a minute. The same two or three competitors appear in the amber and red cells, and they are closer to those searchers than you are. That tells you what the google map ranking contest in your area actually looks like: not one rival, but a different rival on each side of town. It also tells you which of them you can realistically pass. A competitor that beats you by distance on the far side of town will keep doing so; one that beats you at your own address is beating you on relevance or prominence, and that is fixable.

Five ways a geogrid gets misread

• Trying to turn the whole grid green. Proximity sets a limit. A grid that is green across the area you serve is a finished job, even with red corners.
• Reading the average without the map. The average cannot tell a lopsided grid from an evenly amber one. Always look at the shape first.
• Acting on one scan. Rankings wobble from day to day. Change something only when two or three weekly scans agree.
• Scanning the business name. You rank for it everywhere, so the grid is green by default and teaches nothing. Scan the searches customers use.
• Comparing grids with different settings. A wider spacing spreads the same footprint over more cells and makes it look like a drop. Fix the settings and leave them.

Frequently asked questions

What does the number in each geogrid cell mean?

It is the position your listing held in Google Maps when the keyword was searched from that exact coordinate. A 1 means you were the first business shown there; a 20 means you were not found in the first twenty results. Each cell is a separate search, so the numbers can differ from one cell to the next.

What is a good geogrid result?

A solid green core around your address that reaches the neighbourhoods you actually serve. Nobody is green everywhere, because proximity limits how far a listing can rank. Judge the grid against your service area, not against the whole map, and judge the trend across weeks rather than one scan.

Why is my geogrid green on one side and red on the other?

Usually a competitor sits on the red side and is closer to those searchers than you are. Google weighs distance from the searcher, so the edge where their listing takes over shows up as a sharp change in colour. Open a red cell’s result to see which business holds the top three there.

How is a geogrid different from a standard rank tracker?

A standard tracker runs one search from one location and gives you one position. A geogrid runs the same search from every point on a grid and gives you a map of positions. The map shows where you win and where you disappear, which a single number cannot.