How do I track my local search rankings?

What do I want to know when I track local rankings?

Use a geo-grid, the Google Business Profile Performance report, and Search Console together because each instrument answers a different measurement question.

Google says local results appear on Google Maps and Search and are mainly based on relevance, distance, and popularity. Distance means how far the business is from the customer searching, so a map placement check needs a declared location as well as a keyword.

How do I measure where my profile appears in Maps?

Use a location-based check or geo-grid when the question is where the Business Profile appears for a keyword across an area. BrightLocal's Local Search Grid documentation describes a data point for each keyword and map location, with competitor results identified at individual grid points.

Record the keyword, the points or radius, the date, and the result type. Compare the same points when the question is whether local placement changed. Google Maps optimization is a separate question from measurement: the check shows where the observed result appeared, while the profile work concerns the listing and its information.

What does Search Console average position tell me about local rank?

Search Console average position is the average position of the website's topmost result in web Search. It is not a Business Profile position, a Local Pack position, or a geo-grid point.

Google's Search Console guidance says the chart averages the topmost result across the property, while a table row averages the topmost result for the URL or grouping in that row. Use the metric to read website visibility in web Search, then use a grid when the question is map placement.

Search Console can show that a website appeared for Search, but Google cautions that a query appearing in the report does not mean the same result will appear when someone reruns it. Time, place, device, and recent history can change the result. For a broader explanation of what web metrics can and cannot establish, see choosing who gets you onto AI search.

What was new in Search Console on 24 September 2026?

Google announced Web: multimodal reporting in Search Console on 24 September 2026. The filter describes web Search results where an image was part of the search. Google says the reporting began rolling out globally, with metrics appearing when a site receives visits from these searches.

Google lists four image-based input paths:

1. Google Lens.
2. Circle to Search on Android.
3. An image uploaded to Google Search.
4. Chrome's right-click Search this image feature.

The Web: multimodal filter measures the website's web results, not the Business Profile's Maps or Local Pack placement. Google says the Queries dimension is unavailable for this filter because these searches mostly use images rather than text. Read the filter as a website reporting view and keep it beside, not inside, the local placement record.

How should I compare the three records over time?

Compare each instrument with its own prior readings: compare the same grid points and keywords for local placement, the same profile and period for profile activity, and the same Search Console property, dimensions, and date range for website results.

Google's default Search Console Performance view shows the past three months of click and impression data. Google also warns that the newest data can be preliminary and may change over the next few hours. Wait for the reporting window to settle before treating a small change as a trend.

Keep a short record for every comparison:

• the instrument and surface being measured;
• the keyword, page, or profile used;
• the map point, date range, device, or other selected dimensions;
• the date read and whether the newest Search Console data was preliminary.

This separation prevents a website impression from being counted as a map appearance, a profile view from being counted as a rank, or a grid average from being treated as a Google-issued metric.