Geo-grid

A geo-grid, also called a local search grid or grid rank tracker, is a vendor-documented observation method that runs the same local search from multiple points around a business and plots the business result at each point to show how visibility changes across the area.

Each grid point is a separate location-and-keyword observation. Local Viking describes requesting listings for the chosen latitude/longitude and keyword, then recording where the tracked business ranks at each point.¹ Insites also documents a local grid as a way to show how a business ranks across its local area.² Google says local results are mainly based on relevance, distance, and popularity, and that distance is how far each business is from the customer searching. A grid therefore makes location-based variation visible even when the keyword stays the same.¹²³ A geo-grid makes that geographic variation visible on Google Maps.

A comparable geo-grid record keeps the settings that produced the observation so a later scan answers the same question:

Setting	What to keep fixed or record
Query or keyword	Use the same search across the points being compared.
Center or coordinates	Identify the business and the area being observed.
Grid size, point spacing, and scan radius	Describe how many points were sampled and how far they extend.
Device and language	Keep them fixed or record them, because Google lists location, language, device type, and current searches as context that can affect results even when personalized recommendations are off.4
Scan date and time	Give later runs a clear comparison point.

Local Falcon defines grid radius as the distance from the center to the outer data points and grid size as the number of data points. Its 3×3 setting contains 9 points; those are vendor settings, not Google-wide limits.⁵ HasData describes storing one row per grid point per run with a date, and BrightLocal recommends using the same keyword and reporting period when comparing grids.⁶

A geo-grid does not measure a universal local ranking. It is observation evidence for the declared query, points, device, language, and timestamp. Read it as a record of those checks, not as a Google-issued geo-grid metric or a promise of a fixed position. Google says businesses cannot request or pay for a better local ranking, and its ranking-system details remain confidential.³⁴

Google's local-ranking guidance does not define a geo-grid. Local Viking and Insites document the method under GeoGrid and Local Grid, so the term is a trade label rather than a Google product metric.⁴

For the adjacent measurement terms, Share of Local Voice describes how often a business appears in the top three across a map grid,⁷ while tracking local search rankings explains how a location-based check differs from Search Console. Both belong to the broader Google Maps surface.

Sources

1. Local Viking, “GeoGrid Rank Tracking Explained”: GeoGrid guide (published 2020-06-24; read 2026-09-27)

2. Insites, local grid documentation: local grid (read 2026-09-27)

3. Google Business Profile Help, “Tips to improve your local ranking on Google”: Google local-ranking guidance (read 2026-09-27)

4. Google Search Help, guidance on location, language, device type, and recent searches: search context guidance (read 2026-09-27); Google Business Profile Help, local-ranking guidance (read 2026-09-27); Local Viking, GeoGrid guide (read 2026-09-27); Insites, local grid documentation (read 2026-09-27). The term itself has no single documented owner; this definition is Maps Agent’s synthesis of the vendor and Google documentation above (read 2026-09-27).

5. Local Falcon, “How To Set the Map Scan Radius and Grid Size”: scan settings (updated 2026-09-23; read 2026-09-27)

6. HasData, local rank tracking: tracker data model (dated 2026-08-28; read 2026-09-27); BrightLocal, local search grid documentation: grid comparison guidance (read 2026-09-27)

7. Local Falcon, What is SoLV? (read 2026-09-27)