How Local SEO Scout works
A short guide to what each tool measures, why local ranks can differ, and what the scores mean. In short: it works with the visible Google Places results — not an official or exhaustive ranking.
What Local SEO Scout measures
- It reads the visible Google Places results for a search — the kind of list you see on Google Maps, not a private or exhaustive ranking database.
- It builds a local visibility snapshot: where a business appears, and how it compares to the visible competitors around it.
- It is not an official Google ranking and not a complete SEO audit — it is a practical, honest read of what is visible.
The main tools
Live Preview
A quick preview on real Google Places data. It shows the visible top results only (up to 20) — not a full audit, and not every competitor.
Saved audits
Save a preview as a snapshot so you can compare the same business over time. Snapshots are point-in-time and do not change.
Full Audit Lite
A manual, signed-in check of your selected business's Google profile details. It covers your business only, never competitors.
Keyword tracking
A manual, city-level check: enter a query and a city or neighborhood, and it records the business's position in the visible results. One search per scan.
Grid Map Lite
A manual local grid around a business (or a custom center). It runs one search per grid point to show how visibility changes from place to place.
Daily refresh
An opt-in, lightweight daily refresh for tracked businesses. It re-runs a basic visible-results search only — no keyword scans, no grid scans, no profile details.
Reports
A client-ready report built from stored data. On screen it can show the saved Grid Map; print or save as PDF uses a simple snapshot. It does not run new searches.
Why ranks can differ
It is normal to see different ranks for the same business across tools — they ask Google different questions.
- Keyword tracking is city-level: one search for your query in a city or neighborhood.
- Grid Map Lite is location-biased: each grid point searches from a slightly different spot, so the visible results shift from point to point.
- Google's visible results vary by query wording, exact location, time, and which fields it returns.
- So a business can be #1 at the city level yet rank lower at some nearby grid points — or the other way around. Both can be true at once.
How the scores work
- Scores are internal, market-relative indicators — a way to compare within one visible snapshot. They are not official Google scores.
- Each score is based on the visible results at the moment of the scan.
- Because the score is relative to the visible competitors, it can move slightly when the visible set or the fields Google returns change — even if your own rating and reviews improved.
- Google's visible order and the internal score rank are two separate things; we keep them distinct and never invent a rank.
Limits we deliberately keep
- No fake rank: if a business is not in the visible results, we say so — we never make one up.
- No exhaustive competitor database: only the visible Google Places results are used.
- No competitor profile details, and no scraping of reviews or photos.
- No scheduled grid or keyword scans in this MVP — those runs are manual.
- No guarantee of ranking improvement: this is a measurement and comparison tool.
Common questions
- Why does Live Preview differ from Grid Map?
- Live Preview is one search; Grid Map runs a separate, location-biased search at each grid point, so the visible results — and the rank — can differ by spot.
- Does a report call Google again?
- No. Reports are built from stored data. The on-screen map may load Google Maps to draw the saved scan, but no new Places search runs.
- Is this a full SEO audit?
- No. Live Preview is a lightweight visibility snapshot. Full Audit Lite adds selected-business profile details, but it is still not a complete SEO audit.
- Can I use this for client reporting?
- Yes. Reports combine saved snapshots, trends, and the latest grid scan into a client-ready view you can print or save as PDF.