Looking for the best local rank tracker? Read on.
Google search results are automatically based on location, so you can’t be 100% sure if you’re seeing the same results as other searchers. The only way to get a clear picture is to use a local rank checker.
You may have come across organic SERP tracking tools and mobile rank trackers, but many local rank trackers are not as well-known.
Fortunately, with SEO being so critical to local businesses, there are now several local rank checkers you can use.
In this post, we’ll explore the key features to look for in local SERP tracking tools and then examine a shortlist of options to consider based on your business needs.
- Why it’s essential to track local rankings and SERP features
- 10 key features to look for in a local SERP tracking tool
- 7 best local keyword tracking tools to consider
Disclaimer: This article does contain affiliate links. If you purchase a tool through one of my links I will receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Affiliate links are followed by (aff) in this article. Thanks for the support!
Why It’s More Important Than Ever to Track Local Rankings and SERP Features
If you own a local business, then it’s essential to know if it’s visible in the local search results. And for brick-and-mortar businesses, such as restaurants, hotels, hairdressers, and dentists that are tied to a physical location, it’s even more important.
If you’re providing local SEO services for clients, then tracking local SERPs and rankings are crucial. You need to check rankings from a specific location so that you can help your clients rank in each of their particular target locations.
Editor’s note: Local searches typically have high commercial intent. Studies show:
88% of local business searches performed by consumers using a mobile device will either call or visit the business within 24 hours. (Source: Nectafy)
50% of people who search for a local business using their mobile will visit the store within one day. (Source: Search Engine Watch)
76% of potential customers who conduct a local mobile search will visit a business within 24 hours. (Source: Think With Google)
Every SERP is localized to an extent. People don’t search with geo-modifiers anymore because they know that Google automatically applies a filter that returns local results for different broad queries.
For instance, if you were based in Newcastle and searched for a “marketing agency”, Google would automatically show Newcastle-based marketing agencies in the SERP, despite not having the location modifier in the query:
Searches on Google and Bing, or google.com and google.co.uk won’t provide the same results. Furthermore, searches in different cities (e.g. London and Brighton) and different areas (e.g. Covent Garden and Notting Hill) will also differ.
Since the results vary by the city, county, zip code, and address that people search from, it’s critical to use a local rank tracker that lets you track rankings across organic AND local maps.
10 Features to Look For in a Local SERP Tracking Tool
Every business has its own set of requirements. For example, a large corporation with offices in multiple locations won’t need the same local rank tracker tool as a small business in one area.
Here are some of the features to look for when evaluating different local rank tracking tools.
Get granular location tracking
Image: Semrush’ (aff) local ranking heatmap tracks your website and competitors at different locations around your office and city centroid.
Look for a local rank tracker that provides a high-level dashboard with granular location tracking. You want the ability to track rankings all the way down to the zip-code or address level across multiple locations. Plus, you’ll also want the option to distinguish between mobile and desktop rankings.
Segment organic and local map rankings
Ideally, you want to see where a business ranks in both the local pack AND organic results for different locations so that you understand the impact of your SEO work and make data-driven decisions.
For instance, Whitespark’s local rank tracker segments Google organic, mobile, and local map rankings, plus Bing organic and local rankings, so you can compare both results over time.
Access accurate (up-to-date) local ranking data
Image: AccuRanker lets users run on-demand ranking updates across different search engines, devices and locations.
Some tools only update local ranking data weekly or less frequently. Ideally, you want a local rank tracker, like Accuranker (aff), that updates results daily or lets you run instant on-demand updates, if needed.
Monitor local SERP feature movements
Image: AccuRanker’s Aggregated SERP Analysis tool (aff) allows users to track SERP features – snippets, videos, images, knowledge panels, FAQs, etc – across target keyword sets.
SERPs have evolved a lot in recent years to show many different features, such as Snippets, Carousels, Videos, Knowledge Panels, People Also Ask boxes and more. These SERP features have a significant impact on visibility and organic CTRs.
So, it’s important to have a local rank tracker that not only identifies the keywords that offer SERP feature opportunities but also makes it easy to track your share of SERP features – i.e. where you are missing them or gaining placements over time.
Track local rankings across different search engines
Image: AccuRanker allows users to select from a number of major search engines, including Google, Bing and YouTube.
Many rank tracking tools only let you track local keyword rankings on Google. But if you want to monitor your local rankings correctly, especially if you have clients in countries like Russia and China, then you’ll need to track local rankings across different search engines, including Google, Bing, YouTube, Baidu, and Yandex.
Show historical ranking performance
Most rank trackers only provide a “point-in-time” rankings update. But you want a tracker, like AccuRanker (aff), where you can view the entire ranking history of a specific keyword to see how its performance has been trending over time, and how rankings compare with your competitors.
Compare rankings against local competitors
Image: Comparing rank distributions against competitors in Semrush (aff).
Rankings are constantly fluctuating, so it’s essential to compare your rankings against local competitors over time.
You want a local rank tracker that distributes keywords into groups or buckets by position – e.g. 1-3, 4-10, 11–50, etc. – and lets you compare keyword rankings against competitors and assess historical performance.
Scale across multiple locations or clients
Image: Roll-up reports in BrightLocal (aff) allow users managing multiple locations or clients to get a birds-eye view of local ranking performance across all locations.
Agencies, multi-location businesses, and franchises will want to look for a local SERP tracker that allows them to quickly scale and track multiple locations across many different businesses.
Schedule alerts and white-label reports
Image: In AccuRanker (aff), users can star the keywords for which they want to receive alerts.
You want a tracker that notifies you when there are significant ranking gains and losses so that you can jump in and check out the competition. For instance, marking your keywords with a “star” in AccuRanker lets you receive alerts at the keyword-level.
Plus, you’ll want the facility to create and customize branded reports and schedule them to go out at different intervals or even publish them to a unique live URL for different businesses and/or clients.
Control user access and permissions
If you only want particular team members to work on certain locations, or allow clients to access sub-accounts to view rankings for their business, then check for a user access and permissions control feature.
For instance, in AccuRanker, you can create sub-accounts for your clients, granting them access to their own accounts without having to share your own data or that of other clients.
7 Local Keyword Rank Tracking Tools for 2021
Here are the best local keyword rank tracking tools to consider:
AccuRanker
AccuRanker (aff) serves as a standalone SERP tracking tool that lets you track location-specific rankings for as many keywords as you wish. You can track at any scale, from the country, state, city, zip code, to the precise street address. Plus, you can separate local place rankings from organic rankings results so you can quickly analyze both.
Key local rank tracking features:
- Track local search rankings in any state, city, area, or address.
- Compare global and local rankings with multiple locations and countries (per keyword, city, region, zip code, or address) for Google and Bing.
- Enter unlimited locations, or ignore local results when adding keywords.
- Access accurate (up-to-date) local ranking data and run on-demand updates when required.
- Track local rankings across different search engines, including Google, Bing, YouTube, Baidu, and Yandex.
- Monitor 50+ local SERP features – snippets, knowledge panels, etc – across all of your keywords with the aggregated SERP analysis.
- Integrate AccuRanker with your Google Analytics account and map ranking, organic traffic, conversion and revenue data to landing pages.
- View historical ranking performance.
- Brand, customize, and schedule white-label reports for delivery on any day of the month.
- Integrate with Google Data Studio to generate more customized and visual rank reports
Pricing/ Trial:
- AccuRanker has a range of subscription plans (aff) based on the number of keywords you want to monitor, starting at $109/month.
Start a 14-Day Free Trial
Bonus resource: AccuRanker Review: 13 Compelling Reasons to Invest
BrightLocal
BrightLocal’s (aff) search rank checker lets you track local rankings with pinpoint accuracy, react faster to significant changes, and showcase your success with customized performance reports.
Key local rank tracking features:
- Get accurate rankings for local search, maps, organic, and mobile results.
- Prioritize and optimize the local keywords that matter most.
- Simulate local search from multiple locations.
- Monitor competitor rankings to see where you can pull ahead.
- Schedule automated reports that land directly in your inbox.
- Scale across multiple locations or clients with local search performance roll-up reports.
- Generate white-label reports with your agency logo and brand colors.
- Customize dynamic data dashboards that clients can access at any time via a branded URL.
Pricing/ Trial:
- BrightLocal starts at $29/month for small businesses with up to 3 locations.
Start a 14-Day Free Trial
Bonus resource: Best Local SEO Tools (With Leaderboard)
Whitespark
Whitespark’s local rank tracker helps users accurately track keyword rankings on Google and Bing in any city across the local pack, local finder, maps, and organic search results.
Key local rank tracking features:
- Track local pack, local finder, and organic rankings in Google and Bing.
- Monitor localized rankings to specific geo-coordinates, the city center, or zip code level.
- Compare rankings against local competitors.
- Segment your data by location to check which areas your business is dominating in local search results.
- Get accurate and reliable ranking data delivered daily.
- Monitor your keyword performance and visibility over time to see what’s working and what’s not.
- View stunning visualizations of your rank tracking data.
- Generate white-label reports and share via a unique URL.
Pricing/ Trial:
- Whitespark has a range of subscription plans based on the number of keywords you want to monitor, starting at $25/month.
Start a 14-Day Free Trial
Semrush
Semrush (aff) provides one of the most accurate rank trackers on the market, in addition to being a leading all-in-one SEO and SEM platform.
The Position Tracking Tool (aff) provides organic and local pack rank tracking, with the option (aff) to monitor rankings at different locations around your office or city centroid.
Key local rank tracking features:
- Track local, regional, and national search engine positions for any keyword.
- Perform side-by-side competitor comparisons.
- View business data about your rivals in the Local Pack.
- View historical ranking performance across 7, 30, 60, or 90 days.
- Monitor SERP feature movements – snippets, videos, knowledge panel, reviews, and more – to quickly spot new opportunities.
- View the complete list of keywords when a local pack appears on the SERP.
- See where your local business ranks in different sections of the city/town.
- View historical data and location improvements.
Pricing/ Trial:
- Semrush has a range of subscription plans (aff), starting at $99/month.
Start a 30-Day Free Trial
Editor’s note: If you’re looking for a solid local rank tracker, in addition to a leading SEO/PPC platform, Semrush provides it all. It’s the tool I use to manage personal and client campaigns!
Bonus resources:
- Best Rank Trackers for 2021 (With Leaderboard)
- Semrush Review: 38 Ways to Level-Up Your Digital Marketing
Local Viking
Local Viking’s local rank tracker can monitor organic rankings for both desktop and mobile in local SERPs, as well as organic rankings in the Google Map Pack results.
Key local rank tracking features:
- Monitor map pack rank tracking for your GMB properties and locations.
- Track organic Google rankings for your GMB’s website for any SERP.
- View rank tracking data for each location in the integrated dashboard.
- Get both desktop and mobile rank tracking data for organic Google SERP.
- Center searches around your GMB latitude/longitude coordinates.
- Run manual spot checks and inspect local search results directly from your dashboard.
Pricing:
Local Viking has a range of subscription plans based on the total number of locations you have across all of your Google accounts, starting at $20/month.
Local Falcon
Unlike other tools in this list, Local Falcon is a local rank tracker built specifically for maps.
Key local rank tracking features:
- Check GMB rankings for listings that show up either in the Map Pack portion of the organic search or the Google Maps Local Finder (i.e. Google Maps).
- Get a bird’s eye view at multiple scan points (rather than a centroid location like zip code) to accurately represent search results from your neighborhood.
- Compare rankings against local competitors.
- Run Share of Local Voice (SoLV) reports to understand your visibility.
Pricing:
Local Falcon has a range of subscription plans starting at $24.99/month.
Advanced Web Ranking
Advanced Web Ranking (AWR) is a standalone rank tracker used by thousands of brands and agencies to accurately track rankings across any device, search engine, or language, plus build customized white-label reports.
Key local rank tracking features:
- Get fresh, accurate keyword rankings, by schedule or on-demand.
- Track local rankings across 3,000 search engines in more than 170 countries on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis.
- Get granular local rank tracking from a city down to the GPS coordinates.
- Monitor all types of Google SERP features regardless of niche, location, or device.
- Segment your local SERP features to uncover opportunities for winning new features and improving visibility in SERPs.
- Measure market share and perform in-depth competitor SERP analysis.
Segment data and build in-depth, white-label reports. - Grant access to reports via user permissions or share them via a URL link.
- Integrate ranking data with third-party tools, such as Google Data Studio.
Pricing/ Trial:
- AWR has a range of subscription plans, starting at $49/month.
Start a 30-Day Free Trial
What Local Rank Tracker Are You Going to Try?
All SERPs are localized to some extent. So all businesses, including agencies, small brick-and-mortar shops, multi-location companies, or larger franchises, need to invest in a local rank tracker to see the same results as searchers in different locations and accurately track ranking performance.
At a minimum, when you’re evaluating a local SERP tracking tool, check that you can:
- Get granular location tracking.
- Segment organic and local map rankings.
- Access accurate (up-to-date) local ranking data.
- Monitor local SERP feature movements.
- Track local rankings across different search engines.
- Show historical ranking performance.
- Compare rankings against local competitors.
- Scale across multiple locations or clients.
- Schedule alerts and white-label reports.
- Control user access and permissions.
We looked at the top seven local keyword tracking tools – six standalone trackers, plus one local tracker that’s part of an all-in-one SEO platform.
My recommended standalone local rank tracker is AccuRanker (aff). But if you’re looking for a robust local rank tracker that’s part of an all-in-one SEO/SEM platform, I recommend Semrush (aff).
Let us know in the comments which local rank tracker you’re using.
Dude this is brilliant and much more in-depth than using incognito mode hoping to get the accurate local rankings. Going to check out AccuRanker right away. You’re the man.
Cheers Brian! AccuRanker is definitely a solid option 🙂