How many keywords to track per local client
How to choose them, and what each choice costs in credits.
Read the guide: How many keywords to track per local clientGuide
Which geo-grid size and spacing to use for each kind of business.
Two numbers set what a geo-grid shows: how many pins, and how far apart they are. Pick them from where your client’s customers come from, and what a scan costs follows from them.
Last updated · Written by the Local Pinmeter team in Phoenix, Arizona
The two numbers
Size sets the cost. Size and spacing set the ground covered.
- Grid size is the pins across and down: a 9×9 grid has 81 pins. Each pin is one Google Maps search, so a grid costs its pin count in credits for each keyword.
- Spacing is the distance between neighbouring pins. The pins sit at the edges, so a grid covers (size − 1) × spacing across: a 9×9 grid 0.5 mi apart covers 4 miles from side to side.
| Grid | Credits per keyword | 0.25 mi apart | 0.5 mi apart | 1 mi apart | 2 mi apart |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5×5 | 25 | 1 mi across | 2 mi across | 4 mi across | 8 mi across |
| 7×7 | 49 | 1.5 mi across | 3 mi across | 6 mi across | 12 mi across |
| 9×9 | 81 | 2 mi across | 4 mi across | 8 mi across | 16 mi across |
| 11×11 | 121 | 2.5 mi across | 5 mi across | 10 mi across | 20 mi across |
| 13×13 | 169 | 3 mi across | 6 mi across | 12 mi across | 24 mi across |
| 15×15 | 225 | 3.5 mi across | 7 mi across | 14 mi across | 28 mi across |
| 21×21 | 441 | 5 mi across | 10 mi across | 20 mi across | 40 mi across |
Distances are the width of a square grid. A circle covers the same width with the corners left out.
Starting points
What we would try first
These are starting points, not rules. The business’s own customers decide: ask where they drive from, then set the grid to cover that and nothing much more.
| Kind of business | Grid | Spacing | Covers | Credits per keyword | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A walk-in shop in a dense city: nail salon, café, barber | 9×9 | 0.5 mi | 4 mi across | 81 | This is the grid in our case study: 9×9, 0.5 mi apart. |
| An office or clinic in a dense downtown | 7×7 | 0.25 mi | 1.5 mi across | 49 | Customers walk or come a few blocks, so a tight grid shows the streets that matter. |
| A shop or restaurant in the suburbs | 7×7 | 1 mi | 6 mi across | 49 | Customers drive a few miles, so wider spacing reaches the neighbouring towns. |
| A business in a small town | 7×7 | 2 mi | 12 mi across | 49 | One grid reaches the whole town and the villages around it. |
| A service-area business: plumber, roofer, cleaner | 13×13 | 1 to 2 mi | 12 to 24 mi across | 169 | They go to the customer, so cover the area they serve: 1 mi apart for a tighter area, 2 mi for a wide one, set to their real service radius. |
A business with several locations gets one grid per location, centred on each listing, with the same settings, so the locations can be compared. The case study did this for five salons on October 16, 2026.
How to choose
Three questions, in this order
- Where do the customers come from? Walking distance, a short drive, or wherever the business will travel. That is the distance the grid has to cover.
- How many pins can you afford? Clients × keywords × pins × scans a month is your credit bill. See which plan fits your size.
- Can you keep it the same? Use the same size, spacing, centre, keyword and zoom for every scan of a client, so that a change on the map is a change in ranking. Why the view and zoom matter.
Questions
Questions about grid size and spacing
How many credits does a grid use?
One credit per grid point per keyword, so a 7×7 grid uses 49, a 9×9 grid 81 and a 13×13 grid 169 for each keyword. Ten keywords on a 13×13 grid is 1,690 credits for one scan.
Is a bigger grid always better?
No. Pins far from where your client’s customers come from show ranks nobody there will see, and each one costs a credit. A tighter grid shows the real area in more detail. Start with the area the business serves, then widen it only if you need to.
What is the difference between grid size and spacing?
Grid size is how many pins across and down. Spacing is the distance between neighbouring pins. Together they set how much ground the grid covers: the pins sit at the edges, so the grid is (size − 1) × spacing across.
Square or circle?
A square grid fills the area evenly. A circle leaves out the corners, which suits a business that serves a round area around it, and it uses fewer credits.
Can I change the grid later?
You can, but a trend only means something between scans made with the same settings. If you change the size, the spacing, the centre or the zoom, treat the next scan as a new starting point.
