A monthly local SEO ranking report: checklist and template
What a client wants from the monthly report, a checklist and a template you can copy.
Read the guide: A monthly local SEO ranking report: checklist and templateGuide
How to read a geo-grid report, and explain it to a client.
A geo-grid report can look like a wall of numbers. It is five things. Learn them once and you can explain any report to a client in a minute.
Last updated · Written by the Local Pinmeter team in Phoenix, Arizona
The five parts
What each part of the report means
- Each dot (pin) is one real Google Maps search, made from that spot as a phone sees it (how a pin works).
- The number is where the business ranks there: 1 is first. “20+” means it is not in the first 20 results.
- The colour groups the rank: green 1–3, yellow 4–10, orange 11–20, red not in the top 20.
- Pinmeter Score™ is the share of pins where the business is in the top 3, from 0 to 100%. Higher is better.
- Pin Rank™ is the average rank, counting “not in the top 20” as 21. Lower is better; 1.0 would mean first everywhere.
Every term is in the glossary, the maps carry a colour key, and the features page shows what else a report holds.
A real scan
One real report, read aloud
5466532214246522112265632134221111334231111243341113554442679810854410711172014965711192020+
- 1–3
- 4–10
- 11–20
- Not in the top 20
- What these mean
Real scan: Element Nail Bar 16th Street, “nail salon near me”, 9×9 grid 0.5 mi apart, October 16, 2026.
The Pinmeter Score is 46%: the salon is in the top 3 at 37 of 81 pins. Its Pin Rank is 5.0, and it is in the top 20 at 80 of 81 pins. Its best rank is #1.
Now the pattern. The nine pins in the middle average rank 1.0 and are all in the top 3. The 32 pins on the outer edge average 6.9, and 9 of them are in the top 3. The business wins close to home and is found almost everywhere, but further out other businesses are nearer the searcher and it slips down the list.
For your client
Explaining it to a client in three sentences
Example wording. Change it to fit your client and what you are doing for them.
“When someone searches ‘nail salon near me’ on a phone, you are in the top 3 at 37 of the 81 spots we checked around you, which is 46%. Right around your shop you are usually first. The further out we look, the more competitors are closer to the searcher, so your rank slips; that is the area to work on.”
One number first (the Pinmeter Score), one picture (the map), one plain sentence about the pattern. Skip the rest unless the client asks.
Avoid these
Four ways to misread a report
- Comparing scans made with different settings. Keyword, grid size, spacing, zoom and phone or computer view all change the map. Why the view and zoom matter.
- Reading one pin. A pin is one search. Read the pattern across the grid.
- Treating “20+” as an error. It is a real result: the business is not in the first 20 there.
- Judging from one scan. The first scan is a baseline. A trend needs the next one. A monthly report template.
Questions
Questions
What is a good Pinmeter Score?
There is no single good number. It depends on the business, its category and how crowded its area is. In our five-salon case study the same brand scored from 20% to 69% for “nail salon near me” on the same day. Judge a client against its own earlier scans and against the businesses ranked above it, not against a fixed target. See the five scans.
Why does a pin show a different rank from what I see on my own phone?
A pin is a search made from that exact spot at that moment. Rankings move during the day, and your phone’s location, history and settings differ from a scan’s. We checked our scans against a virtual phone at the same pins: one business, one area, with the limits printed. The accuracy page has the numbers.
What does a grey pin mean?
A pin that returned no result because of an error. It shows grey with a dash, its credit comes back, and it is left out of the scores. “20+” is different: it is a real result, and means the business is not in the first 20.
Does a green map mean more customers?
A map shows where a business appears in Google Maps results. It cannot show calls or sales, and we promise no ranking. Put it next to the business’s own numbers.
