Local Heatmaps

🗺️ Incomplete Heatmap Grids and Credit Refunds

🔍 Overview Some heatmap auto-refreshes have completed only partially. Affected heatmaps display a single data point instead of the expected full grid. This article explains what happened and how Search Atlas is handling credit refunds for affected snapshots. ⚙️ What Caused the Incomplete Grids A bug caused some heatmap auto-refresh snapshots to fail mid-process. Instead of returning a full grid, the system recorded only a single point and marked the refresh as complete. 📊 How to Identify Affected Heatmaps To check whether any of your heatmaps were affected, navigate to your Local SEO Heatmaps and review the snapshot history for any recent auto-refreshes. An affected snapshot will show a single pin or point on the map rather than a full grid of ranked positions. Note the heatmap name, keyword, and the date of the affected refresh — you will need this information when contacting support. 💳 Credit Refunds for Failed Refreshes Search Atlas is committed to ensuring you are not charged credits for heatmap snapshots that did not deliver complete data. Here is what you need to know: - Scope: Any auto-refresh snapshot that returned a single point instead of a full grid is considered a failed refresh and is eligible for a credit refund. - If you do not see a credit adjustment in your account, please contact support so the team can review your account directly. Have your heatmap name, affected keyword, and the date of the failed refresh ready. If you need further assistance, open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and type human teammate to be connected with a member of our team.

🔍 Access Local SEO Heatmaps

🔍 What the Features hub link does The Features hub may link to the public Local SEO Heatmaps page at https://searchatlas.com/local-seo-heatmaps/. This page provides information about the feature and may not open the heatmap workspace directly. If the link returns a 404 or does not load, use the platform navigation instead. This avoids issues caused by an outdated public URL, redirects, or browser caching. 📍 Open Local SEO Heatmaps 1. Sign in to your Search Atlas account. 2. Open Local from the left sidebar. 3. Open Overview to access your local SEO workspace and available heatmap tools. 4. Select the relevant business or Google Business Profile project. You can also manage related local SEO work from Local, including Media Library, My Tasks, Posts, Reviews, and Local Citations. ⚙️ Check your Google Business Profile connection Some heatmap features require a connected Google Business Profile. If no profile is connected, heatmap options may be unavailable or CSV import may be hidden. 1. Open Local from the left sidebar. 2. Select the relevant project. 3. Confirm that the correct Google Business Profile and business location are connected. 4. Refresh the page and check the heatmap options again. 🛠️ Troubleshoot a broken or incorrect link - Refresh the page and try the link again. - Open the link in a private or incognito browser window. - Confirm that you are signed in to the correct Search Atlas account. - Navigate through Local instead of using a saved bookmark or old Features hub link. - Check whether the issue affects one location or multiple projects. - Record the page URL, affected project, location, and any error message before reporting the issue. 🗺️ Verify map links and locations When reviewing heatmap results, use the in-app map actions where available. View on Google should open the business's actual location, and View on Map should open the exact business rather than a general Google Maps search. If either action opens the wrong location, verify the connected profile and business address first. Then refresh the project and test the action again. 📊 Related local SEO tools Local SEO Heatmaps work alongside other local tools in the Local section, including Local Citations, Reviews, Posts, and Overview. For broader visibility and authority work, use Authority from the left sidebar. Its available areas include Cloud Stacks, URL Indexer, QUEST LLM Visibility, Campaigns, Inbox, and Sent. 💬 Get help with a persistent issue If a Features hub link continues to return a 404, or a heatmap link opens the wrong page or location after these checks, include the affected URL, project name, location, screenshot, and steps to reproduce the issue. If you need further assistance, open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and type human teammate to be connected with a member of our team.

🗺️ Heatmap Grids Incomplete and Credit Restoration

🔍 What Happened A platform issue caused a number of heatmap grids to stop refreshing correctly. The system incorrectly reported that accounts had insufficient credits even when enough credits were available, causing heatmap refreshes to be skipped and leaving grids incomplete or outdated. This issue has been identified and resolved by the engineering team. 💳 Will Credits Be Refunded? Yes. If your heatmap grids failed to load or refresh due to this platform issue, you will not be charged credits for those failed scans. Credits consumed by grids that did not load properly are eligible for restoration. - If you believe credits were deducted for grids that clearly did not produce results, our support team can review your account and restore the balance manually. 📋 How to Check Your Heatmap Status 1. Navigate to your Local SEO section and open the relevant GBP project. 2. Review your heatmap grids for any that appear blank, incomplete, or show outdated scan dates. 3. Note the names of any affected grids so you can reference them if you contact support. 🔄 Do You Need to Manually Re-Run Affected Grids? If a grid still appears incomplete, you may trigger a manual refresh from within the heatmap grid view. Contact support before doing so if you are concerned about additional credit usage. ⚠️ Will This Affect Future Scheduled Refreshes? No. The underlying issue that caused scheduled refreshes to be skipped has been resolved. Heatmaps set to refresh on a schedule will refresh as expected going forward, and the system will no longer reject quota requests due to incorrect balance readings. 🛠️ What to Do If You Still See Issues If your heatmap grids remain incomplete, or if you believe your credit balance was not correctly restored, please reach out so our team can investigate your specific account. If you need further assistance, open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and type human teammate to be connected with a member of our team.

📍 Understanding Branded Keyword Heatmaps

📌 Why branded keywords show your locations A branded keyword, such as moove in self storage, includes your business or brand name. Google usually interprets this search as navigational, meaning the searcher is looking for your locations rather than comparing nearby businesses. Because of this intent, the Local Heatmap may show your own locations without local competitors. This is expected behavior and does not mean competitor data is missing from your project. 🔢 What a “20+” pin means A pin labeled 20+ indicates that more than 20 locations or ranking results are grouped within that map area. It is not a reliable indication that Google returned fewer than 20 results. The pin is an aggregated view. The exact number and the available details can vary based on the search results collected for that grid point, the locations detected, and how Google groups or displays local results. 📋 Why competitor lists appear on some pins Competitor lists are shown only when the collected local result data for a specific pin contains enough qualifying businesses to display separately. A 20+ pin can therefore have a competitor list when competitor locations were identified in that pin’s data, while another 20+ pin may show no list when the results contain only your locations or do not provide enough distinct competitor data. These differences can also occur when Google changes local results by location, search context, or time. The 20+ label describes the grouped result count; it does not guarantee that every business in the group will be displayed in a competitor list. ✅ How to interpret the heatmap 1. Review the keyword type. Branded searches commonly return your own locations and limited competitor data. 2. Compare several nearby pins instead of relying on one 20+ pin. 3. Use a non-branded category keyword, such as a service or product search, for a clearer competitor comparison. 4. Run the scan again later if a result appears inconsistent, because local rankings and result groupings can change. 🔍 When results may need investigation Contact support if competitor lists are consistently absent for relevant non-branded keywords, if your own locations disappear unexpectedly, or if the heatmap shows errors rather than normal result data. If you need further assistance, open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and type human teammate to be connected with a member of our team.

🗺️ View Historical Heatmap Scan Radius Settings

🔍 Overview Every heatmap scan you run in Search Atlas captures a snapshot of your local search rankings at a specific point in time. Along with ranking data, each historical scan also stores the radius settings used during that scan. This article explains how to locate and review those settings for any past scan. 📍 Navigate to Your Local Heatmap 1. Log in to your Search Atlas account. 2. In the left sidebar, click Local. 3. Select the GBP project you want to review from your project list. 4. Open the Overview page for that project. 🗂️ Access a Historical Scan 1. On the heatmap view, locate the scan history selector — this is typically a date picker or dropdown that lists all previously completed scans for the selected keyword. 2. Click on the scan date you want to review. The heatmap will reload and display the results captured at that time. 3. Once the historical scan is loaded, look for the scan details panel or a settings summary displayed near the top of the heatmap. This section shows the configuration used for that specific scan, including the radius (measured in miles or kilometres), the grid size, and the keyword tracked. 📊 Understanding the Radius Information The radius setting defines how far from your business location the heatmap grid extended during that scan. Key things to know: - Radius is fixed per scan. The value shown reflects exactly what was set when that scan was originally run. It cannot be changed retroactively. - Different scans may have different radii. If you updated your radius settings at any point, older scans will still show the radius that was active at the time they were executed. - Use this to compare accurately. When comparing ranking performance across time, check that the radius and grid size match between scans to ensure a like-for-like comparison. 💡 Tips for Managing Scan Settings - If you need consistent historical comparisons, try to keep your radius and grid size the same across recurring scans. - Label or note any intentional changes to scan settings so you can account for them when reviewing trends. - You can create new scans with updated radius settings at any time without affecting your existing historical data. 🛠️ Troubleshooting If you do not see radius details displayed for a historical scan, try the following: - Ensure the scan has fully completed — scans still processing will not show full configuration details. - Refresh the page and re-select the historical scan from the date selector. - Confirm you are viewing a scan associated with a keyword that has run at least once successfully. If you need further assistance, open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and type human teammate to be connected with a member of our team.

🔍 Site Analysis Tools and Local SEO Heatmaps Explained

🗺️ Overview: Two Separate but Complementary Features Search Atlas offers two distinct tools that are often confused with one another: the Site Analysis feature for prospecting, and Local SEO Heatmaps for tracking local search visibility. This article explains what each tool does, how to access it, and how they work together. 🔍 What Is the Site Analysis Feature? The Site Analysis feature is designed to help you — or your potential clients — quickly evaluate the SEO health of any website before committing to a service engagement. It provides a high-level snapshot of key on-site and off-site metrics, making it a powerful tool for agency prospecting and client onboarding conversations. With Site Analysis, you can review data such as: - Domain authority and backlink profile - Organic keyword rankings and estimated traffic - On-page SEO signals and technical issues - Competitor comparisons at a glance To access Site Analysis, go to Left sidebar → Site Metrics (Site Explorer) (URL: /site-explorer/list). From there, enter any domain to pull a full report. You can share insights from this view directly with prospects during discovery calls or proposals. 📍 What Are Local SEO Heatmaps? Local SEO Heatmaps are a separate feature focused on geographic search visibility. They show you how a business ranks for specific keywords across different locations on a map grid — invaluable for businesses targeting customers in a defined service area. Heatmaps answer questions like: - Does this business appear in the Google local pack near its address? - How does visibility change block by block across a city? - Which areas need the most local SEO improvement? Local SEO Heatmaps are set up and managed independently from Site Analysis. They are not embedded within the Site Analysis report — you configure them as a standalone workflow, typically after a prospect becomes an active client and you have defined their target keywords and service area. ⚙️ How to Set Up a Local SEO Heatmap 1. Navigate to Local → Local SEO Heatmaps in the left sidebar. 2. Click Create New Heatmap. 3. Enter the business name, address, and the target keyword you want to track. 4. Set your grid size — this determines how wide an area the heatmap will scan around the business location. 5. Click Save. Results typically populate within a few minutes. 6. Review the color-coded grid: green indicates strong local rankings, red indicates weak or no visibility for that keyword in that location. You can create multiple heatmaps per client — one for each target keyword or service area. This lets you track progress over time as your local SEO efforts take effect. 💡 Can Prospects View Heatmaps During Site Analysis? No — Local SEO Heatmaps are not available within the Site Analysis tool. They are a separate feature and are not displayed as part of a prospect's initial site report. Here is a quick summary of how both tools fit into a typical agency workflow: - Before becoming a client: Use Site Analysis (via Site Explorer) to audit a prospect's domain, identify SEO gaps, and build a compelling proposal. - After onboarding: Set up Local SEO Heatmaps to establish a baseline for local visibility and begin tracking ranking improvements by location. This two-stage approach ensures prospects receive a meaningful overview of their SEO situation upfront, while deeper local tracking tools are activated once an active project is underway. ✅ Quick Reference Summary - Site Analysis — domain-level SEO audit, accessible at /site-explorer/list, ideal for prospecting. - Local SEO Heatmaps — geographic ranking visualisation, set up separately under Local → Local SEO Heatmaps, ideal for active local campaigns. - The two features work together across the client lifecycle but are not combined in a single view. If you need further assistance, open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and type human teammate to be connected with a member of our team.

🗺️ Finding Local SEO Heatmap on Growth Plan

🧭 Overview The Local SEO Heatmap grid is part of the GBP Galactic suite, which lives under the Local section (which lands on GBP Projects) of your Search Atlas dashboard. It is available on the Growth plan, but it is not displayed on the main home screen — you need to navigate to the correct section using the left sidebar. 📍 How to Find the Local SEO Heatmap 1. Log in to your Search Atlas account and make sure you are on the Growth plan. 2. Look at the left sidebar on any page inside the platform. 3. Click Local in the left sidebar. This lands you on the GBP Projects page in the GBP Galactic area (URL: /gbp-galactic/gbp-projects). 4. Once inside the Local section, select or open an existing GBP Project. If you have not created a project yet, create one by clicking Add Project and following the setup prompts. 5. After opening a project, the Local SEO Heatmap grid will be visible within the project dashboard. The heatmap shows your ranking positions across a geographic grid centered on your business location. 🗂️ What Else Is Inside the Local Section Once you click Local in the left sidebar, you have access to the following sub-pages. Use these to manage every aspect of your local SEO presence: - Local → Overview — A summary of your GBP project performance, including heatmap snapshots and key metrics. - Local → Media Library — Upload and manage photos and videos for your Google Business Profile. - Local → My Tasks — A to-do list of recommended local SEO actions for your project. - Local → Posts — Create and schedule GBP posts directly from Search Atlas. - Local → Reviews (GBP Reviews) — Monitor and respond to customer reviews across your locations. - Local → Local Citations — Track and manage your business listings across directories. ⚠️ Common Reasons You Might Not See the Heatmap - No GBP Project created yet: The heatmap only appears inside a project. If you have not set one up, the Local section will prompt you to create your first project. - Wrong section open: The heatmap is not on the Home screen (/home). You must navigate to Local in the left sidebar, not the home dashboard. - Sidebar is collapsed: If you do not see sidebar labels, click the expand icon (usually an arrow or hamburger menu) at the top-left of the screen to reveal the full sidebar menu with labels. - Account not fully set up: Your GBP account must be connected during project setup for heatmap data to populate. Go to Local → Overview and check whether your Google Business Profile is linked. 🚀 Quick Navigation Reference - Left sidebar → Local — Main entry point for all local SEO tools; lands on GBP Projects (URL: /gbp-galactic/gbp-projects) - Left sidebar → Local → Overview — Heatmap snapshots and performance summary - Left sidebar → Local → My Tasks — Recommended actions for your GBP project - Left sidebar → Local → Posts — GBP post scheduling - Left sidebar → Local → Reviews (GBP Reviews) — Review management - Left sidebar → Local → Local Citations — Directory listing management - Left sidebar → Local → Media Library — Photo and video management 💬 Still Need Help? If you need further assistance, open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and type human teammate to be connected with a member of our team.

🗺️ Add Heatmap Competitors to Your SEO Strategy

Overview When you run local heatmaps in Search Atlas, the tool surfaces nearby businesses competing for the same map positions as your client. These are high-value competitors — they are already beating you locally. This article explains how to take those competitor names and add them to your global SEO competitor tracking and keyword rankings strategy so that your local insights inform your broader SEO work. Important note: The exact steps to move heatmap competitors into your SEO project depend on your specific account setup and the current version of Search Atlas you are using. The general workflow is outlined below, but the precise navigation path and button labels may differ from what you see in your account. Step 1: Identify Your Competitors from Local Heatmap Results After running a heatmap report for a GBP project, review the results to identify which businesses are ranking in local positions for your tracked keywords. Take note of the competitor business names and, where available, their associated websites — you will need these to add them to your SEO project. Tip: Prioritise competitors who appear frequently across multiple points in your heatmap — these represent your strongest local threats and are the most valuable to track more broadly. Step 2: Find the Competitor Root Domains Before adding competitors to your SEO strategy, confirm their root domains (for example, competitorname.com), not just their business names. A quick Google search for each business name is usually sufficient to confirm the correct website URL. Step 3: Add the Competitors to Your SEO Project Once you have the root domains, navigate to your SEO project within Search Atlas and look for the option to add or manage competitors. Enter each competitor domain you identified from the heatmap. If you are unsure where to find this setting in your account, our support team can point you to the correct location. Step 4: Use Competitor Data in Your Keyword Rankings Workflow After adding competitors to your project, you can use their keyword data to identify ranking gaps and opportunities to strengthen your own strategy. Look for keyword overlap and gap analysis features within your SEO project to get the most value from the competitors you have added. If you are having trouble locating the right section in your account, or if the workflow described above does not match what you see, please reach out so a team member can walk you through the exact steps for your setup. If you need further assistance, open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and type human teammate to be connected with a member of our team.

🗺️ Why Heatmap Pins Show Incomplete Data

🔍 Overview Local SEO heatmaps in Search Atlas show how your business ranks across a grid of geographic points for specific keywords. Each pin on the grid represents a data point pulled from live search results. Occasionally, some pins may appear blank, show a dash, or display incomplete ranking data — even after a previous fix was applied. This article explains why this happens and what you can do about it. 📍 Why Pins Sometimes Show No Data Pin data gaps are not always caused by a platform error. Several factors can cause a pin to display incomplete or missing information: - Google did not return a result for that location: For certain grid coordinates, Google's local search algorithm may not surface a result for your business. This is a real-world ranking signal, not a display bug. - Search result fluctuation: Google rankings change frequently. A pin that showed data on a previous scan may return no result on a newer scan if your ranking changed for that specific location point. - Data retrieval interruption during scan: During a heatmap scan, individual data requests are made for each pin. If a request is interrupted mid-scan, that pin may not receive data and will appear blank. - Keyword-location combination yields no local pack: Not every keyword triggers a local pack (the map results). If Google shows only organic results for a specific keyword at a specific coordinate, no local ranking data will be captured. ⚠️ Why the Issue Can Reappear After a Fix If our team previously resolved a data display issue and you are seeing blank pins again, this is most commonly due to the following reasons: - New scan cycle: Each time a heatmap refreshes, it runs a fresh set of data requests. A prior fix may have corrected a one-time retrieval error, but new scans are subject to the same real-time variables described above. - Multiple keywords amplify the effect: When you track several keywords across the same location grid, a single problematic coordinate will appear blank on every keyword heatmap — making the issue look more widespread than it is. 🛠️ Steps to Troubleshoot Blank or Incomplete Pins 1. Identify the affected pins: Open the heatmap in question and note which specific pins are blank or showing incomplete data. Take a screenshot if possible. 2. Note the keyword and location: Record the exact keyword and grid location associated with each blank pin, as this information will be needed if you need to escalate. 3. Run a new scan: Trigger a fresh heatmap scan to see if the blank pins populate on the next data retrieval cycle. Temporary interruptions during a previous scan may resolve on a rescan. 4. Check multiple keywords: If the same grid coordinate is blank across several keyword heatmaps, this points to a location-specific data issue rather than a keyword-specific one. Note this pattern. 5. Escalate if the issue persists: If pins remain blank after a fresh scan, contact our support team with the following details ready: your project name, the affected keyword(s), the approximate grid coordinates or a screenshot of the blank pins, and the date/time of the scan. If you need further assistance, open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and type human teammate to be connected with a member of our team.

⚡ Automate GBP Heatmap Reports Without a Website

Overview Search Atlas lets you schedule and email automated Local SEO Heatmap reports directly from the Report Builder. If the business you are managing has no website, you can still create and automate these reports — but you must follow a specific setup path. Using a Google Business Profile (GBP) URL as a substitute for a website URL in Report Builder is not supported and will not work. This article explains the correct process. How the Heatmap Report Works for No-Website Businesses The Local SEO Heatmap tracks how a GBP listing ranks across a geographic grid. It is tied to your GBP project, not to a website. This means you do not need a website URL to generate or schedule heatmap reports. The Report Builder references your GBP project data directly. If a website URL field appears during setup, leave it blank or enter a placeholder. Do not enter your Google Business Profile URL — that field expects a standard business website domain, and entering a GBP URL will cause the setup to fail or produce no data. Step 1 — Confirm Your GBP Project Is Active Before scheduling any report, make sure your business has an active GBP project inside Search Atlas. 1. In the left sidebar, navigate to the GBP Projects section. 2. Confirm your business listing appears under your GBP projects. If it does not, create a new project and connect your Google Business Profile. 3. Once the project is active, check the Local Overview area to verify that heatmap data is already being collected. If no heatmap data appears yet, allow up to 24 hours for the initial scan to complete before proceeding. Step 2 — Open Report Builder and Create a Report 1. In the left sidebar, click Reports to go to the Report Builder. 2. Create a new report or open an existing one to edit. 3. If the setup flow asks for a website URL, leave this field blank. Do not enter a Google Business Profile URL. The report will still pull heatmap data from your connected GBP project. 4. Add the heatmap-related report module and associate it with the correct GBP project. The exact label for this module may vary — look for options referencing local rankings or heatmap data. 5. Add any additional modules you need, such as GBP performance metrics or review summaries. Step 3 — Set Up Automated Email Delivery Once your report is configured, look for scheduling or delivery settings within the report editor. The exact location of these controls may vary depending on your account view. In general: 1. Find the report delivery or scheduling settings inside the report editor. 2. Enable automated delivery and enter one or more recipient email addresses — client emails, team addresses, or both. 3. Choose a delivery frequency (for example, daily, weekly, or monthly) and set the preferred day and time. If you need further assistance, open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and type human teammate to be connected with a member of our team.

📍 Finding Your SoLV Equivalent in Search Atlas

📌 What Is Share of Local Voice (SoLV)? Share of Local Voice (SoLV) is a metric popularised by tools like LocalFalcon. It expresses, as a percentage, how often a business appears in the local pack across a grid of search points. Agencies use it to give clients a single headline number that summarises local visibility. Search Atlas does not use the SoLV label, but the Local Heatmap feature captures the same underlying data and gives you equivalent — and more granular — numbers you can confidently present to clients. 🗺️ How Search Atlas Measures Local Visibility Every heatmap scan in Search Atlas places a grid of GPS coordinates over a target area and records your business's ranking position at each grid point for a chosen keyword. From those positions the platform calculates two rolled-up metrics that together replace SoLV: - Average Grid Ranking — the mean rank across every point on the grid. A lower number means stronger overall visibility, directly comparable to what SoLV summarises. - Share of Grid (Top 3 %) — the percentage of grid points where your business ranks in positions 1–3. This is the closest direct equivalent to SoLV: it tells you what share of the local search landscape your business dominates. You can track both metrics over time to show clients improving or declining local presence, exactly as you would with SoLV trend charts in other tools. 🛠️ How to Run a Heatmap Scan 1. In the left sidebar, click Local. 2. Select or create a GBP project from the projects list (/gbp-galactic/gbp-projects). 3. Inside the project, open the Local Heatmap tab. 4. Choose your target keyword, set the grid size and radius, then click Run Scan. 5. Once the scan completes, the heatmap renders colour-coded pins — green for strong rankings, red for weak — alongside the Average Grid Ranking and Share of Grid (Top 3 %) summary cards at the top of the results. 📊 How to Report These Metrics to Clients When presenting results to clients, frame the metrics clearly so they map to the SoLV concept they may already know: - Use Share of Grid (Top 3 %) as your primary headline figure — for example, "Your business appears in the top 3 results for 68 % of searches across your target area." - Pair it with Average Grid Ranking to show depth — a high Share of Grid with a low Average Ranking confirms dominance, not just occasional appearances. - Run scans at a consistent cadence (weekly or monthly) and compare snapshots to show trend lines, replicating the SoLV-over-time charts clients expect. - Export the heatmap image directly from the results view to drop into client reports or slide decks. 💡 Tips for Accurate, Comparable Scans - Keep settings consistent — use the same grid size, radius, and keyword every time you scan so period-over-period comparisons are valid. - Scan at similar times — local rankings can fluctuate by time of day, so scanning at roughly the same time each period improves data consistency. - Use keyword variants — run separate scans for each core keyword (e.g. "plumber near me" and "emergency plumber") to build a fuller picture of Share of Grid across your client's service categories. - Layer with Overview data — navigate to Local → Overview (GBP Profile Completion) to correlate heatmap trends with GBP impression and call data for a complete local performance story. 🆘 Need Help? If you need further assistance, open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and type human teammate to be connected with a member of our team.

📍 Understanding Heatmap Pin Movement on Service Area Businesses

🗺️ Overview If you have set a heatmap pin for a Service Area Business (SAB) and noticed it has moved from where you originally placed it, this article explains what is known about this behavior and what steps you can take to address it. 🏢 What Is a Service Area Business (SAB)? A Service Area Business is a business that serves customers at their locations rather than at a fixed storefront — for example, a plumber, cleaning service, or mobile dog groomer. In Google Business Profile, SABs do not have a publicly visible address. Instead, Google defines a service area boundary based on the regions the business has set in their profile. 📌 Why Does the Pin Move? Pin movement on SAB heatmaps is a known behavior. The platform may reposition a heatmap pin when it is placed in a location that does not align with the business's Google-defined service area. Because the source of this behavior involves how the platform interprets Google's service area data, the exact rules governing when and how repositioning occurs are not fully documented in publicly available resources. ✅ What to Do When You Experience Pin Movement Because the specifics of this behavior are not fully documented, the most reliable next step is to contact our support team with the details of your situation. When escalating, please have the following ready so our team can investigate efficiently: - Your project name and the specific heatmap affected - The location where you originally placed the pin and where it moved to - Whether a scan had been run before or after the pin moved - Your Google Business Profile service area settings — specifically the regions or boundaries you have configured in GBP - Any screenshots showing the pin's original and current position This information will allow our team to identify whether the repositioning is expected platform behavior or an issue that requires a fix on your account. 🔒 Pin Locking After a Scan There is some indication that pin position behavior may change in relation to scan activity. However, the precise conditions under which any locking or stabilization occurs are not confirmed in available documentation. If you believe your pin is not behaving as expected after a scan, please reach out with the details listed above so our team can review your specific case. If you need further assistance, open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and type human teammate to be connected with a member of our team.

🗺️ Duplicate Google Business Profile Heatmaps Explained

🔍 Why Two Heatmaps Are Appearing If you notice two heatmaps displayed for what appears to be a single business, this is almost always caused by duplicate Google Business Profile (GBP) listings existing on Google's side — even if you only manage one profile inside Search Atlas. Google can sometimes generate or retain more than one listing for the same business. Each listing carries its own review count, rating, and local ranking data. When Search Atlas pulls GBP data, it reflects exactly what Google returns, which means two separate listings will produce two separate heatmaps. 📋 Common Reasons Duplicate Listings Exist - A previous owner or agency created a second listing that was never removed or merged. - Google auto-generated a listing from public data such as directories or map contributions. - A location migration or rebrand resulted in two active profiles for the same address. - Multiple users claimed the business under different Google accounts at different times. 🛠️ How to Identify Which Listing Is the Duplicate 1. Check the review count and rating displayed on each heatmap inside Search Atlas. The listing with fewer reviews or an older review date is typically the duplicate. 2. Open Google Search or Google Maps and search for your business name and address. If two separate map pins or knowledge panels appear, you have confirmed duplicate listings on Google's end. 3. Log in to Google Business Profile Manager (business.google.com) and review all locations linked to your account. A duplicate may be listed there as a separate, unverified, or unclaimed profile. ✅ How to Resolve the Duplicate on Google Because the duplicate exists on Google's side, the resolution must be handled directly within Google Business Profile Manager. General steps include: 1. Claim the duplicate listing in Google Business Profile Manager if it is currently unclaimed. This gives you control to manage or remove it. 2. Once claimed, follow Google's standard process to remove or merge the duplicate profile. Google reviews such requests and the timeline for completion is determined by Google's own systems. 3. If you cannot claim the duplicate because another party owns it, use the Suggest an edit option on Google Maps to flag the listing as a duplicate and request its removal. 🔄 Updating Your Heatmaps in Search Atlas After Fixing Once Google has processed the removal or merge of the duplicate listing, Search Atlas will reflect the updated GBP data on its next data refresh. If the duplicate heatmap persists after Google has confirmed the change, please reach out to our support team for assistance. If you need further assistance, open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and type human teammate to be connected with a member of our team.

🗺️ Remove Unwanted Pins from Local SEO Heatmaps

Why Pins Appear in Unwanted Locations When you run a Local SEO Heatmap, Search Atlas automatically places ranking pins across a grid centred on your chosen location. Depending on your grid size and centre point, some pins may land on lakes, parks, highways, or other areas that are not relevant to your business. These pins are not errors — they simply reflect how the grid overlays your map. The good news is that you can eliminate them by adjusting three grid settings: grid size, centre point, and radius. What Not to Do You cannot click individual pins to turn them red or exclude them from data collection. There is no per-pin toggle or colour-coding control in the heatmap. Any instructions suggesting otherwise are incorrect. The only supported method for removing unwanted pins is to reshape or reposition the grid itself, as described below. How to Adjust Your Heatmap Grid Settings Follow these steps to reconfigure your heatmap and remove pins from irrelevant areas: 1. Navigate to your Local SEO Heatmap project within the platform. 2. Open the heatmap you want to edit and locate the grid configuration settings. 3. Apply one or more of the three adjustments below based on where the unwanted pins are appearing. The Three Adjustments That Remove Unwanted Pins - Shrink the grid size: Reducing the number of grid points lowers the total number of pins generated. Use a smaller grid when your target service area is compact and only a few surrounding pins are landing in irrelevant zones. - Move the centre point: The grid radiates outward from your centre point. If pins are consistently falling into a lake or off-target area on one side, shift the centre point away from that area and toward the heart of your actual service zone. - Reduce the radius: The radius controls how far the grid extends from the centre point. A smaller radius pulls all pins closer to your centre, which is the most effective fix when irrelevant pins appear around the outer edges of the heatmap. Tips for Choosing the Right Adjustment - If unwanted pins are scattered across the entire heatmap, start by reducing the radius. This has the broadest effect and often resolves the issue in one step. - If unwanted pins are concentrated on one side (for example, a coastline or river to the west), move the centre point eastward so the grid shifts away from that boundary. - If your service area is small and dense, use a smaller grid size combined with a tighter radius to keep all pins within relevant streets and neighbourhoods. - You can combine all three adjustments. Preview the updated grid before saving to confirm that pins now fall only within your intended service area. If you are unsure which setting to start with, try reducing the radius first, then preview the result before making additional changes. If you need further assistance, open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and type human teammate to be connected with a member of our team.

🗺️ Save Heatmaps and Access Local SEO Reports

📋 Overview The Local SEO Heatmaps feature lets you visualise your Google Business Profile ranking across a geographic grid. You can save heatmap snapshots to your dashboard for quick access and track ranking changes over time. The Local SEO Report is a separate, dedicated section found through the Reports area of the platform — not inside the Local product itself. This article explains where each feature lives and how to navigate to it. 🗺️ Understanding Where Each Feature Lives Before diving into steps, it helps to know the two areas of the platform involved: - Local product — Accessed via Left sidebar → Local. This is where you run heatmap scans for your Google Business Profile locations. - Reports section — Accessed via Left sidebar → Reports. This is where your Local SEO Reports are built, stored, and accessed. It is a separate area from the Local product. 📊 How to Save a Heatmap to Your Dashboard Saving a heatmap to your dashboard is a feature within the Local product. Because the exact steps and controls available can differ depending on your account view and subscription tier, the best way to get precise guidance is to reach out to our support team with the following details ready: - The name of the GBP project (location) you are working with - The keyword and location radius used for the heatmap scan - A screenshot of the heatmap result you want to save, if possible Having this information ready will allow our team to walk you through the exact steps for your specific account setup. Tip: You can save multiple heatmaps for different keywords or locations so you can monitor ranking changes across different areas from one place. 📁 How to Access the Local SEO Report Section The Local SEO Report is not located inside the Local product sub-pages. It is built and accessed through the Reports section. Follow these steps: 1. In the left sidebar, click Reports to open the Report Builder projects list. 2. On the projects list screen, open an existing report project or create a new one. 3. Within the report project, look for the Local SEO reporting area to view or build your Local SEO report. 4. If you do not see a Local SEO reporting option, verify that your subscription tier includes access to Local SEO features, as availability may depend on your plan. If you need further assistance, open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and type human teammate to be connected with a member of our team.

How to Use Local SEO Heatmaps in GHL

Local SEO Heatmaps let you track your Google Business Profile (GBP) rankings by keyword on a visual map. This guide walks you through accessing, configuring, and managing heatmaps via the left sidebar → Local → Local SEO Heatmaps. What Local Heatmaps Show The Local SEO Heatmap dashboard displays the following columns for each business you track: - BUSINESS - Average Rank - HEATMAP KEYWORDS - Rating - Save, Import from Google Business Profile, Import Heatmaps, Export buttons Step 1: Access Local Heatmaps 1. In the left sidebar, click Local. 2. Under LOCAL SEO TOOLS, click Local SEO Heatmaps (Local SEO Heatmaps). Step 2: Manage Your Local Business When the Local SEO Heatmap page opens, you'll see the "Manage your local business" screen with a list of businesses. - If a GBP is already connected, the business appears in the list automatically. - If no GBP is connected, use the controls at the top of the page: - Select a Search area - Choose Business Name, Place ID, or Place URL - Type in the Find a local business by business name… field - Click Save You may also use Import from Google Business Profile or Import Heatmaps. Step 3: Manage an Added Business Each business row displays a View button and a three-dot menu (…). - To delete a business: Click … then click Delete. - To open a heatmap: Click View. Step 4: Set Up a Heatmap After clicking View, you'll see the Local SEO Heatmap setup view with the business name at the top. 1. Add keywords in the Enter a keyword(s) field. 2. Click Smart Suggest for keyword suggestions. 3. Use the dropdown filters below the keyword bar: - Heatmap shape: Circle or Rectangular - Layers: 1–7 layers - Distance: e.g., 2 miles, 3 miles - Refresh cadence: Run Once, Daily, Weekly, Bi-weekly, Monthly, or Monthly with date selector - Time: e.g., 9 AM Step 5: Edit an Existing Heatmap When a business already has heatmap data, the … menu shows: - Edit heatmap - Delete Or click View to open the map directly. Step 6: Use the Local SEO Heatmaps The left side shows the score panel (donut chart and pin breakdown). The right side displays the map. Click Edit heatmap at the top to adjust settings. Hover over the date at the top to expand additional details and scan info. Interacting with Ranking Pins 1. Click any star (ranking pin) on the map to open a pop-up with competitor list and ranking information. 2. In the pop-up, click Compare to open the two-column Local SEO Showdown view—your business on the left, the competitor on the right. Delete a Heatmap 1. In the business list, click … 2. Click Delete View and Compare Results - Click the GBP name to see the heatmap. - Use the dropdown to switch between keywords.

📍 How Location Quota Is Calculated Per Site

🔍 Overview Your location quota tracks the number of unique targeting configurations active across your connected sites — not simply the number of websites you have added. This means one website can consume more than one quota slot if it is set up with multiple location or targeting combinations. 📊 How Quota Consumption Works Each time you add a site + targeting configuration pair in Search Atlas, it uses one quota slot. A targeting configuration is the combination of a site with a specific country, region, or device target set for data tracking. Here is a simple breakdown of how slots are counted: - 1 site × 1 targeting config = 1 quota slot used - 1 site × 2 targeting configs = 2 quota slots used - 2 sites × 2 targeting configs each = 4 quota slots used - 3 sites × 1 targeting config each = 3 quota slots used This is why you may see a quota count that appears higher than the number of websites in your account. 🌐 Does "Worldwide" Targeting Still Use a Quota Slot? Yes. Setting a site to Worldwide targeting still counts as one targeting configuration and consumes one quota slot. Worldwide is treated as a distinct targeting option alongside country- or region-specific settings. 💡 Worked Example: 5 Slots Used Across 3 Sites Suppose your account shows 5 out of 5 quota slots used but you only have 3 websites connected. Here is one way that can happen: - Site A — configured with Worldwide targeting + United States targeting = 2 slots - Site B — configured with Worldwide targeting + United Kingdom targeting = 2 slots - Site C — configured with Worldwide targeting only = 1 slot Total: 3 sites, 5 quota slots consumed. No additional quota purchase is needed — you simply have more targeting configurations active than you may have realised. 🔎 How to Review Your Active Targeting Configurations 1. In the left sidebar, click Keywords → Rank Tracker (Keyword Rank Tracker). 2. On the site list page, locate each connected site. 3. Check how many targeting configurations are listed under each site. 4. To view or manage rank tracking targets specifically, go to Keywords → Rank Tracker and review the location settings assigned to each site. Each active configuration you see corresponds to one quota slot. 🗑️ How to Free Up Quota Slots If you have reached your quota limit and need to add a new configuration without upgrading, you can remove an existing targeting configuration that is no longer needed. 1. Navigate to Keywords → Rank Tracker in the left sidebar. 2. Select the site whose configuration you want to remove. 3. Delete or edit the targeting configuration you no longer require. 4. Your available quota will update immediately. Note: Removing a targeting configuration will delete the associated tracking data for that site-location pair. Make sure you no longer need that data before removing it. ⬆️ When You Actually Need More Quota You only need to upgrade your quota when you genuinely want to track more unique site-and-location combinations than your current plan allows, and you do not have any existing configurations you are willing to remove. If your current configurations match your actual tracking needs, no upgrade is necessary. 🤝 Need Help? If you need further assistance, open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and type human teammate to be connected with a member of our team.

🗑️ Deleting Files and Using Bulk Delete in Search Atlas

🔍 What Does Deleting a File Actually Do? When you delete a file inside Search Atlas, it is removed only from Search Atlas — specifically from the Media Library within the platform. Deleting a file here does not delete the image or asset from your live website, your hosting server, or any other platform. Your website content remains completely untouched. Think of the Search Atlas Media Library as a workspace for managing your local business media assets. Removing a file from this workspace simply clears it from your Search Atlas account. Nothing on your live site is affected. 📂 Where to Find Your Files All uploaded files are stored in the Media Library. To access it: 1. In the left sidebar, click Local. 2. Select Media Library from the sub-menu. Here you can view, manage, and delete individual or multiple files. 🗂️ How to Delete a Single File 1. Navigate to Left sidebar → Local → Media Library. 2. Locate the file you want to remove. 3. Click the delete icon (trash can) associated with that file. 4. Confirm the deletion when prompted. The file will be removed from your Search Atlas Media Library immediately. Your website is not affected. ✅ How to Delete Multiple Files at Once Search Atlas supports bulk deletion so you can clean up your Media Library efficiently without removing files one by one. 1. Navigate to Left sidebar → GBP Projects → Media Library. 2. Select the files you want to delete by clicking the checkbox next to each file. To select all visible files at once, use the Select All checkbox at the top of the list. 3. Once your files are selected, click the Delete Selected button that appears. 4. Confirm the bulk deletion when prompted. All selected files will be removed from your Search Atlas account. No changes will be made to your live website. ⚠️ Important Things to Know Before You Delete - Deletions are permanent within Search Atlas. Once a file is removed from the Media Library, it cannot be recovered from within the platform. Make sure you no longer need the file before confirming. - Your website stays safe. Deleting files in Search Atlas does not remove any content from your live website or hosting environment. - Bulk delete applies only to selected files. Only files you have checked will be removed — unselected files are never affected. - Re-uploading is always possible. If you delete a file by mistake, you can re-upload it to the Media Library at any time. 💡 Best Practices for Managing Your Media Library - Regularly review your Media Library and remove outdated or unused assets to keep it organised. - Use bulk delete when cleaning up after a campaign or replacing a large set of images. - Before deleting, confirm the file is no longer needed in any active posts or tasks within the platform. 🛠️ Need Help? If you need further assistance, open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and type human teammate to be connected with a member of our team.

💡 GBP Plans With Heatmap Reports Pricing Guide

🗺️ Overview If you manage Google Business Profile (GBP) listings and need heatmap reports for your clients, it is important to understand how Search Atlas plans are structured so you can choose the most cost-effective option. This article explains which plan includes both features, how pricing works, and how to estimate your total cost for multiple clients. 📦 Which Plan Includes GBP and Heatmap Reports? Search Atlas offers several plan tiers. To access both GBP management tools and heatmap reports, you need a plan that includes the Local feature set. Not every plan tier includes heatmap reports by default, so it is important to verify the following before downgrading or switching plans: - GBP Management — available via the Local section of the platform (Left sidebar → Local → GBP Projects). This includes Posts, Reviews, Local Citations, Media Library, and more. - Heatmap Reports — available via the Local section (Left sidebar → Local → Local SEO Heatmaps). Heatmap reports are an add-on or included feature depending on your plan tier. When evaluating a plan downgrade, confirm that your target plan explicitly includes heatmap report generation. If heatmap reports are not included in the base plan, they may be available as a paid add-on per location or per report. 🧮 How to Calculate Costs for 12 GBP Clients The total cost for managing 12 clients with GBP tools and heatmap reports depends on two factors: your base plan price and any per-location or per-report fees. Use the following framework to estimate your total monthly cost: 1. Identify your plan: Log in and go to your account billing settings to confirm your current or target plan tier and what is included. 2. Check location limits: Each plan includes a set number of GBP locations. If 12 clients exceeds your plan's location allowance, additional locations are billed at a per-location rate. 3. Check heatmap report limits: Some plans include a fixed number of heatmap reports per month. Running reports for 12 clients may require purchasing additional report credits if your plan limit is lower than 12. 4. Add up the costs: Base plan price + (extra locations × per-location fee) + (extra heatmap reports × per-report fee) = your estimated monthly total. Example calculation (illustrative only — verify current pricing in your account): - Base plan: includes 5 GBP locations and 5 heatmap reports per month - Additional 7 locations: 7 × per-location fee - Additional 7 heatmap reports: 7 × per-report fee - Total = Base plan + additional location fees + additional report fees Actual prices vary by plan and are subject to change. Always check your current pricing page or billing dashboard for the most accurate figures before making a decision. ⚙️ How to Review Your Current Plan and Add-Ons To see your current plan details, included features, and available add-ons: 1. Log in to Search Atlas. 2. Click your account name or avatar in the top-right corner. 3. Navigate to Billing or Subscription settings. 4. Review the features included in your current plan and compare them against available plan tiers. 5. Use the plan comparison view to identify which tier best covers both GBP management and heatmap reports for your number of clients. 📊 Accessing GBP and Heatmap Features Once you have confirmed your plan covers both features, here is where to find them in the platform: - GBP Management: Left sidebar → Local. From here you can access Overview, Posts, Reviews, Local Citations, Media Library, and My Tasks for each of your GBP locations. - Heatmap Reports: Left sidebar → Local → Local SEO Heatmaps. Select your project, then generate or schedule heatmap reports for each client location. 💬 Recommendations Before Downgrading Before confirming a plan downgrade, keep the following in mind: - Downgrading may reduce your included location count or remove heatmap report access entirely — always verify feature availability on the lower tier. - If you lose access to heatmap reports on a lower plan, you may need to purchase them as add-ons, which could result in a higher total cost than staying on your current plan. - For 12 or more clients, a mid-tier or agency plan may be more economical than a base plan plus multiple add-ons. If you need further assistance, open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and type human teammate to be connected with a member of our team.

🗺️ How Heatmap Data Collection and Local Ranking Works

🔍 What Is the Search Atlas Heatmap? The Search Atlas heatmap is a visual tool inside the Local section of the platform that shows how your Google Business Profile (GBP) ranks across a grid of geographic points around a target location. Each point on the grid represents a simulated search performed from that specific latitude and longitude, giving you a clear picture of your local search visibility across a service area. To access your heatmaps, navigate to Local > Local SEO Heatmaps in the left sidebar. 📡 How Does Search Atlas Collect Heatmap Data? Search Atlas collects ranking data by sending localised search queries to Google from the exact coordinates represented by each grid point. This is done using coordinate-level targeting — not a VPN. Here is what that means in practice: - Each grid point has its own coordinates. Search Atlas passes those coordinates directly in the search request so Google returns results as if a user were physically located at that position. - No VPN is involved. A VPN masks a single IP address to appear as though traffic originates from a different city or country. That approach is imprecise and cannot replicate a search performed at a specific street-level coordinate. Search Atlas uses coordinate-level targeting instead, which is more accurate for local SEO purposes. - Data is pulled at the time of the scan. Rankings reflect the moment the heatmap was generated. Results can shift between scans as Google updates its local index. 🧭 Why Search Atlas Does Not Use a VPN VPNs route all traffic through a single exit node in a general region — for example, "Chicago" — but cannot pinpoint a search to a specific neighbourhood or postal code. For local SEO, ranking at the postcode or street level is what matters most. Coordinate-based targeting gives Search Atlas the precision needed to show you exactly where your business ranks and where it does not, down to a fraction of a mile. Using a VPN would also introduce inconsistency: the exit node's IP could change between scans, making it impossible to compare results reliably over time. Search Atlas's method is repeatable and consistent across every scan. ✅ How to Manually Verify Heatmap Rankings Because Search Atlas does not use a VPN, you cannot replicate a heatmap result simply by turning on a VPN and searching Google. If you want to manually verify results for a specific grid point, we recommend opening a private or incognito browser window to avoid personalised results and searching for your target keyword while keeping in mind that browser-based results may differ from coordinate-level data collected by the platform. If you have questions about a specific heatmap result or need clarification on how a particular ranking was recorded, our support team can investigate on your behalf. If you need further assistance, open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and type human teammate to be connected with a member of our team.

🗺️ Keyword Radius Mapping and Geographic Search Intent

🔍 Why 'Roofer Near Me' and 'Roofer Vero Beach' Score Differently Although these two keywords describe the same service, Search Atlas treats them as distinct search intent signals — and for good reason. Each keyword carries a different geographic context that affects how rankings are measured and mapped. - 'Roofer near me' is a proximity-based keyword. Search engines resolve it dynamically using the searcher's real-time location. Search Atlas scores it relative to the pin or business address you've set in your Local project, simulating how a nearby searcher would find you. - 'Roofer Vero Beach' is a geo-modified keyword. It anchors the search to a named place, so scores reflect how well your business ranks when the location name is explicitly stated — regardless of where the searcher physically is. Because the ranking algorithms weight these signals differently, it is normal and expected for the two keywords to return different scores even when they refer to the same service area. Tracking both gives you a more complete picture of your local visibility. ⚙️ How Radius Mapping Works in Search Atlas Radius mapping in Search Atlas generates a grid of ranking data points radiating outward from your business pin. Each point on the grid represents a simulated search performed from that location, giving you a visual heat map of where your rankings are strong or weak. To access and configure your radius maps, navigate to Left sidebar → Local → Local SEO Heatmaps (Local SEO Heatmaps). Select your GBP project, then open the ranking map for the keyword you want to analyse. 1. Click Settings (or the grid configuration icon) within the map view. 2. Set your desired radius — for example, 20 miles. 3. Choose your grid density (number of data points). A higher density gives more granular insight but uses more report credits. 4. Confirm your business pin location is accurate. An incorrectly placed pin is the most common cause of unwanted ocean or out-of-boundary coverage. 5. Save your settings and regenerate the map. 🌊 Avoiding Ocean and Out-of-Boundary Coverage at 20+ Miles Coastal businesses — such as those in Vero Beach, FL — frequently encounter ocean coverage when expanding their radius to 20 miles or more. This happens because the grid expands uniformly in all directions from the pin, placing data points over water where no real searchers exist. Follow these steps to minimise irrelevant coverage. 1. Reposition your business pin inland. Navigate to Left sidebar → Local → Local SEO Heatmaps (Local SEO Heatmaps), open your project settings, and drag the pin slightly away from the coastline. Even a small adjustment can remove several ocean grid points. 2. Use a smaller grid density over a larger radius. A lower density reduces the total number of points, which naturally cuts down on water coverage while still capturing your target land area. 3. Segment your coverage into directional zones. Instead of one 20-mile radius map, create two separate maps — one targeting inland suburbs and one targeting the coastal corridor. This gives you cleaner, more actionable data for each zone. 4. Focus keyword tracking on geo-modified terms for coastal areas. Keywords like 'Roofer Vero Beach' or 'Roofer Sebastian FL' produce scores anchored to specific named places, so they are less affected by the physical shape of your radius grid. ✅ Best Practices for Accurate Local Keyword Configuration - Always track both proximity keywords ('near me') and geo-modified keywords (city name) for every core service to get a full picture of your local rankings. - Verify your business pin placement before expanding your radius. Go to Left sidebar → Local → Local SEO Heatmaps (Local SEO Heatmaps) and confirm the pin sits at your actual business address. - Reassess your grid configuration any time you expand your target service area — what works at 5 miles may produce noisy data at 20 miles. - Use the Rank Tracker (Left sidebar → Keywords → Rank Tracker) alongside your map data to monitor keyword score trends over time across both proximity and geo-modified variants. - Document which radius and grid settings you use so you can compare maps consistently month over month. 💡 Quick Troubleshooting Reference - Scores differ between 'near me' and city-name keywords: This is expected behaviour. They measure different intent signals. Track both. - Map shows coverage over the ocean: Reposition your pin inland or reduce grid density. - Rankings look unexpectedly low at the edge of your radius: Competition typically increases with distance from your pin. Consider targeting geo-modified keywords for those outer suburbs instead. - Grid is not updating after changing settings: Save your settings and use the Regenerate button to force a fresh data pull. If you need further assistance, open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and type human teammate to be connected with a member of our team.

🗺️ Managing Multiple Google Business Profile Heatmaps

🔍 Why You Are Seeing Two Heatmaps If you own or manage a single business but see two separate heatmaps inside Search Atlas, this is almost always because there are two distinct Google Business Profile (GBP) listings connected to your account. Search Atlas generates one heatmap per GBP listing, so two listings will always produce two heatmaps. This is not necessarily a problem. There are several legitimate reasons a single business owner intentionally maintains more than one GBP listing, and Search Atlas is designed to support that workflow. ✅ When Multiple GBP Listings Are Allowed by Google Google permits a single business owner to maintain multiple GBP listings in the following scenarios: - Different physical locations: Each address where customers can visit or be served in person qualifies for its own listing. - Franchise or multi-unit businesses: Each franchise unit can have its own listing, even if the same person or company owns them all. - Distinct service-area businesses (SABs): If your business serves clearly separate geographic territories and you want to track local visibility independently for each, Google allows separate SAB listings provided they meet its guidelines. - Departments within a business: For example, a car dealership's sales department and service department can each have a dedicated listing. If your situation matches any of the above, having two heatmaps in Search Atlas is expected and correct behaviour — not an error. 📍 How Each Heatmap Is Generated Every heatmap in Search Atlas is tied to one GBP project. When you add a GBP listing under Left sidebar → Local → GBP Projects, the platform creates a separate project for that listing and tracks its local search visibility independently. The heatmap visualises how prominently that specific listing appears across a grid of geographic points for your chosen keywords. Because each listing competes in local search on its own merit, the two heatmaps may look very different — even if both listings represent the same brand — because they target different locations, service areas, or keyword sets. ⚙️ How to Manage Multiple GBP Projects in Search Atlas 1. Go to Left sidebar → Local → GBP Projects to see all your GBP projects listed on the main page. 2. Select the first project to view its heatmap, ranking data, reviews, posts, and tasks. 3. Return to Left sidebar → Local → GBP Projects and select the second project to review its individual heatmap. 4. Use Left sidebar → GBP Projects → Overview within each project to compare overall visibility scores between the two listings side by side by switching projects. 5. Manage location-specific content separately: use Left sidebar → Local → Posts and Left sidebar → Local → Reviews (GBP Reviews) within each project to keep each listing's activity consistent and up to date. Keeping both projects active and well-maintained ensures that Search Atlas accurately reflects the real-world performance of each listing. 🛠️ Optimising Each Listing Independently Because the two heatmaps reflect two separate listings, you should treat each one as its own SEO asset. Here are key practices: - Use location-specific keywords: Target keywords that reflect the actual service area or address of each listing. Avoid using identical keyword sets if the listings serve different areas. - Keep NAP data consistent: Ensure the Name, Address, and Phone number for each listing match exactly what appears on your website and local citations. Use Left sidebar → Local → Local Citations to audit citation accuracy for each project. - Post and respond to reviews separately: Activity signals matter for each listing individually. Maintain a regular posting schedule and respond to reviews under each project via Left sidebar → Local → Posts and Left sidebar → Local → Reviews (GBP Reviews). - Upload relevant media per location: Use Left sidebar → Local → GBP Projects → Media Library within each project to add photos that are specific and relevant to that listing's location or service area. ⚠️ How to Tell If the Second Listing Is Accidental Not every case of two heatmaps is intentional. You may have a duplicate listing created accidentally if: - Both listings share the exact same address and phone number. - One listing was created by a third party or by Google automatically. - You did not intentionally add the second GBP project in Search Atlas. If you suspect one of your listings is an unintended duplicate, log in to Google Business Profile Manager at business.google.com to review both listings. Google's guidelines provide a process for requesting duplicate removal or merging listings that represent the same location. Once resolved in Google, remove the corresponding project from Search Atlas under Left sidebar → Local → GBP Projects to keep your heatmap data accurate. 📋 Quick Reference - Two heatmaps = two GBP projects — this is by design, not a platform bug. - Multiple listings are legitimate for multi-location, franchise, department, or separate service-area businesses. - Manage and optimise each project independently for the best local SEO results. - If the second listing is accidental, resolve it in Google Business Profile Manager first, then remove the project in Search Atlas. If you need further assistance, open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and type human teammate to be connected with a member of our team.

🗺️ Heatmap Rankings and Multilingual SERPs in Lebanon

🔍 Overview If your heatmap shows a ranking of 20+ for a branded term in Lebanon — even though your site reliably ranks #1 — you are likely seeing the effect of multilingual SERP behavior specific to the Lebanese market. This article explains why this happens and what you can do about it. 🌐 How Google Handles Search Results in Lebanon Lebanon is a multilingual country where users commonly search in Arabic, French, and English — sometimes mixing languages within a single query. Google's algorithm responds to this by dynamically adjusting which results it surfaces based on the detected language context of the search session. This means that when Search Atlas crawls Google to build your heatmap data, the simulated search environment may reflect a different language context than the one your real customers use. If Google interprets the crawl session as an Arabic or French query context, it may deprioritize English-language pages — even well-optimized branded ones — and push them significantly down the results page. 📊 Why Your Heatmap Shows 20+ for a #1 Ranked Site There are two common reasons for this discrepancy: - Language context mismatch: The heatmap crawl uses a specific language and locale setting. If your target keyword is branded and primarily searched in English, but the crawl simulates a Lebanese Arabic or French session, Google may return a localized SERP that ranks your English page lower. - Localized SERP variation: Google frequently tests and serves different result sets across regions. In markets like Lebanon with high multilingual activity, SERP composition can vary significantly between sessions, making snapshot-based rankings appear inconsistent. This is not a bug in Search Atlas — it accurately reflects the SERP Google returned for that specific language and location context at the time of the crawl. ⚙️ How to Improve Heatmap Accuracy for Lebanon Follow these steps to align your heatmap settings more closely with your actual audience's search behavior: 1. Go to Left sidebar → Keywords to review how your target keywords are configured. 2. Confirm the language setting for your tracked keywords matches the language your customers actually search in. For Lebanon, this is most commonly English, Arabic (ar), or French (fr). 3. If you track the same branded keyword across multiple languages, create separate keyword entries for each language-locale combination (for example, English/Lebanon and Arabic/Lebanon). This gives you a clearer picture of how your site ranks in each language context. 4. Navigate to Left sidebar → Local → Overview (GBP Profile Completion) to review your local presence settings and ensure your business profile is optimized for the correct target region and language. 💡 Best Practices for Multilingual Markets - Do not rely on a single heatmap snapshot to judge performance in multilingual regions. Compare rankings across multiple crawl sessions to identify patterns. - If your site targets English-speaking users in Lebanon, ensure your Google Business Profile and on-page content clearly signal English as the primary language. - Consider adding hreflang tags to your site if you serve content in multiple languages. This helps Google correctly associate your pages with the right language-locale audience. - Use the Left sidebar → Keywords tool to monitor keyword performance separately per language so fluctuations in one language context do not mask strong performance in another. 🛠️ What This Means for Your Reporting When presenting rankings data from Lebanon to stakeholders, always note the language context of each tracked keyword. A branded term ranking #1 in an English-language Lebanese SERP and ranking 20+ in an Arabic-language Lebanese SERP are two separate and valid data points — not a contradiction. Search Atlas captures both accurately; the key is interpreting them with the correct context. 🆘 Need Further Help? If you need further assistance, open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and type human teammate to be connected with a member of our team.

🗺️ Local SEO Heatmaps

The Local SEO Heatmap tool helps you track organic visibility for local searches. It shows where a business appears in the Google Map Pack for its target geographic locations and allows you to analyze rankings across specific areas. You can sign up to get your Google Business Profile listed with Google at the following link: https://business.google.com/us/business-profile/ 🔥Creating a Local SEO Heatmap 🗺️ How to Create a New Heatmap Here is a Loom with the exact steps: 1. Navigate to Local → Local SEO Heatmaps (Local SEO Heatmaps) in the left sidebar 2. Select the business to track using the business name or business URL. (Note: Place ID lookup may currently return an error for some users — if you encounter an issue, please use the business name or URL instead, or contact support.) 3. Click Save to add the business to your dashboard. 4. Open the new business's heatmap 5. Choose your grid type: circle or rectangle (circle is the most common). 6. Define your layers 7. Select your refresh cadence: 1. Daily 2. Weekly 3. Bi-weekly 4. Monthly 5. Once 8. Enter the refresh time (during business hours — rankings in Google Maps can differ when a business is open vs. closed, so scheduling scans during your client's local business hours ensures more representative data). 9. Add your keywords 10. Click + Save to save your heatmap configuration and add it to your dashboard. ⚙️ Configure Settings Setting Description Shape & Radius Circle or Rectangle, radius 1–100 miles Layers / Pins Larger service areas need more pins. As a rule of thumb: for a city-wide area, 3 layers (~37 pins on a circle grid) is typical; for a metro region, 5 layers may be needed. Center Pin Move to reorient the report (useful for Service Area Businesses) Omitting Pins Click a pin until it turns red to exclude that location 🔁 Set Refresh Cadence & Time ⏱️ Choose daily, weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, or once. 🕘 Always schedule during business hours (rankings vary by open/closed status). 🎯 For demos, select Once. 💡 Example Setup For a small local business targeting a single neighborhood, the following configuration is a good starting point: Circle · 3 Layers · 5 Miles · Monthly Refresh · 9:00 AM Heatmap Import + Instant Project Creation We've added a powerful new capability to streamline your local SEO workflow: you can now import heatmaps in bulk and automatically generate full heatmap projects from your uploaded data. This update eliminates manual setup and makes it significantly easier to analyze location-based rankings at scale. How It Works Step 1 — Download and Complete the Template Start by making a copy of the Heatmap Template. Fill in all required fields, and before moving to the next step, ensure your Google Sheet link is set to "Anyone with the link can view." Step 2 — Upload the Completed Template Export your completed sheet as a CSV file. Then upload it using the Import from CSV option. Search Atlas will automatically process each row and instantly create your corresponding heatmap projects. This new feature is designed to save time, reduce errors, and make large-scale local ranking analysis faster and more accessible than ever. 🧠Smart Suggest in Heatmap Setup Smart Suggest is now available inside the Local SEO Heatmap setup flow. When you create a new Local SEO project, the system will automatically recommend relevant keywords based on the business nature. This helps you: - Pick strong, high-intent keywords faster instead of manually guessing - Achieve more accurate heatmap scoring - Speed up project setup - Improve discovery keyword relevance ✅ Live for all users! 🗺️Using the Heatmap 1. View rankings by pin: Click a pin to see results for that location 2. Competitor comparisons: Compare your pins against competitor visibility 3. Date comparisons: Compare current scans with past scans 4. Grid adjustments: Center pin resets to GBP address after refreshes; move it manually if needed 💎Local SEO Points & Quota Each heatmap scan consumes Local SEO Points from your account quota. The number of points consumed per scan depends on the grid configuration — larger grids with more pins consume more points. When your quota is exhausted, scans will be blocked and the Run Local Scan action may return an error. What to do when quota runs out: - Purchase a Local SEO Points top-up from your billing settings - Wait for your monthly quota to reset - Contact support if you need assistance Note: If you have just purchased a top-up and still see a 429 error when running a scan, wait a brief moment for the new quota to apply, then retry. This was a known bug that has been resolved — if the issue persists, please contact support. ⚠️Known Limitations & Troubleshooting Heatmap pins in shared/client reports: Heatmap pins and competitor analysis data may not display correctly in shared report links — they currently render only inside the Search Atlas platform. If your client or stakeholder cannot see pins in a shared report, please view the data directly inside the platform as a workaround, or contact support for assistance. Place ID lookup: Place ID lookup when adding a business may currently return an error for some users. As a workaround, use the business name or business URL instead, or contact support. 📐SOP: Accurate Comparison of Local SEO Rankings To ensure reliable comparisons over time, follow this SOP: 1. Pre-Setup Validation - Confirm business location (exact city/neighborhood/ZIP, not generic city/state) - Verify keyword lists are identical across comparisons 2. Ranking Report Configuration - Use consistent radius and grid spacing (e.g., always 5 miles) - Align timing with business hours - Adjust for time zone differences 3. Comparing Data Over Time - Compare only reports with identical settings - Always use the business's local time zone 4. Validate Location Accuracy - Simulate searches from the business's exact service area 5. Documentation & Standardization - Keep a log for each client/project with: • Location & time zone • Keywords tracked • R

🔍 Site Analysis vs Local SEO Heatmaps Explained

🧭 Overview Search Atlas includes two distinct features that both involve site analysis and visual reporting — but they serve very different purposes. This article clarifies what each tool does so you can point prospects to the right feature and avoid confusion. - Site Analysis — a prospect-facing tool that lets potential clients audit their own website before signing up. - Local SEO Heatmaps — a separate, geographic ranking visualization tool available inside the platform for existing clients. 🌐 What Is Site Analysis? Site Analysis is designed for prospect engagement. It allows people who are not yet Search Atlas clients to run a full audit of their website to get a snapshot of their SEO health. This is typically used by agencies or consultants to demonstrate value to potential clients before they commit to a subscription. What prospects can see in Site Analysis: - On-page SEO issues and recommendations - Technical health indicators such as broken links, page speed signals, and crawl errors - Content and metadata analysis - A high-level SEO performance summary Important: Site Analysis does not include Local SEO Heatmaps. Geographic ranking heatmaps are a separate tool and are only available to active platform users after logging in. Prospects using Site Analysis will not see heatmap reports as part of that audit. 🗺️ What Are Local SEO Heatmaps? Local SEO Heatmaps is a standalone analytics tool inside Search Atlas for existing clients. It visualizes how a business ranks across specific geographic areas for target keywords, displaying results as a color-coded grid overlaid on a map. This helps local businesses and agencies understand ranking performance neighborhood by neighborhood or city by city. Local SEO Heatmaps are: - Only accessible inside the platform by logged-in users - Not part of the Site Analysis prospect flow - Configured separately using a business location, target keywords, and a scan radius - Used for ongoing local ranking tracking, not one-time site audits 📋 Quick Comparison - Site Analysis — Who uses it: Prospects (non-clients) | Purpose: Pre-sale site audit | Includes heatmaps: No | Access: Public-facing tool - Local SEO Heatmaps — Who uses it: Active clients | Purpose: Geographic ranking visualization | Includes heatmaps: Yes | Access: Inside the platform only 🚀 How to Use Site Analysis for Prospect Engagement 1. Share your Site Analysis link or embed it on your agency website so prospects can enter their domain directly. 2. The prospect enters their website URL and runs the audit — no account or login is required on their end. 3. Results are generated instantly and display SEO health metrics the prospect can review. 4. Use the report as a conversation starter to demonstrate SEO gaps and the value of your services. ⚙️ How to Set Up Local SEO Heatmaps 1. Log in to Search Atlas and navigate to Local in the left sidebar. 2. Select the Local SEO Heatmaps option from the Local sub-navigation. 3. Enter the business name, target location, and keywords you want to track. 4. Set your scan radius and grid size to define the geographic coverage area. 5. Run the scan — results will display as a color-coded map showing ranking positions across the defined area. 6. Return to this section at any time to run updated scans and track ranking changes over time. ❓ Frequently Asked Questions - Can a prospect see heatmaps during a Site Analysis audit? No. Site Analysis and Local SEO Heatmaps are separate tools. Heatmaps are only available inside the platform to logged-in users. - Do I need to set up Local SEO Heatmaps separately from Site Analysis? Yes. They are independent features. Running a Site Analysis audit does not create or link to any heatmap reports. - Can I show a prospect a Local SEO Heatmap report? Yes — you can log in yourself, generate a heatmap for a prospect's business location, and share or present the results to them as part of your pitch. However, the prospect cannot generate heatmaps on their own through the Site Analysis tool. - Where does Site Analysis appear in the platform navigation? Site Analysis is a prospect-facing tool and is not accessed through the standard left sidebar. Contact our team for details on sharing or embedding your Site Analysis link. If you need further assistance, open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and type human teammate to be connected with a member of our team.

📍 How to Find Local Visibility Data in Search Atlas

This article explains what to use in Search Atlas when you are looking for a "Share of Local Voice" (SOLV) metric. SOLV is a term used by some third-party SEO platforms to describe how visible a business is in local search results compared to competitors. Search Atlas does not have a feature called SOLV, but the Local SEO Heatmaps tool is the closest equivalent — it shows your business's local search visibility across a geographic grid, letting you see where you rank strongly and where competitors are outranking you. 📍 Where to Find It Navigate to Left sidebar → Local → Local SEO Heatmaps. This opens the heatmap workspace where you can view, create, and manage local visibility snapshots for your GBP projects. 🛠️ Step-by-Step 1. In the left sidebar, click Local to expand the Local section, then select Local SEO Heatmaps. 2. To load an existing heatmap, select it from the list. To create a new one, follow the on-screen prompts to connect or select your GBP location and configure the heatmap settings. 3. Once a heatmap loads, review the color-coded grid. Each grid point represents a geographic location and shows your business's approximate local search ranking for the tracked keyword at that point. Points with strong rankings indicate good local visibility; points with weak rankings indicate areas where competitors are appearing above you. 4. To assess share-of-visibility across the map, look at the overall distribution of high-ranking grid points versus low-ranking ones. A high proportion of strong grid points across the coverage area is the functional equivalent of a high local share of voice for that keyword. 5. Repeat this process for each keyword or location you want to monitor by creating additional heatmaps. ✅ How to Confirm It Worked You will know you are reading the right data when the heatmap displays a color-coded grid overlaid on your target geographic area and each point shows a ranking number for the keyword you selected. If the grid does not appear, confirm that your GBP account is properly connected by navigating to the Local section of the sidebar and checking your project settings. If you need further assistance, open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and type human teammate to be connected with a member of our team.

🗺️ How to Find Share of Local Voice in Search Atlas

Search Atlas does not have a metric labelled "SOLV" or "Share of Local Voice." However, the Local SEO Heatmaps tool is the closest functional equivalent: it shows how prominently your business appears in local search results across a geographic grid, which is the same underlying data SOLV scores are built from. 📍 Where to Find It Look for the Local SEO Heatmaps tool within the Local section of the platform's navigation. From there you can view and manage local visibility data for your connected Google Business Profile locations. 🛠️ What to Do 1. Navigate to the Local section in the platform. 2. Open the Local SEO Heatmaps tool. 3. If you have not yet connected a Google Business Profile, set up your GBP connection first — look for the GBP or Google Business Profile setup option within the Local section — then return to Local SEO Heatmaps. 4. Select or create a heatmap for the location you want to measure. 5. Choose a target keyword and grid radius that match the local search area you want to track. A tighter radius replicates the hyper-local focus typical of SOLV tracking; a wider radius shows broader market presence. 6. Run the heatmap. Each grid point reflects your business's local ranking position for that keyword at that location — the aggregate of high-ranking points represents your share of local search presence, which is the functional equivalent of what SOLV measures. ✅ What to Do If the Heatmap Does Not Load If the heatmap grid does not populate as expected, check that your Google Business Profile is properly connected under the Local section of the platform and that you have entered a target keyword. Correcting either of those details and re-running the heatmap should resolve the issue. If you are still unsure where to find the Local SEO Heatmaps tool or need help confirming your GBP connection, please reach out with your project name and a description of what you are trying to measure so our team can guide you to the right place. If you need further assistance, open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and type human teammate to be connected with a member of our team.

🗺️ Heatmap Rankings and Multilingual SERP Behavior Explained

🔍 Why Your Heatmap Shows 20+ for a #1-Ranked Site If your site ranks #1 for a branded term but your heatmap displays a position of 20 or higher, the most common cause in multilingual markets is language mixing in Google's search results. In regions like Lebanon, Google serves a blended SERP — combining Arabic-language and English-language results based on the user's language settings, device locale, and search history. When a heatmap tool scans grid points across a geographic area, it simulates searches from different virtual users who may have different language preferences. The tool then averages the position data across all those simulated results — including both language variants — which can dramatically inflate the reported ranking number. For example, if your English-language site ranks #1 in English-language SERPs but does not appear in the top 20 of Arabic-language SERPs for the same query, the heatmap may average those results to show a position around 10–20+, even though your actual English-language visibility is excellent. 🌐 How Google Mixes Languages in Multilingual Markets Google personalizes search results based on several signals: - Browser and device language settings — a user with Arabic as their primary language will see more Arabic results. - Google account language preference — signed-in users receive results tuned to their account's language. - Regional search trends — in Lebanon, both Arabic and English queries are common for the same topics, so Google often blends results. - Query language — even an English-language query typed by an Arabic-preferring user may return a mixed SERP. This means two users in the same city searching the same branded term can see completely different result sets depending on their language settings. Heatmap tools that do not lock to a specific language will capture this variation and reflect it in averaged position data. 📊 How Heatmap Tools Average Positions Across Language Variants Heatmap ranking tools place virtual grid points across a geographic area and simulate a search from each point. Unless a specific language or locale is pinned, the tool uses a default or mixed-language query environment. The result is: - Grid points where English results dominate → your site shows #1. - Grid points where Arabic results dominate → your site may not appear in the top 20. - The heatmap displays an average or blended position across all grid points, hiding your true English-language performance. This is not a data error — it is an accurate reflection of the full multilingual SERP landscape. However, it can be misleading if you are only trying to measure performance for one language segment. ⚙️ How to Filter Reports by Language to Isolate Rankings To get an accurate picture of your English-only or Arabic-only rankings in Search Atlas, follow these steps: 1. Go to Left sidebar → Keywords to open the Keyword Researcher tool. 2. When setting up or editing a keyword tracking project, locate the Language and Location settings. 3. Set the language to English (or Arabic, depending on the segment you want to isolate) and confirm the location is set to Lebanon. 4. Save the configuration and allow the tool to re-pull ranking data under those specific parameters. 5. Compare the language-specific report against your blended report to identify the gap caused by multilingual SERP mixing. Running two separate keyword tracking configurations — one for English, one for Arabic — is the most reliable method for markets like Lebanon where both languages are actively served by Google. 🏷️ Branded vs. Non-Branded Rankings in Multilingual Markets Branded terms behave differently from non-branded terms in multilingual SERPs: - Branded terms — your site typically dominates English-language SERPs for your own brand name. However, if Arabic-language pages about your brand are thin or absent, Arabic-preferring users may not see you at all, pulling down blended heatmap averages. - Non-branded terms — competition is higher in both languages, so multilingual mixing has a less dramatic visible effect on your reported position. If your heatmap shows a poor average position for a branded term, it is a strong signal that your site has low visibility in Arabic-language SERPs, even if your English-language ranking is perfect. Consider whether adding Arabic-language content or hreflang tags could improve your Arabic SERP presence. 🇱🇧 Troubleshooting Steps for Lebanon-Specific SEO Tracking 1. Confirm your tracking language settings — in the Keywords section, verify that your project is set to the correct language (English or Arabic) and location (Lebanon). 2. Run a manual Google search — open an incognito window, go to google.com.lb, and search your branded term in both English and Arabic to compare raw SERP results. 3. Check hreflang implementation — if your site has both English and Arabic versions, confirm that hreflang tags correctly signal the language and region to Google (en-LB and ar-LB). 4. Create separate heatmap scans per language — set one scan to English/Lebanon and another to Arabic/Lebanon to get clean, language-isolated position data. 5. Review your Google Search Console data — filter by country (Lebanon) and check impressions and average position split by query language to validate what Search Atlas is reporting. 6. Monitor over time — multilingual SERP blending can shift seasonally as user language behavior changes. Track both language segments weekly for the most reliable trend data. 💡 Key Takeaways - A heatmap showing 20+ positions while you rank #1 for branded terms is almost always caused by multilingual SERP averaging, not a tracking error. - In Lebanon, Google actively mixes Arabic and English results, and heatmap tools capture this blended reality. - Filtering your reports by a single language in the Keywords tool gives you accurate, actionable data. - Running parallel tracking projects — one per language — is best practice for any multilingual market. If you need further assistance, open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and type human teammate to be connected with a member of our team.

🗺️ Diagnosing Competitor Heatmap Gaps in Local SEO

🔍 Understanding the Real Question Seeing a competitor dominate your local heatmap with a similar number of reviews and the same keywords can be frustrating. The answer is rarely just "get more reviews" or "post more on GBP." Local heatmap rankings are driven by a combination of factors — and a side-by-side competitive analysis is the fastest way to pinpoint exactly where the gap exists. This article walks you through the key factors to investigate when comparing your performance against a specific competitor, so you can build a targeted action plan. 📍 Step 1: Review Your Local Heatmap Results Open your local heatmap for the target keyword and take note of the specific geographic zones where your ranking drops. Each point on the grid shows your ranking position at that location — weaker positions will show higher numbers, while stronger positions show lower numbers. Identifying where the problem is concentrated is important context for the analysis that follows. 🏆 Step 2: Identify What Your Competitor Is Doing Differently A competitor achieving strong results with a similar review count signals that the gap is not primarily about review volume. The difference is almost always found in one or more of these areas: - GBP category and attribute match: Their primary and secondary GBP categories may align more precisely with the search intent behind your shared keywords. - Review quality and recency: Recent, keyword-rich, high-rating reviews outperform older or generic reviews of the same volume. Check when their reviews were posted and whether customers naturally mention service-relevant terms. - Physical proximity and pin placement: Their verified business address may be geographically closer to the center of the search grid, giving them a proximity advantage that no amount of optimization fully overcomes. - Website authority and on-page signals: Google's local algorithm blends GBP signals with the authority of the linked website. A stronger domain or better-optimized landing page can lift heatmap positions. - Local citation consistency: More consistent and complete citations across directories can reinforce relevance for their location. - Engagement signals: Higher click-through rates, direction requests, and calls from their GBP listing all feed into ranking signals. 📊 Step 3: Run a Keyword Gap Analysis Against the Competitor Use Search Atlas's keyword gap tools to compare your domain against your competitor's domain. Enter both domains to surface keywords where your competitor ranks but you do not, or where they rank significantly higher. Prioritize any gaps that overlap with the geographic zones where your heatmap shows weaker positions — these represent your highest-leverage opportunities. 📋 Step 4: Check Citation Consistency Review your business listings across major directories and compare them to your competitor's. Inconsistent NAP (Name, Address, Phone) data weakens your local relevance signals. Use Search Atlas's citation tools to audit and correct any discrepancies. 🛠️ Step 5: Build a Targeted Action Plan Once you have identified where the gaps exist, prioritize actions in this order: 1. Correct any GBP category mismatches or missing attributes. 2. Launch a review generation campaign focused on recency and natural keyword inclusion. 3. Fix citation inconsistencies surfaced in your audit. 4. Strengthen the landing page linked from your GBP listing with better on-page local signals. 5. Monitor heatmap positions weekly after each change to measure impact. If you need further assistance, open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and type human teammate to be connected with a member of our team.

🗺️ Managing Heatmap Features and Billing in PRO Plans

🔍 What Are Heatmaps on the PRO Plan? Heatmaps are a built-in feature of the Search Atlas PRO plan. They visually track user interactions on your tracked pages — including clicks, scroll depth, and movement patterns — to help you optimise on-page performance. On the PRO plan, heatmap tracking is enabled by default for all projects where you have active page tracking configured. Heatmap data collection and storage are included as part of your PRO plan subscription and do not incur separate per-use charges — they are bundled into your plan quota. Note: The heatmaps described in this article are on-page interaction heatmaps that record clicks, scroll depth, and mouse movement. These are a separate feature from the Local SEO heatmaps generated by the Google Business Profile (GBP) integration, which visualise local ranking positions across a geographic grid. The tracking toggle, deletion steps, and billing notes below apply to on-page PRO heatmaps; see the FAQ for how Local SEO / GBP heatmaps differ. ⚙️ Can You Disable Heatmap Tracking? Yes, you can stop heatmap data from being collected at any time. However, it is important to understand what disabling means in practice: - Disabling tracking stops new heatmap data from being recorded for a selected project or page going forward. - It does not automatically remove historical heatmap data already stored on our servers. - Heatmaps are a core feature of the PRO plan — they cannot be permanently removed from your plan at the feature level. Disabling tracking is a self-service control, not a plan-level modification. To disable heatmap tracking for a specific project, follow the steps below. 🛠️ How to Disable Heatmap Tracking 1. Log in to your Search Atlas account and go to the Home. 2. Navigate to Onpage Audit or the relevant project where heatmaps are active. 3. Open Settings for that project. 4. Locate the Heatmap Tracking toggle and switch it to Off. 5. Confirm your selection when prompted. Tracking will stop immediately for that project. Repeat these steps for each project where you want to pause heatmap collection. 🗑️ How to Delete Existing Heatmap Data If you want to remove heatmap data that has already been collected, you can delete it manually from within the platform: 1. Go to the Local SEO Heatmaps section. Select the page or session data you want to remove. 2. Click Delete and confirm the action. Please note: data deletion is permanent and cannot be undone. Once removed, that historical heatmap data cannot be recovered. Bulk deletion options may vary depending on your account configuration — contact support if you need assistance removing large volumes of data. 💳 How Disabling Heatmaps Affects Your Billing Because heatmaps are bundled into the PRO plan, disabling tracking or deleting data does not reduce your monthly subscription charge. Your PRO plan billing remains unchanged regardless of whether heatmap tracking is active or inactive. If your primary goal is to reduce costs, the options available to you are: - Downgrade your plan — if a lower-tier plan meets your needs without heatmaps, you can explore plan options under Avatar (top-right) > Billing > Plans & Top-ups and click Change Plan. - Cancel your subscription — if you no longer wish to use Search Atlas, you can cancel under Account > Billing > Cancel Subscription. Cancellation takes effect at the end of your current billing period. Search Atlas does not offer partial refunds or billing credits for unused features within an active PRO plan period. ❓ Frequently Asked Questions - Can I disable heatmaps entirely and have all my data removed from your servers so I'm not charged? You can turn off tracking (stopping new data) and manually delete stored heatmap data at any time, but because heatmaps are bundled into the PRO plan, doing so will not change your subscription charge. For account-wide server-side removal, contact support using the steps below. - Can I disable the automatic Local SEO (Google Business Profile) heatmaps? The on-page heatmap toggle described above does not control Local SEO / GBP heatmaps, which are generated automatically by the Google Business Profile integration. There is currently no self-service option to turn off automatic GBP heatmap creation, so please contact support if you need this adjusted. - Will my heatmap data be deleted automatically if I cancel? Data retention policies apply after cancellation. For specifics on how long your data is held post-cancellation, please refer to our Privacy Policy or contact support. - Can Search Atlas remove my heatmap data server-side on my behalf? For large-scale or account-wide data removal requests that go beyond self-service deletion, please reach out to our support team via the chat widget below. Our team will review your request and guide you through the process. - Can I re-enable heatmap tracking after disabling it? Yes, at any time. Simply return to your project settings and toggle heatmap tracking back on. If you need further assistance, open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and type human teammate to be connected with a member of our team.

📍 Search Atlas SoLV Equivalents in Local Heatmaps

🎯 Overview If you are migrating from LocalFalcon or comparing tools, you may be looking for a metric equivalent to Share of Local Voice (SoLV) % — a score that shows how often a business appears in the local map pack across a grid of search points. Search Atlas does not use the SoLV label, but it offers features within its Local Heatmaps toolset that together cover the same measurement need. This article explains the concept mapping so you can work with a support agent to locate the right metrics for your client reporting needs. 🗺️ How LocalFalcon SoLV Maps to Search Atlas LocalFalcon's SoLV % answers one core question: across a defined geographic grid, what percentage of search points show this business inside the local map pack? Search Atlas addresses the same question through features in its local ranking and heatmap tools, which provide: - An aggregate visibility score — a single aggregated score showing how visible a Google Business Profile is across tracked search locations. This is the closest direct equivalent to SoLV % and is ideal for executive-level client summaries. - Grid-based heatmap data — a grid-based visual showing the business ranking position at each geographic point. This is the underlying data layer that SoLV is calculated from, giving you granular, point-by-point evidence. - Competitor comparison data — side-by-side visibility data for competing businesses across the same grid. This replicates the competitive benchmarking use case that agencies often use SoLV for when showing a client how they stack up against rivals. 📊 Using the Aggregate Visibility Score for Client Reporting The aggregate local visibility score within Search Atlas's heatmap features is your headline metric for client reporting. It aggregates local ranking performance across all tracked grid points into a single score, making it easy to communicate progress over time without overwhelming clients with raw rank data. To locate the correct metric and dashboard view for your specific GBP project setup, please connect with our support team — they can confirm the exact navigation path and panel label in your account. Once located, use this metric in monthly reports to show trend direction. A rising score communicates the same story as a rising SoLV: the business is earning more local map pack placements over time. 🔥 Using Heatmap Grid Data for Granular Evidence The heatmap view provides the point-by-point geographic ranking data that SoLV is derived from. Use this when clients want to see where they rank across their target area, not just an aggregate number. The visual grid makes it straightforward to highlight strong-performing zones and identify areas needing improvement — the same storytelling use case that SoLV grid exports serve in LocalFalcon. Because navigation paths and panel names may vary depending on your account configuration, a support agent can walk you through accessing the heatmap grid view for your specific GBP project. 🏆 Using Competitor Comparison Data Competitor comparison features in Search Atlas allow you to place your client's local visibility alongside that of competing businesses across the same geographic grid. This directly replicates the competitive benchmarking use case of SoLV — showing not just how a client performs in absolute terms, but how they compare to rivals fighting for the same map pack placements. When preparing to discuss this with support or to set up competitor tracking, have the following ready: the name of your GBP project, the target keywords or search terms you are tracking, and the names of the competitor businesses you want to benchmark against. 📋 What to Have Ready When Contacting Support Because the source material for this article is a general topic label without step-by-step resolution detail, a support agent will be best placed to confirm the exact feature names, navigation paths, and panel labels in your account. To get the fastest help, please have the following information ready: - Your GBP project name - The specific metric or reporting view you are trying to replicate (e.g. aggregate SoLV %, grid export, competitor SoLV comparison) - The tool you are migrating from (e.g. LocalFalcon) if applicable - Any specific error messages or unexpected results you have encountered If you need further assistance, open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and type human teammate to be connected with a member of our team.

🗺️ Keyword Radius Mapping: Scores, Intent, and Geography

🧭 Overview When you map keywords like Roofer near me and Roofer Vero Beach in Search Atlas, you may notice they produce different scores even though they seem to target the same service. This is expected behavior. The two keywords carry different geographic intent signals, and their scores reflect your actual SEO coverage across each intent type — not a configuration error on your part. 📊 Why 'Roofer Near Me' and 'Roofer Vero Beach' Score Differently These two keywords are not identical in the eyes of search engines, even though both relate to roofing services in the same area. - Proximity keywords (e.g., Roofer near me) are resolved dynamically based on the searcher's real-time location. Search engines evaluate your business's proximity to that location, your Google Business Profile signals, and local pack visibility. - Location-specific keywords (e.g., Roofer Vero Beach) are evaluated against geo-targeted content relevance, on-page optimization, and backlinks mentioning that city or region. Because each keyword type draws on different ranking factors, your site is likely stronger in one area than the other. A lower score on either keyword is a signal of an SEO coverage gap, not a problem with how you set up the map. 📏 How Radius Expansion Affects Keyword Scoring When you expand your radius to 20 miles or more, Search Atlas plots a wider grid of geographic data points around your target location. Each point is scored individually based on how well your business ranks from that location for the mapped keyword. It is common to see lower average scores at larger radiuses. This happens because: - Points farther from your business address tend to return weaker local rankings. - Competitor businesses located closer to those outer points will outrank you there. - Your Google Business Profile authority decreases with distance from your verified location. A dropping score as you expand radius is not a sign that something is misconfigured. It is accurate data telling you where your local SEO coverage fades out — and where you have room to grow. 🌊 Ocean Point Handling at 20+ Mile Radiuses If your business is near a coastline — such as Vero Beach, Florida — a wide radius will include data points that fall over water. This is a known behavior when working with coastal locations. Here is how to manage it: 1. Navigate to Left sidebar → Local → Overview and open your keyword map project. 2. Review the grid overlay on the map. Points appearing over ocean or water areas will return no ranking data, which can skew your average score downward. 3. Reduce your radius or adjust the center pin of your map slightly inland to shift the grid away from water coverage. 4. Alternatively, use a custom grid shape if available in your project settings to exclude non-relevant geographic areas. Excluding ocean points from your visible grid gives you a more accurate picture of your true land-based coverage and prevents empty data points from artificially lowering your score averages. 🎯 When to Use Proximity Keywords vs. Location-Specific Keywords Choosing the right keyword type for your map depends on what you want to measure and improve. - Use proximity keywords (near me variants) to track how well you appear when someone searches without typing a city name. This reflects your Google Business Profile strength and proximity authority. These are high-intent, high-conversion searches. - Use location-specific keywords (city or neighborhood name included) to track content relevance and organic ranking in a defined area. These are useful when you serve multiple cities and want to measure reach in each one. - Use both together when you want a complete picture of local visibility. A gap between your proximity score and your location-specific score highlights whether your issue is with proximity signals, content relevance, or both. 🗂️ Managing Duplicate Keyword Maps If you have created separate maps for Roofer near me and Roofer Vero Beach, you may end up with overlapping projects that are harder to compare. Follow these steps to keep your maps organized: 1. Go to Left sidebar → Local → Overview and review your active keyword map projects. 2. Identify any maps that cover the same service category but use different keyword types. 3. Consolidate where possible by grouping proximity and location-specific variants under a single project or labeling them clearly so you can compare scores side by side. 4. Archive or delete maps you no longer need to keep your dashboard clean and reduce confusion when reviewing score trends. Keeping your keyword maps well-organized makes it easier to spot patterns — such as strong proximity rankings but weak city-specific rankings — and take targeted action to close those gaps. ✅ Quick Reference: Score Interpretation Guide - High proximity score, low location-specific score: Your Google Business Profile is strong, but your on-page and content signals for that city need improvement. - High location-specific score, low proximity score: Your content targets the city well, but your GBP authority or distance-based signals may need attention. - Scores drop as radius increases: Normal behavior — indicates the outer boundary of your current local SEO reach. - Score drop near coastline: Likely caused by ocean data points — adjust your map center or reduce radius to exclude water areas. 💬 Need More Help? If you need further assistance, open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and type human teammate to be connected with a member of our team.

🗺️ How to Disable Heatmaps on the PRO Plan

📋 Overview Heatmaps are a PRO plan feature in Search Atlas that visualize how your Google Business Profile (GBP) ranks across a geographic grid for your target keywords. They are a powerful tool for Local SEO, but not every account needs them running continuously. If you would prefer to stop heatmap tracking, remove existing heatmap data, or ensure you are not billed for this functionality, this guide walks you through your options. 🤔 Why You Might Want to Disable Heatmaps There are several common reasons customers choose to turn off heatmap tracking: - You are not actively running Local SEO campaigns and do not need geo-grid rank tracking. - You want to reduce or control the scope of your PRO plan usage. - You no longer manage the Google Business Profile the heatmaps were created for. - You want to clear out historical heatmap data you no longer reference. 🛑 How to Stop Heatmap Tracking To stop new heatmap scans from being generated, follow these steps: 1. Log in to your Search Atlas platform account. 2. Navigate to Local → Local SEO Heatmaps from the left-hand menu. 3. Locate the specific heatmap campaign or scheduled scan you want to stop. 4. Open the campaign settings and disable or delete the scheduled recurring scan so no further scans run automatically. Disabling the scheduled scan prevents new heatmap data from being collected going forward. This is the key step to ensure the functionality is no longer actively running on your account. 🗑️ How to Remove Existing Heatmap Data If you also want existing heatmap results removed, you can delete individual heatmap campaigns and their historical scans directly from the Heatmap page: 1. Go to Local → Local SEO Heatmaps from the left sidebar. 2. Select the heatmap campaign you wish to remove. 3. Use the delete option to remove the campaign and its associated scan history. If you need all heatmap data permanently removed from our servers across your entire account, our team can process a complete data removal request for you. Because this is a permanent action, it must be handled directly by our support team so we can confirm the scope with you before proceeding. 💳 Heatmaps and Your PRO Plan Billing It is important to understand how heatmaps relate to your subscription: - Heatmaps are included as part of the PRO plan feature set rather than billed as a separate standalone product. - Disabling heatmap tracking stops the functionality from running, but on its own it does not change the price of your PRO plan, since the plan bundles multiple PRO-level features together. - If your goal is to avoid being charged for functionality you are not using, you may want to review your overall plan tier rather than only the heatmap feature. If you would like to change your plan, downgrade, or discuss billing adjustments related to features you are not using, our team can review your account and walk you through the best option for your needs. ✅ Quick Recap - Stop future scans by disabling the scheduled heatmap scan in the Local → Local SEO Heatmaps page. - Remove past results by deleting the heatmap campaign and its scan history. - For a complete server-side data removal or billing/plan changes, reach out to our team so we can confirm and process the request. 💬 Need More Help? If you need further assistance, open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and type human teammate to be connected with a member of our team.

🗺️ Managing Heatmap Features on Your PRO Plan

🔍 Overview Heatmaps are a core feature of the Search Atlas PRO plan, providing visual geo-grid data for your Google Business Profile (GBP) rankings. This article explains how heatmap functionality works, what controls are available to you, and how usage relates to your billing. 🗺️ How Heatmaps Work on the PRO Plan When you are on the PRO plan, heatmap functionality is included as part of your subscription. Heatmaps are generated automatically when you connect a Google Business Profile and set up a Local SEO tracking campaign. The data collected — including geo-grid scan results — is stored securely on Search Atlas servers and used to power your ranking reports. ⚙️ Can I Disable Heatmaps? Currently, Search Atlas does not offer a self-serve option to fully disable heatmap functionality or automatic heatmap creation at the account level. Heatmaps are bundled into the PRO plan as a built-in feature, and there is no toggle to turn them off independently without changing your plan. If you do not want heatmap scans to run, the options available to you are: - Remove your GBP integration — Disconnecting your Google Business Profile from Local SEO will stop new heatmap scans from being generated for that location. - Delete existing heatmap campaigns — You can remove individual Local SEO campaigns from your dashboard, which will stop future scans for those specific locations. - Downgrade your plan — If heatmap functionality is not something you need, consider speaking with our team about a plan that better fits your requirements. 🗑️ Requesting Data Removal If you would like your existing heatmap data removed from Search Atlas servers, this cannot be done through the platform interface and requires a manual request to our support team. To submit a data removal request: 1. Open the Search Atlas platform and locate the chat widget in the bottom-right corner. 2. Type human teammate to be connected with a member of our team. 3. Let the team member know which account and locations are affected, and that you are requesting heatmap data deletion. Our team will confirm the scope of the request and process the removal accordingly. 💳 How Heatmaps Affect Your Billing Heatmap access is included in your PRO plan subscription — it is not billed separately per scan. You are not charged an additional fee each time a heatmap scan runs. The cost is part of your monthly or annual plan fee. Disabling heatmaps would therefore not reduce your current plan cost unless you also change your subscription tier. If you are concerned about your billing or believe you are being charged incorrectly for heatmap usage, please reach out to our support team directly through the platform. ✅ Quick Reference - Disable all heatmaps account-wide: Not currently available as a self-serve setting. - Stop new scans for a location: Remove the GBP integration or delete the Local SEO campaign. - Delete stored heatmap data: Contact support via the chat widget. - Reduce billing due to heatmaps: Heatmaps are included in PRO — no separate charge applies. 💬 Need Further Help? If you need further assistance, open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and type human teammate to be connected with a member of our team.

📍 Why Heatmap Keyword Rankings Fluctuate by Location

📋 Overview Local SEO Heatmaps in Search Atlas show keyword rankings across a geographic grid, giving you a visual snapshot of how your business performs in different parts of a target area. Because rankings are pulled based on precise geographic coordinates, small changes in grid settings, pin placement, or system configuration can cause rankings to shift — or appear as not rated — even if your actual Google Business Profile (GBP) performance has not changed. This article explains the most common reasons for ranking fluctuations and what you can do to get consistent, reliable results. 🔍 Common Reasons Rankings Fluctuate or Show 'Not Rated' Several known factors can cause keyword rankings to change unexpectedly or display as not rated for specific grid locations: - System location dependency with pinned grids: When a pinned grid is used, ranking results can vary depending on the underlying system location at the time the scan runs. If the system location differs between scans, results for the same grid point may not match. - Pin count exceeding 20: When the number of pins in a heatmap grid exceeds 20, ranking results become dependent on system location. This can introduce inconsistency across scans, especially for outer grid points. - Pinned base address changed automatically: After April 25th, some heatmaps experienced an automatic change to their pinned location (base address). If your base address shifted without you changing it manually, this would alter which geographic coordinates are scanned and produce different ranking results. - Rankings not matching live Google SERP: There is a known issue where heatmap rankings for positions above 10 may not accurately reflect what appears on a live Google Search results page. This is an active area of improvement in our engineering roadmap. - Natural ranking volatility: Google's local search rankings fluctuate organically due to algorithm updates, competitor activity, review velocity, and proximity factors. A location showing not rated may simply mean your business did not appear in the top results for that grid point at the time of the scan. ✅ Steps to Troubleshoot Fluctuating Rankings 1. Verify your pinned base address. Open your Local SEO Heatmap and confirm that the base address (pinned location) is correctly set to your business address. If it has changed, update it and re-run the scan to get accurate results. 2. Check your pin count. If your heatmap grid uses more than 20 pins, consider reducing the number of grid points. Keeping pin count at 20 or below helps ensure ranking results are consistent and not affected by system location variations. 3. Compare scan dates. If rankings dropped or disappeared after a specific date, check whether the scan was run after April 25th. Heatmaps affected by the automatic base address change may need their pinned location to be manually corrected before results become reliable again. 4. Re-run the heatmap scan. After confirming your base address and pin settings are correct, trigger a fresh scan. Rankings for previously not rated locations may reappear once the correct grid coordinates are used. 5. Cross-check with live Google results. For rankings you expect to appear in positions 1–10, manually search your target keyword on Google while setting your location to the grid point in question. This helps you determine whether the discrepancy is a display issue in the heatmap or a genuine ranking drop. 6. Allow time for stabilisation. If you recently corrected your settings, run scans across two or three consecutive days. Local rankings can fluctuate naturally, and a single scan may not represent a stable baseline. 💡 Best Practices for Consistent Heatmap Results - Keep your grid pin count at 20 or fewer to avoid system location dependency issues. - Always confirm your pinned base address matches your verified business address before running a scan. - Run heatmap scans at consistent times of day to reduce noise from real-time ranking fluctuations. - Use the Rank Tracker (Left sidebar → Keywords → Rank Tracker) alongside your heatmap to monitor keyword trends over time and spot genuine ranking drops versus scan anomalies. - Document your baseline results after a confirmed correct scan so you have an accurate reference point for future comparisons. 🛠️ Known Issues Being Addressed Our engineering team is actively working on improvements to Local SEO Heatmap accuracy. A known regression affecting rankings above position 10 — where heatmap results do not match the live Google SERP — is currently in development. Updates will be reflected in the platform as fixes are released. No action is required on your end for this specific issue. 🙋 Need More Help? If you have checked your base address, reduced your pin count, and re-run your scans but rankings are still showing as not rated or appear inconsistent, our team is happy to investigate further. If you need further assistance, open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and type human teammate to be connected with a member of our team.

🗺️ Link Heatmaps to GBP After Duplicate Consolidation

🔍 Overview When a Google Business Profile (GBP) account contains duplicate listings, Search Atlas may link your Local SEO Heatmap grids to the wrong location ID. After you resolve the duplicate on Google's side — through a CID (Customer ID) consolidation — the heatmap may need to be re-associated with the correct GBP location. This article explains what that process involves and how to request assistance from the Search Atlas team. ⚠️ What Is CID Consolidation and Why Does It Affect Heatmaps? Google assigns a unique CID to every GBP listing. If your account had two listings for the same business location, Google may have consolidated them into a single authoritative CID. Once that happens, the location ID that Search Atlas previously used to track your heatmap grids may no longer match the active GBP listing. As a result, your heatmaps can appear disconnected, fail to refresh, or stop receiving new ranking data. 🛠️ How to Request a Heatmap Re-link Re-linking a heatmap to the correct GBP location after duplicate consolidation requires assistance from the Search Atlas team. To help us process your request as efficiently as possible, please have the following information ready before reaching out: - Confirmation that the duplicate is fully resolved in Google — Log in to your Google Business Profile account and verify that only one listing exists for the location. The consolidation must be complete before the team can re-link your heatmap. - Your Search Atlas project or account name — so the team can locate your heatmap records. - Details about the affected heatmap — including the business name and location associated with the heatmap that is no longer updating correctly. - The correct, active GBP listing details — such as the business name, address, and any identifiers visible in your GBP account for the consolidated listing. If you need further assistance, open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and type human teammate to be connected with a member of our team.

🗺️ Why Local Heatmap Results Look Inconsistent

🔍 Overview If you have noticed that your Local Heatmap produces different ranking scores when you run the same scan twice, or when you change the capitalisation of a keyword (for example, car repair vs. Car Repair), you are not alone. This article explains the known causes behind these inconsistencies, what our team is doing about them, and how to get the most reliable results in the meantime. ⚠️ Known Issues Currently Affecting the Heatmap Our engineering team has identified and is actively addressing several bugs that can cause the behaviour you may be experiencing. Here is a plain-language summary of each one: - Keyword case sensitivity: Searching for car repair and Car Repair were previously treated as two different keywords, which could return different ranking scores for the same business and location. A fix has been deployed to normalise all keywords to lowercase before they are submitted, so results should now be consistent regardless of how you capitalise your search term. - Rankings that depend on system location: When using a pinned grid, ranking results could vary based on the server's detected location rather than the grid coordinates you set. This fix has also been deployed. - Blank map or missing scan data: In some cases the heatmap displayed a blank map or failed to distinguish between a genuine ranking of 20+ (meaning your business was not found in the top 20 results) and a grid point where no scan data existed at all. Work is underway to make these two states clearly separate so you can trust what you see. - Display label errors: A small number of copy and label errors on the heatmap interface have been confirmed and are scheduled for correction in an upcoming release. 📊 Why Results Can Still Vary Between Back-to-Back Runs Even with the above fixes in place, some variation between scans is expected and is not a sign that the tool is broken. The following factors are outside our control and can cause natural fluctuation: - Google's live index: Google updates local rankings in real time. A business's position can shift by one or two places within minutes based on review activity, proximity signals, or algorithm adjustments. - Grid point resolution: Each pin on the heatmap represents a geographic coordinate. Slight differences in how Google interprets proximity at that exact coordinate can produce minor ranking changes between runs. - Data freshness: If you run two scans very close together, one scan may pull fresher Google data than the other, leading to small differences in the results displayed. A difference of one or two ranking positions between scans is considered normal. Large, unexplained swings in the same session on the same keyword are more likely related to the bugs listed above, which are being resolved. ✅ Best Practices for Reliable Heatmap Results While remaining fixes are rolled out, the following steps will help you get the most accurate and consistent data from the Local Heatmap: 1. Use lowercase keywords consistently. Although the platform now normalises casing automatically, entering keywords in lowercase (for example, car repair rather than Car Repair) ensures you are comparing like-for-like scans in your history. 2. Wait at least 24 hours between comparison scans. Running scans back-to-back within minutes amplifies natural Google fluctuation. Daily or weekly comparisons give a more meaningful picture of ranking trends. 3. Check for blank or greyed-out pins. If you see pins that appear empty or show no ranking number, this may reflect the known blank-map issue rather than a genuine absence of ranking data. Note these points and recheck them after the next platform update. 4. Use the same grid size and radius settings each time you scan a keyword. Changing the grid configuration between runs will produce results that are not directly comparable. 🛠️ Current Fix Status Here is a quick summary of where each known issue stands: - Keyword case normalisation — Fixed and deployed. - System-location dependency on pinned grids — Fixed and deployed. - Blank map and no-data vs. 20+ ranking distinction — In progress. - Heatmap display label corrections — Scheduled for an upcoming release. We will update this article as each remaining fix is released. 💬 Still Seeing Unexpected Results? If you have followed the best practices above and are still experiencing large ranking swings, blank maps, or results that do not make sense, our support team is ready to investigate your specific project. If you need further assistance, open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and type human teammate to be connected with a member of our team.

📍 How to Find Your Share of Local Voice Data

This article explains how to track local search visibility in Search Atlas when you are looking for a Share of Local Voice (SOLV) metric. SOLV is not a named metric inside Search Atlas, but the Local SERPs feature tracks how often your business appears in local search results across specific keywords, locations, and devices — giving you the same core insight SOLV is designed to measure. 🔍 What SOLV Measures and How Local SERPs Covers It Share of Local Voice (SOLV) typically measures the percentage of local search results in which a business appears for a defined set of keywords within a target area. In Search Atlas, Local SERPs replicates this by letting you: - Track keyword rankings as they appear in real local search results for a specific city, ZIP code, or coordinate. - Monitor your Google Business Profile and organic listing visibility side by side. - Compare your appearance against local competitors for the same keyword set. - View ranking data segmented by device (desktop vs. mobile) to reflect how real local users search. The combination of keyword-level local rank tracking and competitor comparison is the functional equivalent of a SOLV report — there is no single percentage score labeled SOLV, but the underlying data is present and actionable. 🛠️ Step-by-Step 1. Open your Search Atlas project and navigate to your project settings to confirm your target business location and primary keywords are already configured. Local ranking data is tied to the location set at the project level. 2. Open the Local SERPs feature from within your project. This is where keyword-level local rank data is displayed. 3. Add or confirm the specific keywords you want to track for local visibility. Use the keywords that represent the searches your local customers perform. 4. Set the target location to the city, ZIP code, or geographic coordinates that match your service area. If you serve multiple areas, add each location as a separate tracked location. 5. Select the device type (desktop, mobile, or both) to match how you want to measure local visibility. 6. Allow the system to collect ranking data. Once populated, review which keywords show your business in local results and at what rank positions. This rank distribution across your keyword set is your effective share of local voice. 7. Use the competitor comparison view to see how your local appearance compares to other businesses ranking for the same keywords in the same area. The gap between your appearances and theirs is where SOLV-style competitive analysis lives. ✅ How to Confirm It Worked You will know Local SERPs is capturing the data you need when you can see all of the following: - Your tracked keywords show rank positions specific to the target location you set — not generic national rankings. - The location label on each keyword row matches the city, ZIP, or coordinates you entered, confirming geo-targeted data is being pulled. - At least one competitor appears in the comparison view alongside your own rankings, confirming competitive local visibility data is active. - Rank positions update on the scheduled tracking interval, showing fresh local SERP data rather than a static snapshot. If keywords show rankings but the location does not match your target area, revisit your location settings and re-save to trigger a fresh local pull. If you need further assistance, open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and type human teammate to be connected with a member of our team.

⚠️ Local Heatmaps: 'Select All' in Bulk Edit May Miss Some Business Locations

A known bug in Local Heatmaps bulk edit mode causes Select All to skip business locations that have not yet been loaded — silently leaving them out of your bulk action. Use the workaround below to load all locations first; a fix is ready and will deploy shortly. 🔍 What's Happening In Local Heatmaps bulk edit mode, clicking Select All captures only the business locations already rendered in the dropdown at that moment. Any locations sitting behind a Load More prompt are excluded without any error or warning. As a result, bulk actions — such as updating settings or running grid scans — may apply to fewer locations than you intended. This affects any account that has more business locations than the initial dropdown load limit. 🛠️ Workaround Steps Until the fix is deployed, follow these steps before clicking Select All: 1. Open Local Heatmaps and enter bulk edit mode to display the business selector dropdown. 2. Scroll to the bottom of the dropdown and click Load More. 3. Continue clicking Load More until no further results appear — this confirms all your business locations are now fully loaded. 4. Click Select All. Every loaded location is now included in your bulk action. 📡 Engineering Status A fix has been completed and will deploy shortly. Once live, Select All will automatically include all business locations regardless of how many require loading — no manual Load More steps will be needed. The update applies automatically and requires no action from you. 📞 When to Contact Support Reach out to our support team if: - The Load More button does not appear even though you have more locations than are shown in the dropdown. - Clicking Load More repeatedly does not surface all your expected business locations. - The workaround above does not resolve the issue for your account. When contacting support, include your account name and a brief description of the behavior you're seeing so we can assist you quickly. 🎯 A fix is ready and will deploy shortly — no action needed on your end. In the meantime, the Load More workaround above ensures every bulk edit reaches all your intended locations. Contact support if you need further assistance before the fix goes live.

Heatmap Pin Location Resets After Data Refresh

🔍 What Is This Issue? When you manually move a heatmap pin to a specific location for a keyword search — such as baci and buca — and then trigger a data refresh, the pin may snap back to an incorrect, unrelated location. This means the refresh runs against the wrong coordinates, consuming your quota without producing useful results. This behavior is a known issue and our team is actively working on a fix. In the meantime, please reach out to our support team so we can assist you directly with your affected heatmap and discuss quota recovery options if needed. ⚠️ Why Does This Happen? The heatmap tool may not retain a manually repositioned pin when a data refresh is triggered, causing the scan to run against the wrong coordinates. This can result in quota consumption without useful results. ✅ What To Do If You Experience This Issue If your heatmap pin is resetting after a refresh, please contact our support team. We can help you: - Confirm whether your account is affected by this known pin-reset behavior. - Review quota consumption related to incorrectly positioned scans. - Discuss options for quota recovery where applicable. - Advise on any available workarounds while the fix is in progress. 🛡️ How to Avoid Unnecessary Quota Consumption Until the underlying issue is resolved, follow these precautions: - Verify the pin position visually on the map immediately before triggering a refresh. Confirm the pin is on the intended location, not a default or unrelated spot. - Do not proceed if you notice the pin has reset before the scan completes — contact support before re-running to discuss quota recovery options. - Avoid triggering automatic refreshes if your account has scheduled scans enabled for affected keywords. Temporarily disable scheduling for those keywords until the fix is released. - Run one test scan on a low-priority keyword first to confirm the pin is holding its position before running scans on keywords that matter most. If you have questions or need help recovering quota lost due to this issue, please reach out to our support team via the chat widget or email us directly.