Am I using Local Falcon right?

[Jessica C]

Hi everyone!
I am a newborn photographer in Los Angeles- we service clients only at our home studio only and our GBP is set as a service area business. Our clients come to us from up to 30 miles away. I used Local Falcon to see where we are ranking, but I want to make sure I am doing this right. I searched a 21 x 21 grid with a 30 mi radius, and I customized the points to the main areas our clients drive from. Results looks like this. Is 21x21 the correct grid choice? I have better rankings right around where our home studio is located, but how can I improve our rankings in the areas that are much farther away? Would this be where my city specific service pages come into play? Or is there something I'm missing?
Our business is: https://www.mattcramerphotography.com/

I would love any advice or input to help me use Local Falcon better- thank you!

 

[fisicx]

In this thread you were advised about what to do to improve ranking in your target areas:

https://localsearchforum.com/threads/location-vs-service-area-vs-geo-pages.62334/

Now that I've seen your website it's even more imperative to start blogging about the photoshoots. There are so many things need improving on your site if you want better ranking and more conversions.

Right now there is zero evidence you even service the location you list on the homepage.

 

[Jessica C]

In this thread you were advised about what to do to improve ranking in your target areas:

https://localsearchforum.com/threads/location-vs-service-area-vs-geo-pages.62334/

Now that I've seen your website it's even more imperative to start blogging about the photoshoots. There are so many things need improving on your site if you want better ranking and more conversions.

Right now there is zero evidence you even service the location you list on the homepage.

thank you but I was asking specifically about Local Falcon and the use of it's reporting- specifically grid size and mile radius- for my specific business type.

I'm ranking #1 in the areas and keywords that bring me the most traffic on organic search- and it brings us more clients than we can handle. However, now I'm interested in the map pack and was looking for insights on the reporting side of local falcon.

 

[fisicx]

I have better rankings right around where our home studio is located, but how can I improve our rankings in the areas that are much farther away? Would this be where my city specific service pages come into play? Or is there something I'm missing?

You asked about how to improve ranking in the areas that were further away. I gave you a way to do this.

But if you have more work than you can handle why do you need more leads?

 

[Dmacc]

I also use LocalFalcon and looks to me that you are using it correctly just fine. The question you asked seems like you are trying to find out how to increase your Google Business Profile (GBP) to be higher in rank in areas where you are 20+. If anything this proves that the clients you are generating are not coming through your GBP to find you.

This is not a Local Falcon issue, sounds like you are looking for a solution to Local SEO?

 

[Aldus]

Hi everyone!
I am a newborn photographer in Los Angeles- we service clients only at our home studio only and our GBP is set as a service area business. Our clients come to us from up to 30 miles away. I used Local Falcon to see where we are ranking, but I want to make sure I am doing this right. I searched a 21 x 21 grid with a 30 mi radius, and I customized the points to the main areas our clients drive from. Results looks like this. Is 21x21 the correct grid choice? I have better rankings right around where our home studio is located, but how can I improve our rankings in the areas that are much farther away? Would this be where my city specific service pages come into play? Or is there something I'm missing?
Our business is: https://www.mattcramerphotography.com/

I would love any advice or input to help me use Local Falcon better- thank you!

Hi Jessica. If you send me the name of your business, I will be happy to send you correct trade area maps. You cannot really target your marketing effectively without first establishing your trade area. Since customers come to you, this is dictated by them, not just trying to rank any and everywhere. Be glad to help.

 

[Aldus]

Jessica, I meant address above in my first response, if you can share that in the post here, I will be happy to send you actual trade area maps. The question is not are you doing Local Falcon maps right, it's are you doing your current maps right at all? Are you targeting where you need to. The problem is, you see people at your studio and do not go to them yet your business is set up as service business on your GBP. Since you see people at your business, your trade area is defined by drive-time, not arbitrary boundries as represented on your GBP. If you were driving to them, your service area would be however far YOU are willing to drive. This is common with plumbers, HVAC, Electritions, etc.
Your trade area right now is based on how far they are willing to drive to you and this needs to be established first as that is where over 95% of your new customers and compeitors com from. Trade areas are much smaller for photographers that see people at their place of business. There are 3 geographic sections to your trade area, primary, secondary and fringe. While fringe may include up to 30 miles, your primary trade area is probably less than 10 minutes away and where up to 75% of potential local customers are for yout type of business Post the address if you would like the maps. Good luck!

 

[Jessica C]

Jessica, I meant address above in my first response, if you can share that in the post here, I will be happy to send you actual trade area maps. The question is not are you doing Local Falcon maps right, it's are you doing your current maps right at all? Are you targeting where you need to. The problem is, you see people at your studio and do not go to them yet your business is set up as service business on your GBP. Since you see people at your business, your trade area is defined by drive-time, not arbitrary boundries as represented on your GBP. If you were driving to them, your service area would be however far YOU are willing to drive. This is common with plumbers, HVAC, Electritions, etc.
Your trade area right now is based on how far they are willing to drive to you and this needs to be established first as that is where over 95% of your new customers and compeitors com from. Trade areas are much smaller for photographers that see people at their place of business. There are 3 geographic sections to your trade area, primary, secondary and fringe. While fringe may include up to 30 miles, your primary trade area is probably less than 10 minutes away and where up to 75% of potential local customers are for yout type of business Post the address if you would like the maps. Good luck!

thank you! I appreciate the reply! 85% of my clients come from 30-40 minutes away actually!

 

[Aldus]

Absolutely, and that's a critical distinction.

What you're seeing right now, that 85% of your clients come from 30–40 minutes away, reflects current clients and is a byproduct of how your visibility and word-of-mouth currently operate. It's reactive data. But the real opportunity lies in being proactive, asking not just where are they coming from now, but where could they come from if you structured your Local SEO and Google Business Profile optimization around true drive-time targeting rather than arbitrary radius or grid-based zones.

Here's why that matters:
Most geo-grids use fixed radius points, which don’t account for real-world traffic patterns, highways, or actual consumer behavior. So you're essentially guessing.

A drive-time-defined trade area (like a 40-minute polygon) models the actual way people travel — and it's backed by consumer data from firms like MRI Simmons, which show that drive-time is the most predictive factor in local purchasing behavior.

That opens up under-optimized areas where you're not ranking well, but should be, based on behavioral intent.

So the right question isn’t just, “Where do my clients come from now?” It’s:
“How much growth am I leaving on the table by not actively targeting the full drive-time trade area where I’m already proven to convert?”

With the right tools and strategy, you can shift from passive visibility to strategic dominance in the entire area where people are already willing to drive to you, and beyond. Let me know if you want help mapping that out. No charge, just need an address to share this with you.

 

[keyserholiday]

Your search is too wide. Can you shrink it down and expand the search space? If you can focus on more where you are located and the nearest surrounding cities, you’ll get better results. Let’s say you are in Burbank, then you’ll want to see Burbank and Glendale and not Pomona map pins. Malibu is too far away. You are wasting money with those map pins.

 

[keyserholiday]

Absolutely, and that's a critical distinction.

What you're seeing right now, that 85% of your clients come from 30–40 minutes away, reflects current clients and is a byproduct of how your visibility and word-of-mouth currently operate. It's reactive data. But the real opportunity lies in being proactive, asking not just where are they coming from now, but where could they come from if you structured your Local SEO and Google Business Profile optimization around true drive-time targeting rather than arbitrary radius or grid-based zones.

Here's why that matters:
Most geo-grids use fixed radius points, which don’t account for real-world traffic patterns, highways, or actual consumer behavior. So you're essentially guessing.

A drive-time-defined trade area (like a 40-minute polygon) models the actual way people travel — and it's backed by consumer data from firms like MRI Simmons, which show that drive-time is the most predictive factor in local purchasing behavior.

That opens up under-optimized areas where you're not ranking well, but should be, based on behavioral intent.

So the right question isn’t just, “Where do my clients come from now?” It’s:
“How much growth am I leaving on the table by not actively targeting the full drive-time trade area where I’m already proven to convert?”

With the right tools and strategy, you can shift from passive visibility to strategic dominance in the entire area where people are already willing to drive to you, and beyond. Let me know if you want help mapping that out. No charge, just need an address to share this with you.

Why did you send me a DM with a link to check out your LinkedIn post? You are a brand new user here and don't know who I am, yet you are attempting to educate me??? cc @JoyHawkins