Best Way To Track Maps: BrightLocal vs Whitespark?

[FatSniper]

Hi, I am having trouble determining consistency in the SERPs. The Ad Preview Tool is all over the place compared to Bright Local and Whitespark. And, to make matters worse, Bright Local and Whitespark appear to be inconsistent between themselves.

Which ones do you guys prefer for Maps tracking?

Thanks!

 

[Colan Nielsen]

They are both great. We have been tracking with Bright Local for years and we like it a lot. They have some features that we couldn't live without such as automated screenshots of the SERPs so you can compare different dates.

They also have this free tool that we use pretty much all day long View Google Search Results from any Location in any Country

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[Linda Buquet]

Both are good.

A couple reasons for inconsistencies between trackers:

Location of searcher is such a strong ranking factor now that if each tracker sets location differently - one you set for city only, one you set for zip (or their defaults are set that way) - then results will vary.

Time of day you run reports can be a factor too. If one of the trackers runs at 10 PM and some other businesses in that niche are open, but your client closed at 8 - they might not rank at all right then.

Google tweaks their algorithms at least 3 times per day. That's organic algos but organic ranking can affect local maps ranking too.