How Far Should You Set Search Grids

[luischavez0104]

Hi, I saw an article by Elizabeth about setting your search grid until the reach of your business falls off. I was wondering if there was a recommended distance for rankings. Some of our clients have service areas 100+ miles across and they don't rank across the whole area but still want to show the bigger picture. What would be an appropriate distance to rank?
50 miles?
https://localsearchforum.com/threads/how-to-set-up-search-grid-reports-for-accurate-reporting.61319/https://searchengineland.com/local-seo-success-track-rankings-conversions-calls-437091

 

[JS Girard]

It really depends on what you're trying to check. I've used grids to check the likely address of validation for a SAB, and in that use case, you may want a very large grid.

 

[Andrew Shotland]

Hey Luis, the answer is going to totally depend on the population and competition. Not surprisingly, the denser the competition, the smaller the grid you can feasibly rank well in.

That said, we see a lot of cases where even with intense competition, the biz can rank well outside of what they would typically consider its main service area.

For example, a PI attorney in Houston may only rank in the top 3 within a few sq blocks of its location because there are so many other attorneys located near their office. But in cities for like 50 miles in any direction outside of Houston, they rank #1 in the Local Packs for "Houston PI Attorney".

Shameless plug: Doing a webinar on this topic tomorrow with Semrush Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: The Local Blueprint for Top Rankings. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar.