What Is a Grid Scan? Seeing Your Google Maps Ranking on a Map

The "We're Number One on Google" Illusion

If you own a business or work in digital marketing, you have probably heard "we show up on Google" many times. The sentence carries almost no information. Google Maps ranking varies enormously with the searcher's location, their search history and their device.

So does your customer actually find you when they look? A grid scan is the only way to know.

What Is a Grid Scan?

A grid scan — also called a GeoGrid scan or map grid scan — is an analysis method that visualises a business's Google Maps ranking for a given keyword, geographically.

It works like this: a grid of virtual points is laid out at even intervals around your business. A Maps search is simulated from each point separately, and your position at that point is recorded. The results are then drawn on a colour-coded map.

What the Grid Sizes Mean

• 5×5 grid: 25 points — a quick read on a small area
• 7×7 grid: 49 points — a mid-sized area
• 9×9 grid: 81 points — a wide area or a competitive market

The spacing between points matters too. In a dense city centre, 300–500 metre spacing is usually right; across a broader service area, 1–2 km works better.

Reading the Colour Scale

Results are typically shown in three colours:

• Green: positions 1–3 — high visibility, customers find you easily
• Orange: positions 4–7 — moderate visibility, room to improve
• Red: position 8 and below — in practice, you are not visible here

Where the reds cluster is where your optimisation effort belongs.

What Questions Does a Grid Scan Answer?

"Which neighbourhoods can't see my business?"

Clusters of red mark areas where potential customers are looking but not finding you.

"Why is my competitor ahead in certain areas?"

Run the same scan for a competitor and the geographic balance of power becomes visible.

"Is my SEO work paying off?"

Scanning monthly lets you track ranking changes concretely rather than by impression.

Combining Grid Scans with Competitor Analysis

Seeing your own scan is useful; comparing it with competitors on the same map is far more revealing. Areas where a competitor is green (1–3) and you are red (8+) are your blind spots, and they need attention first.

How Often Should You Scan?

• To begin: run one now to establish where you actually stand
• During optimisation: after every significant change (a profile update, a burst of new reviews)
• Routine tracking: a monthly scan lets you read the trend rather than a single snapshot

In Short

A grid scan is the most concrete step from guesswork to evidence. Once you can see your Maps ranking laid out on a map, where you are strong and where you are weak stops being a matter of opinion — and that clarity is what lets you choose the right next move.