The 10-minute audit for a red pin
A red pin means a competitor is winning that spot. Here is the checklist we run to find out why, using only data the scan already gives you.
Every pin in a geo-grid heatmap stores the full ranked list at that point. That list is an audit waiting to happen. Open the worst pin and work through this.
1. Who is in the top 3 and how far are they?
If the top 3 are all within 500 metres of the pin and you are 3 km away, distance is doing most of the work. You will not fix that with a category change. You may fix it with a second location or by targeting a more realistic radius.
2. Primary category
Compare their primary category to yours. A surprising number of businesses sit in a broader category than the winners. 'Dentist' versus 'Cosmetic dentist' can be the whole story for a cosmetic keyword.
3. Reviews: count, recency, keywords
- Do they have more reviews, or just more recent ones?
- Do their reviews mention the keyword or the service?
- Are they replying to reviews and you are not?
4. Photos and posts
Profiles with regular photo uploads and posts tend to hold rank better. It is not magic, it is a signal of an active business.
5. Name, address, phone consistency
Check the top result's citations against yours. Inconsistent NAP data across directories quietly drags down prominence.