What it is
Multi-Location Tracking allows you to track the same keyword across multiple geographic locations.
Example:
“dentist” → Toronto
“dentist” → New York
“dentist” → London
Even though the keyword phrase is identical, each location is treated as a separate tracked keyword.
Each location produces:
Its own ranking
Its own history
Its own performance metrics
Why it matters
Google results vary significantly by city, especially for local-intent queries.
Tracking only one location can:
Hide underperformance in other cities
Misrepresent Local Pack visibility
Mislead franchise-level reporting
Multi-location tracking ensures you see true performance per market.
Same keyword + different cities = separate tracked keywords
If you track:
“plumber” in Toronto
“plumber” in Vancouver
These are counted as two separate keywords in your account.
Each will have:
Independent ranking history
Independent Local Pack visibility
Independent movement metrics
This is because location is part of the tracking configuration.
Separate history per location
Each location has its own:
Rank history chart
Movement metrics
Visibility contribution
Estimated traffic contribution
There is no merging of history across locations.
If Toronto drops but Vancouver rises, those movements remain isolated.
How to structure multi-location tracking
There are two primary ways to organize geo tracking:
Option 1: Separate Projects Per Location
Best for:
Agencies managing different clients
Franchise-level reporting
Isolated ViewKey reporting per city
Advantages:
Clean reporting
Separate dashboards
Easier client segmentation
Option 2: Single Project + Tags per location
Use Tags to segment keywords by city.
Example structure:
Project: “Brand – US”
Tag: New York
Tag: Chicago
Tag: Miami
Advantages:
Consolidated reporting
Easier aggregate analysis
Cleaner Share of Voice comparisons
Groups behave like mini-projects with separate charts and metrics.
Share of Voice region caveat
⚠️ Important:
Share of Voice (SoV) does not isolate by region inside a mixed dataset.
If your project includes:
Toronto keywords
Vancouver keywords
Montreal keywords
SoV calculations will mix all of them together.
This means:
Regional differences are blended
SoV may not reflect one specific city accurately
Best practice:
Use separate Groups per city
Or separate Projects when SoV reporting must remain geo-specific
When to use multi-location tracking
Use it when:
Managing multi-branch businesses
Running franchise SEO
Tracking regional SERP competition
Monitoring city-based Local Pack visibility
Avoid it when:
The keyword has no local intent
Rankings do not materially vary by geography
Reporting does not require city-level breakdown