Why 3 KPIs and not 30
Every tracking dashboard starts the same way — you export everything the API gives you, call it "visibility," and move on. Three months later nobody opens the report because no single number moves in a way that correlates with revenue.
The filter we use: a KPI is worth tracking only if (1) it changes month to month, (2) a change in the KPI correlates with a change in leads, and (3) a worker can influence it with a specific action. Most "local SEO metrics" fail at least two of those tests. The three below pass all three.
The monthly framework
Weights here are the attention allocation — 40% of your monthly review time on share of voice, 30% on reviews, 30% on conversion. Not ranking weights.
1. Grid share of voice — how to calculate it
The math: run a 13×13 grid scan (169 points). Count how many cells have you at rank 1, 2, or 3. Divide by 169. That's your share of voice as a percentage. A healthy service business in a mid-size metro usually sits between 25% and 55%. Below 15% means you're invisible outside your immediate block. Above 65% means you're likely capped by proximity, not opportunity.
Why this beats "average rank": if you move from rank 8 to rank 5, average rank drops by 3 and looks like progress. But if you were already rank 2 in the 12 cells closest to you, and the improvement happened in cells 8km away that nobody searches from, your leads don't change. Share of voice weights by presence in the top-3 only, which is where 76% of clicks go.
Track it monthly, on the first Monday of the month, at the same time of day (proximity is time-sensitive on mobile). Report month-over-month delta, not raw number. If delta is positive, the strategy is working. If it's flat for 2 months in a row, something is blocking — usually reviews or category.
2. Review velocity — the signal that ages out
The one spreadsheet column that changes every report: how many reviews came in during the last 90 days. Not lifetime. Not "since last month." Rolling 90-day, computed the same day every month.
Why rolling: it forces the conversation. A client who generated 45 reviews in Q4 and 6 in Q1 will show a declining velocity even though the lifetime count keeps growing. That decline predicts the rank slide that will show up 60 days later. If you catch it in the monthly report, you intervene before the business owner notices a lead drop.
Thresholds we use, by vertical: home services 8/month minimum, restaurants 12/month, retail 20/month, healthcare 6/month (slower trust cycle), B2B services 4/month. Below the floor for 2 consecutive months → escalate review acquisition before anything else.
3. Profile conversion rate — the leading indicator
GBP Insights gives you profile views and three action counts: calls, direction requests, website clicks. Add the actions, divide by views, multiply by 1 000. That's your conversions per thousand views. Typical range: 40–90 for a healthy service business. Below 30 is a red flag even if rank looks good.
This is the only KPI in the set that Google uses as a ranking input, not just an output. Profiles with rising conversion rates climb; profiles with falling rates slide. If you see the conversion rate drop 2 months in a row, your rank will drop in month 3 unless you fix the profile — usually cover photo, description, or response rate to messages/Q&A.
The actionable version: report it alongside share of voice. If share of voice is rising but conversion rate is falling, you're ranking better for queries you can't convert — usually a category mismatch. If conversion is rising but share of voice is flat, the profile is strong but needs more visibility levers (reviews, citations top 8, website schema).
The spreadsheet structure we copy every month
- 01Column A — Client name. Column B — Month (YYYY-MM). Column C — Share of voice %. Column D — Delta vs previous month (pts).
- 02Column E — Reviews in last 90 days. Column F — Target floor for vertical. Column G — On/off floor flag.
- 03Column H — Profile views. Column I — Total actions. Column J — Conversion per 1 000. Column K — Delta vs previous month.
- 04Column L — Flag color (green/yellow/red) based on the 3 KPIs together. Red if 2+ are off target. Yellow if 1. Green if none.
- 05One row per client per month. Sort by flag color descending. Spend the monthly review on red rows, not on rewriting narrative for green rows.
What we stopped tracking
Dropping these cut our monthly report prep time from 2 hours per client to 25 minutes, and client retention improved because the report now says something specific every month instead of burying the signal in a vanity dashboard.
Monthly rhythm — what to do the first Monday
- 01Run 13×13 grid scan for top 3 target queries. Export share of voice per query.
- 02Pull GBP Insights for previous calendar month. Note profile views and 3 action counts.
- 03Count reviews received in last 90 days (GBP → Reviews, filter by date).
- 04Fill spreadsheet row. Flag color auto-computed from thresholds.
- 05For red rows only: write 1 sentence on what's off, 1 sentence on the action for the next 30 days.
- 06Send. 15-minute client call for red rows, async report for green/yellow.
Track the 3 KPIs with one grid scan
Share of voice, proximity decay, and per-query breakdowns in 90 seconds. 200 free credits on signup — no credit card.