Track Competitors on Google Maps

You track competitors on Google Maps by checking who's above you from spots across your area, because the business above you changes with where people search. On Google Maps, your competitor at a spot is whichever business ranks above you for the same search, not just the shop down the road. Your own phone shows only who wins where you're standing. As of October 2026, there are three ways to see who beats you in a UK town or village.

The same search checked from spots across your area: A local rank tracker checks one search from spots across your town and shows which businesses rank above you at each one.
Each rival's Google Business Profile: A rival's Google Business Profile on Google Maps shows its main category, reviews, rating, photos and website, the details you set against your own profile.
Searching yourself, one spot at a time: A search you run yourself, whether on your phone, in a private window or after dragging the map, only ever covers one spot at a time, and a private window still uses your location.

Why do different competitors on Google Maps beat you in each part of town?

Different competitors on Google Maps beat you in different parts of town because the searcher's distance from each business is one of Google's local ranking factors. The same search can put one rival first near your premises and a different one first across town. A nearer business can still rank below one further away, because Google also weighs how well each profile matches the search and how well known each business is.

Google's page on local ranking puts the rule in one sentence: "Distance refers to how far each business is from the customer who's searching." Google ranks local results on three main factors: relevance, distance and prominence. Distance is the only one of the three that changes with where the searcher is.

As an example, not a scan: say you run a salon. On your own street, a search for "hair salon" puts you 2nd, behind a salon round the corner. In a village three miles out, the same search puts you 8th, and the village's own salon is 1st. One search, two different businesses to beat.

That's why you track competitors on Google Maps spot by spot, not as one list for the whole town.

How do you find who ranks in the map pack at each spot?

You find who ranks in the map pack at each spot with a local rank tracker, which checks the same search from spots across your area. The map pack is the three local businesses Google shows with a map above the normal results on a Google search page. A tracker's results are the businesses that rank on Google Maps for the search at each spot. Searching on your own phone shows one spot at a time, whether you move the map or use a private window, which still uses your location.

Tap any spot and Local Rank Tracker shows the full top 20 a customer there would see on Google Maps for your search. A competitor map is one rival's map from the same scan, showing where that business ranks at each spot. You reach any rival's competitor map in one tap, at no extra cost. On each map, a spot's colour gives that business's place there: green means the top 3, amber 4th to 10th, red 11th to 20th and grey not found.

Cover every search that brings you work, not just one, because different searches bring up different rivals. Checking each one from spots across your area is how you track competitors on Google Maps for the whole town.

What should you compare between you and the business above you?

You should compare your Google Business Profile with the business above you on everything you can change, from categories and reviews to photos and website. A rival's main category, reviews, star rating, photos and website are all public on its Google Business Profile, so you can check each one against yours. Repeat the same comparison with the business above you at each spot you care about, and note where its profile is ahead of yours.

For an owner, local competitor analysis means these six checks against the business above you, not a report on your whole market.

Categories: A rival's main category shows under its name on its Google Business Profile, so check whether it fits the search more closely than yours does.
Reviews and rating: A rival's star rating and review count show with its name on Google Maps. The gap to yours counts, because more reviews and positive ratings can help your business's local ranking.
How its reviews read: A rival's reviews, sorted by newest, show when a customer last left one, whether the owner writes back and which services customers mention.
Photos and how complete the profile is: A rival's profile shows its photos, hours, address and any services or posts it lists. Complete, detailed business info helps Google match a business to relevant searches.
The website: A rival's profile shows a website button only if the business has linked a site. Tap the button and compare what that site says about the service people searched for with what yours says.
The listing sites customers check: Search Google for your service and your town, then look for the rival and for your own business on each UK listing site that comes up.

The profile check in every Local Rank Tracker scan is free and sets your Google profile's reviews, photos, categories and website against the top 3. "Reviews against the top 3" sits outside the free scan and costs 8 credits. It adds how fast you and the top 3 get reviews, how many get a reply and what customers mention.

Owners and managers of a verified Google Business Profile can check the number of views, clicks and other customer interactions with it on Search and Maps. A rival's calls, clicks and views are for its own owners and managers to check, not something you can look up.

Which competitor is the easiest to overtake?

Look for the easiest competitor to overtake on Google Maps one place above you, at spots near your premises where you rank 4th to 6th. At those spots you need to pass one to three businesses to reach the top 3, and distance is on your side. So what's left between you and the business one place above you is how well each profile matches the search and how well known each business is. Every monthly free scan on Local Rank Tracker includes the businesses above you at every spot, with their reviews, rating and categories, and any competitor's map. A competitor map shows where one rival ranks at each spot, from the same scan. The free scan checks up to 81 spots and needs only your email, no card.

An amber spot on the map only says you're somewhere from 4th to 10th. Tap it, and the full top 20 shows your exact place and the business one place above you.

Of Google's three factors, distance is the one you can't change, since you can't move your premises. That leaves relevance and prominence. Compare the business above you with yours on categories, reviews, photos, website and the listing sites customers check. Each gap you find is a place to start if you want to rank higher on Google Maps at that spot.

Top 3 share is the share of spots where a business is in Google's top 3. Each competitor's top 3 share from the same scan is the fair yardstick for yours, because both were checked with the same searches from the same spots.

To track competitors on Google Maps over the months, re-run the same scan weekly or monthly, keeping the same time between scans. Then compare each rival's new map with its map from the last scan by eye, and note the spots where it moved into or out of the top 3.