How we measure
Every number you see in Maprix is defined here. A measuring tool that hides how its numbers are calculated doesn't deserve trust, so this page sets out the rules behind the rank metrics in your reports, limits included.
Where the data comes from
Every scan runs live Google Maps searches from grid points placed across the area you choose. A point records the result returned for that coordinate and selected device at the time of the scan. It does not reproduce an individual user's search history or guarantee that every person standing there sees the same result. That is also why two scans can differ; live results move with the hour, the device and the competition. The movement itself is data, and it has its own guide.
Three metrics, three questions
Reports show three headline numbers, and each one answers a different question:
| Metric | The question it answers | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Average rank | "Where I do appear, what position am I?" | The average of the points where you were found (1–20) only |
| Coverage | "At how many points do I appear?" | Points found ÷ valid points |
| Visibility index | "How strong am I overall?" | The share of valid points where you appear in the top 20 |
Follow a real report from its settings to its interpretation: a dated example with separate desktop and mobile results.
Average rank: no penalty values
Average rank is the average position across the points where you appear in the top 20, and nothing else. A point where you weren't found is not given an invented penalty value such as "21". That is a deliberate design decision:
- Adding a penalty for missing points changes the question the average answers: it combines position and presence. Maprix keeps position at found points separate from how widely the business appears. Check definitions before comparing averages from different tools.
- Not appearing is already counted, in full, by a separate metric (coverage). Burying the same fact inside the average a second time makes both metrics unreadable.
Every point ends up in one of three states, and each is treated differently: found (at a position from 1 to 20) counts towards the average and towards coverage; not in the top 20 is valid data, so it counts in the coverage denominator but not in the average; error (no result could be read from that point) is not data at all and counts towards nothing.
Coverage: how many points you appear at
Coverage is the number of points where you were found divided by the number of valid points. "Valid" means points that returned an error are removed from the denominator: a point that couldn't be measured counts neither for you nor against you. Reports also break coverage into layers: the share of points where you are in the top 3, the top 10 and the top 20. The top-3 layer identifies points where the business appeared in the first three results. It is a ranking observation, not a measurement of clicks or conversions.
Visibility index
For the target business, the visibility index is the share of valid points where it appears in the top 20, in other words coverage expressed as a percentage. It is not a second concept dressed up as a different number; you see both in the report because one reads as a ratio (12/19) and the other as an index (63%), and each reading is useful in a different context.
Why the three never become one number
Because the most important picture disappears the moment you do: the narrow fortress. A business that is very strong around its own address (average rank 2.1) but appears across only 30% of the area can land in the same place as an ordinary business in a single "score". Yet the two need completely different diagnoses and treatments: one has to widen its reach, the other has to climb. Average rank asks "how good are you", coverage asks "where do you exist", and any summary that answers both with one figure hides one of them.
Device separation
Google Maps results can differ by device, so you run a scan for mobile, desktop or both, and results from the two devices are never mixed into one average. Each device produces its own grid, its own average and its own coverage. Our advice for tracking is simple: make your standing comparison on the device your customers mostly search from (for local services that is usually mobile) and use the other device as a periodic check.
Grid patterns: circular and N×N
Scan points are placed in one of two patterns. The circular pattern builds rings at equal angles around the business, which suits the question "how do I do within walking or driving distance?". The N×N square grid divides the area into evenly spaced rows and columns, which suits a neighbourhood-by-neighbourhood view of coverage. You choose the pattern and the point spacing to match the trading area that matters to you, and there is one rule: for scans you intend to compare, keep the same pattern, the same number of points and the same device. Change the pattern and the two scans are measuring two different questions. Both are correct; comparing them is not.
How the competitor list is ordered
Every competitor that appears in a scan is shown in one list, ordered by default by visibility score. The score weights the position at each point: top positions earn full credit, lower positions partial credit, and a point where the business doesn't appear counts as zero. That way a business that ranks first at 2 of 19 points can't sit above competitors that are strong across the area; coverage is a natural part of the score. You can also sort the list by average rank or by coverage; the large figure on each card is always the value of the selected measure, so the number shown and the number sorted on never diverge. Each row also says how many points the business appeared at.
The limits of this measurement
- It is a snapshot. Live results can move within a single day; one scan gives a diagnosis, not a trend. A trend needs regular scans with the same settings.
- It doesn't reproduce personalisation. Personalisation based on a real person's history and profile can't be copied in a point-based measurement; the scan shows what a neutral user would see.
- It is not a ranking guarantee. Maprix measures where you are. Nobody can "move" you to a set position, and anyone who promises to is selling something a measurement can't deliver.
The definitions on this page come from the product's single measurement source; if a formula changes, the product changes first and this page follows. To see what the definitions mean in practice: local rank tracker guide · Google Maps rank checker · tool comparisons.