If you work on local SEO for a business with more than one location, you know tracking keyword rankings gets messy—fast. Google shows different results by city, neighborhood, sometimes even by street. Ahrefs is a solid tool, but it’s not always clear how to set things up for multi-location tracking without making a tangled mess. This guide is for anyone who needs to report on local rankings in more than one place—whether you’re running SEO for a franchise, an agency, or just trying to keep your boss off your back.
Let’s get straight to it.
1. Know What You’re Really Tracking
Before touching a dashboard, get clear on what “keyword rankings by location” actually means:
- Geo-specific results: Google’s results can change block by block, not just city by city.
- Device matters: Mobile and desktop rankings aren’t always the same.
- “Near me” searches: These are hyper-local and shift constantly.
Pro tip: Ignore the idea of a “national average” rank for local SEO. It’s almost useless if you care about how you show up in specific cities.
2. How Ahrefs Handles Local Rank Tracking
First, a reality check: Ahrefs is great for tracking ranks by country, and pretty good for city-level tracking in supported countries. But it doesn’t do hyper-local, neighborhood-by-neighborhood tracking, and its local SERP results can lag behind what a real person in that city sees.
- City-level only: You can pick most major cities. Don’t expect zip code or neighborhood precision.
- No map pack tracking: Ahrefs tracks “organic” results, not Google Maps “local pack” positions. If the map pack is where the action is for your business, you’ll only get part of the picture.
- Daily or weekly updates: Not real-time, but usually enough for trend-spotting.
Bottom line: For most multi-location businesses, Ahrefs gives you a decent, not perfect, view of how you rank in each city.
3. Step-by-Step: Setting Up Multi-Location Rank Tracking in Ahrefs
Step 1: Make a List of Locations and Keywords
Don’t just guess; get specific.
- List your exact cities (or regions): Use where your customers actually are, not just your storefronts.
- Group your keywords: Some keywords are relevant everywhere (“pizza delivery”), some are location-specific (“deep dish pizza Chicago”).
Avoid: Tracking hundreds of throwaway keywords. Focus on those that actually drive business.
Step 2: Set Up Separate Projects (or Separate Locations in One Project)
You’ve got two main options, each with tradeoffs:
Option A: One Project Per Location
- Pros: Cleanest reporting. Each “project” is a city, with its own dashboard and alerts.
- Cons: Gets expensive fast if you have dozens of locations (Ahrefs charges per project).
Option B: One Project, Multiple Locations
- Pros: Cheaper, easier for small numbers of locations.
- Cons: Reporting is messier. You’ll need to filter results by location.
How to decide:
If you have fewer than 5 locations, putting them all in one project is fine. More than that, separate projects are worth the cost for clarity.
Step 3: Add Keywords and Set Location Settings
When adding keywords in Ahrefs’ Rank Tracker:
- Enter each keyword once per location: Ahrefs lets you pick the target location for each keyword (country, city, sometimes language).
- Set device type: Choose desktop, mobile, or both. If you have to pick one, mobile is usually more important for local.
- Double-check the city: Ahrefs supports most big cities. If yours isn’t listed, pick the nearest major city, but know results will be fuzzy.
Pro tip: Use a spreadsheet to keep track of which keywords go with which locations before entering them all. Prevents headaches later.
Step 4: Wait for the First Data Pull
Ahrefs needs time to fetch rankings—usually a few hours to a day. Don’t freak out if you don’t see instant results.
- Check for errors: Sometimes keywords don’t get tracked because of typos or unsupported locations.
- Spot-check results: Use a VPN or incognito window set to the target city to see if Ahrefs’ results match what Google actually shows. (Spoiler: They won’t always line up, but they should be close.)
4. How to Read (and Actually Use) the Reports
Once data starts coming in, you’ll see rankings for each keyword/location pair. Here’s what’s actually useful:
- Ranking trends, not just positions: Up or down over time matters more than any single day’s number.
- Compare locations: Spot where you’re slipping or beating competitors.
- Export data: Use CSV exports for deeper analysis or to make prettier reports elsewhere.
Ignore: - The “visibility” metric for local SEO—it’s an average and can hide important swings in specific cities. - Obsessing over position changes of 1-2 spots. Only worry about big drops or jumps.
5. Reporting Tips for Multi-Location SEO
You’ve got the data. Here’s how to turn it into something people care about:
- Separate reports for each location: Even if you used one project, filter and export by city.
- Highlight big changes: Don’t just dump a spreadsheet—call out wins, losses, and weird blips.
- Map pack vs. organic: Remind stakeholders that Ahrefs only shows organic positions, not map pack. If your business depends on Google Maps, mention that this isn’t the whole story.
- Keep it simple: Most people don’t care about every keyword. Focus on the most important ones.
Pro tip: If you need to show map pack rankings, consider a specialized local SEO tool (BrightLocal, Whitespark, or Local Viking). Don’t force Ahrefs to do what it can’t.
6. Common Pitfalls and What Not To Do
- Don’t overspend on projects: If your budget’s limited, group smaller/nearby locations.
- Don’t expect hyper-local accuracy: Ahrefs isn’t built for street-level tracking.
- Don’t confuse “organic” and “local pack”: Your #1 in organic might not even show up in Maps.
- Don’t track keywords nobody searches for: Use Google Search Console or Ahrefs’ keyword data to see what’s actually getting searched.
7. Alternatives and When to Use Them
Ahrefs is good for broad city-level rank tracking. But if you need:
- Zip code or street-level: Use a tool built for hyper-local, like Local Falcon or BrightLocal.
- Google Maps rankings: Ahrefs can’t help here. Look at Whitespark, BrightLocal, or Local Viking.
- Cheaper tracking for lots of locations: Consider SE Ranking or AccuRanker if budget is tight and you have 10+ locations.
8. Keeping It Simple—and Iterating
Multi-location rank tracking can eat your time if you let it. Start simple: track your top keywords in your top cities. Don’t get lost in the weeds of 50+ keywords per location unless you actually need that level of detail. Review your reports monthly, not daily. If you need more granularity or map pack data, then look at other tools.
SEO isn’t about fancy dashboards—it’s about knowing where you’re winning, where you’re losing, and making smart moves. Set up your Ahrefs tracking, watch the trends, and refine as you go. Don’t overcomplicate it.