SeoMap vs. Local Viking: Geo-Grid Heatmaps Compared
Both run geo-grid scans that turn Google Maps rankings into a heatmap, and both publish a not-found-inclusive average (SeoMap's ATRP, Local Viking's ATGR). The difference is scope and transparency. Local Viking — currently rebranding as Local Optics — is a Google Business Profile management suite first (post scheduling, listing protection, review management) with GeoGrid tracking as a module, and its pricing sits behind a JavaScript app that couldn't be read on 2026-09-06. SeoMap is a focused rank-visibility tool with larger grids (up to 21×21), public no-login share links, a read-only API, fully published prices and a German UI built for the DACH market.
Last updated: 6 September 2026| Feature | SeoMap | Local Viking |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing & credits | ||
| Entry-level plan | From €29/month (Starter, 3,000 credits) — all tiers published | Reported from $39/month; the pricing page redirects to a JavaScript app (app.localoptics.com) with no readable figures on 2026-09-061 |
| Credit model | Flat: 1 credit = 1 grid point (queue), 3 credits live. One credit pool, no add-on charges. | 1 credit per GeoGrid node (help center, 2024); secondary sources describe two separate pools for keyword tracking and GeoGrid1 |
| Free trial | 500 free credits, no card required | Not publicly stated |
| Pre-scan cost control | Cost estimate shown before every scan, plus a hard daily budget cap | Not publicly stated |
| Bring-your-own-key option | Lifetime plan: €299 once, bring your own DataForSEO key, pay DataForSEO directly (~€0.002 per point), limited to 100 licenses | Google Places API mode: supply your own Google API key and pay Google directly; separate proprietary "SAB Mode" for service-area businesses |
| Core metrics | ||
| Average rank where found | ARP (Average Rank Position) — average position across points where the business appears | AGR (Average Grid Rank) — average position within the top 20; same concept, different name |
| Average rank including not-found points | ATRP (Average Total Rank Position) — folds not-found grid points into the average | ATGR (Average Total Grid Rank) — includes results where the business isn't in the top 20; same concept, different name |
| SoLV (Share of Local Voice) | Percentage of scanned grid points with a top-3 placement2 | SoLV — described as visibility compared to competitors, closer to 100% = greater presence; no formula published2 |
| Ranking history over time | Trend chart per project + keyword across every historical scan (ARP/ATRP/SoLV) | Scheduled re-scans store the data; timelapse GIF export |
| Scanning | ||
| Grid size range | 5×5 to 21×21 | 3×3 to 13×13 (help center, updated March 2024) |
| Grid shapes | Square or circular | Square; no circular or service-area shape published |
| Point spacing | Freely configurable | 0.1 to 10 miles, or in meters |
| Point-level detail | Click any grid point for the full top 20 at that coordinate — ratings, review count, ad flag | Click any node to see which competitors rank at those GPS coordinates; AGR is computed within the top 20 |
| Desktop vs. mobile search | Chosen per scan | Not publicly stated |
| Live scan rendering | A 13×13 scan (169 points) finishes in under 3 minutes; the map fills in point-by-point while it runs | Not publicly stated |
| Quick / instant scan | One-click live scan (grid size 1) at the business location, skips the full setup dialog | Not publicly stated |
| Business matching | Always exact via Google CID/Place-ID — no fuzzy name matching | Four documented methods: Google Search (non-SAB), Map URL, Place-ID entry, or an imported GMB location (help center, 2020) |
| Search language | Language and country follow the linked business and the UI language | "Global Search" (English/USA) or "Local Search" for other languages |
| Scheduled / recurring scans | Weekly or monthly, per project + keyword — same credit/budget checks as a manual scan, pauses with a stated reason on exhaustion | Weekly or monthly GeoGrid re-scans |
| Reporting & sharing | ||
| Public share links | Yes — public link, no login, no account data exposed | Not publicly stated |
| Report export | One-click report with heatmap, ARP/ATRP/SoLV and competitor table; grid points and competitor table also as CSV | PDF, CSV and timelapse GIF export |
| White-label reports | Agency and Internal plans — custom logo and company name on report exports and public share links, no extra cost | White-label GeoGrid reports with automated sending at chosen intervals |
| Automated report e-mails | Not offered — reports are exported or shared by link, not e-mailed | Scheduled white-label reporting with automated sending |
| Cross-project report | Sortable table across multiple projects and keywords (latest scan each), filterable by tag, CSV export | Not publicly stated |
| Competitor tracking over time | Click a competitor to highlight their points on the map, plus a sparkline of their top-3 share and best rank across past scans | Per-node competitor view at each GPS coordinate |
| Beyond rank tracking | ||
| Google Business Profile management | No write access to GBP — no post or photo scheduling, no review responses. Opt-in weekly profile-change watch only (website, domain, category, phone, rating, main photo) | Post and photo scheduling incl. recurring posts, listing management with attribute protection, suspension notifications, review management, GeoBooster content |
| Non-grid rank tracking (organic, local SERP) | Out of scope — Google Maps grid scans only | Separate classic tracker: Maps/Map Pack, local SERP desktop + mobile, organic; refresh bi-daily to monthly |
| Google Search Console import | One click: projects created automatically, top queries of the last 90 days pre-filled as keywords | Not publicly stated |
| Keyword suggestions with search volume | Category-based, question and "near me" variants, competitor-gap keywords from real scan data, Google Ads volume per keyword | Not publicly stated |
| Automated scan analysis | Rule-based observations after every scan plus a short, clearly labeled AI paragraph — both included, manual regenerate | Not publicly stated |
| Review sentiment analysis | Opt-in, up to once a week per project — AI sentiment breakdown, recurring themes and example quotes from up to 50 real Google reviews | Not publicly stated |
| AI-answer-engine visibility | Not offered — Google Maps only | Not publicly stated |
| Scale & integrations | ||
| API access | Read-only REST API (projects, scans, grid points), self-managed keys, included on every plan | Not publicly stated |
| Multi-location tags | Free-form project tags with filter/group view in the project list | Manage all GMB properties from one dashboard |
| Bulk scans | Agency: CSV bulk scans, overnight scheduling and custom company name/logo on reports. | Not publicly stated |
| Market focus | ||
| Interface & regional focus | German UI, built for DACH local SEO | English marketing and UI, US-centric; GeoGrid searches support a "Local Search" language mode |
| Product naming | SeoMap | Marketing site says Local Viking (and "GMB"); pricing and app live under the Local Optics brand — rebrand in progress3 |
- No price could be read from a Local Viking / Local Optics primary page on 2026-09-06: localviking.com shows no prices, and localviking.com/pricing redirects to app.localoptics.com/pricing, a JavaScript app that returned no plan data. The "from $39/month" figure and the two-credit-pool description come from third-party listings (searchatlas.com, gbppromote.com, marketraa.com, toolradar.com; BrightLocal's 2024 geo-grid guide). Treat them as unverified and confirm current terms with the vendor before deciding.
- SoLV® is a registered trademark of Local Falcon, LLC (USPTO Serial No. 90372578). Both SeoMap and Local Viking use "Share of Local Voice" as a descriptive term for related, independently-defined metrics: SeoMap's is the percentage of scanned grid points with a top-3 placement; Local Viking's is described in its help center without a published formula. Neither is Local Falcon's index, and neither company claims to have originated the term.
- Local Viking's marketing site (fetched 2026-09-06) still uses "GMB" / "Google My Business" — Google renamed the product Google Business Profile in 2021 — and its only pricing link points to app.localoptics.com. Third-party sources describe Local Optics as "the product formerly and still widely known as Local Viking" with a rebrand underway. GeoGrid help-center articles cited here were last updated in March 2024, August 2024 and June 2020 respectively. Re-check the product name before relying on this page.
Who each tool is for
SeoMap is a rank-visibility tool: it exists to produce the heatmap that shows a business owner exactly where their Google Maps visibility stops, and to prove — scan after scan — that SEO work moved that line. It’s built for local-SEO agencies, freelancers and sales teams, mostly in German, for the DACH market. Local Viking (now branding as Local Optics) starts from the other end. Its homepage pitch is “GMB Management, Made Simple”: scheduling Google Business Profile posts and photos, protecting listing attributes, managing reviews, and tracking rankings from one dashboard. GeoGrid visibility tracking is one module inside that suite, not the product’s centre of gravity. If your daily work is operating Google Business Profiles, Local Viking covers a workflow SeoMap deliberately doesn’t touch. If your daily work is measuring and selling Maps visibility, SeoMap is the narrower, deeper tool.
Pricing: fully published vs. behind a JavaScript app
This is the comparison we can’t complete honestly, and it’s worth saying why. SeoMap’s prices are on the pricing page: Starter €29/month for 3,000 credits, Pro €79 for 12,000, Agency €199 for 40,000, annual billing two months cheaper, plus a €299 one-time Lifetime plan where you bring your own DataForSEO key. One credit is one grid point on a queue scan; a 7×7 costs 49 credits, a 13×13 costs 169, and a cost estimate appears before every scan with a hard daily cap behind it.
Local Viking’s homepage shows no prices. Its pricing link redirects to app.localoptics.com/pricing, which on 2026-09-06 rendered only a header without JavaScript and returned no plan data. Third-party listings report plans from $39/month with two separate credit pools (keyword tracking and GeoGrid), but those are secondary sources and we haven’t verified them against the vendor. The one primary figure we do have is from Local Viking’s own help center: a GeoGrid costs 1 credit per node. What a credit costs in money, we couldn’t read. Check the vendor’s page before drawing any per-scan cost conclusion.
There is one structural similarity worth noting: both tools offer a way to pay the data provider directly. Local Viking’s GeoGrid has a Google Places API mode where you supply your own Google API key and pay Google’s bill yourself. SeoMap’s Lifetime plan works the same way with DataForSEO — €299 once, then roughly €0.002 per grid point billed by DataForSEO, with SeoMap’s daily cap still in place.
ARP/ATRP and AGR/ATGR: the same two ideas under different names
Local Viking documents three GeoGrid metrics: AGR (Average Grid Rank), the average position within the top 20; ATGR (Average Total Grid Rank), which extends that average to results where the business doesn’t appear in the top 20; and SoLV. SeoMap reports ARP, ATRP and SoLV. Line them up and the mapping is direct: ARP is AGR, ATRP is ATGR. Both tools publish a not-found-inclusive average — the number that stops a “we’re on position 3” report from hiding the half of the grid where the business is invisible. That’s parity, and we’d rather say so than pretend it’s a SeoMap exclusive. Exact formulas and cutoffs can still differ between implementations, so compare the numbers within one tool over time, not across tools to the decimal.
SoLV needs one caveat. Both products use “Share of Local Voice”, but the registered trademark SoLV® belongs to a third company, Local Falcon. SeoMap’s SoLV is a plain percentage — the share of scanned points where the business is in the top 3. Local Viking’s help center describes its SoLV as visibility relative to competitors, closer to 100% meaning greater presence, without a published formula. Related ideas, same descriptive name, independent definitions.
Where Local Viking goes further
Google Business Profile management is the big one: post and photo scheduling (including recurring posts), listing management with attribute protection and suspension notifications, review management and GeoBooster content. SeoMap has none of that — it can watch a profile for changes and flag them, but it never writes to a listing. Local Viking also exports GeoGrid history as timelapse GIFs, sends white-label reports automatically at chosen intervals (SeoMap doesn’t e-mail reports at all), offers 3×3 micro-grids for very tight service areas, and ships a separate classic rank tracker for organic and local-SERP keywords that refreshes as often as every other day. If any of those are on your must-have list, Local Viking is the tool that has them.
Where SeoMap goes further
Grid range runs from 5×5 up to 21×21, square or circular, with freely configurable spacing — Local Viking’s GeoGrid tops out at 13×13 and, as published, is square only. A 13×13 scan (169 points) finishes in under three minutes and the heatmap fills in live, point by point, while it runs; Local Viking doesn’t publish scan timing. Every heatmap gets a public share link that opens without a login and exposes no account data — the format that goes into a cold e-mail or a client report. Every scan can be exported as CSV, tracked in a per-keyword trend chart across all historical scans, and lined up with other locations and keywords in a cross-project report with tag filters. A read-only REST API is included on every plan. Businesses are always matched by their exact Google CID/Place-ID, which is what keeps three different “Fahrschule Müller” listings in Cologne from being mixed up. Search Console import pre-fills a project’s keywords from its real queries; keyword suggestions come with Google Ads volume and competitor-gap terms pulled from scan data. And the whole product, interface included, is in German — for agencies whose clients don’t want to read a report in English.
Data sources: bring your own Google key vs. DataForSEO
The two tools get their rankings differently, and it affects both cost and coverage. Local Viking’s GeoGrid offers a Google Places API mode — you supply your own Google API key and pay Google directly — and a proprietary “SAB Mode” for service-area businesses, about which the page states “WE ARE NOT SCRAPING GOOGLE”. SeoMap queries DataForSEO’s Google Maps SERP data for every grid point, with the cost estimated before the scan starts and capped per day. Neither approach is right or wrong; they trade off differently. Local Viking’s key mode gives you a direct Google bill and Google’s own Places data. SeoMap’s approach gives you a fixed, predictable credit price per point with no second vendor account to manage — unless you choose the Lifetime plan, where you deliberately take on the DataForSEO account yourself.
The honest take
If you manage Google Business Profiles day to day — posts, photos, reviews, listing protection — and want rank tracking in the same dashboard, Local Viking is a suite built for that job, and its GeoGrid metrics are honest in the same way SeoMap’s are. Be aware that its name is mid-rebrand and its pricing wasn’t publicly readable when we checked. If what you need is a fast, transparently priced Google Maps heatmap — bigger grids, live rendering, public share links, an included API, exact business matching, published prices and a German interface — that’s the narrower problem SeoMap is built to solve. Start with 500 free credits and run a real scan on a business you know before deciding either way.
Frequently asked questions
Is Local Viking the same product as Local Optics?
As far as the public pages show, yes: localviking.com still markets the product as Local Viking, but its pricing link and app run under the Local Optics brand, and third-party sources describe a rebrand in progress. This page uses "Local Viking" because that's still the marketing domain and the name most people search for — verify the current name directly with the vendor.
Which is cheaper, SeoMap or Local Viking?
It can't be answered from published data. SeoMap's prices are fully public (Starter €29/month, Pro €79, Agency €199, Lifetime €299 once with your own DataForSEO key). Local Viking's pricing page couldn't be read on 2026-09-06; third-party listings report plans from $39/month with separate credit pools for keyword tracking and GeoGrid. Until the vendor's page is readable, a per-credit comparison would be guesswork.
Are Local Viking's AGR and ATGR the same as SeoMap's ARP and ATRP?
Conceptually, yes. AGR and ARP both average the position where the business is found; ATGR and ATRP both extend that average to include grid points where the business doesn't appear. Different names, same idea — neither tool hides not-found points, which is a point of genuine parity. Exact formulas and top-N cutoffs may still differ, so don't compare the two numbers across tools to the decimal.
Can SeoMap schedule Google Business Profile posts or respond to reviews?
No. SeoMap has no write access to Google Business Profiles — it tracks Maps rankings, watches a profile for changes (opt-in) and analyses review sentiment (opt-in), but it doesn't post, edit or reply. Local Viking is built around that GBP management workflow, with post and photo scheduling, attribute protection and review management. If that's the job, Local Viking covers it and SeoMap doesn't.
Can I switch from Local Viking to SeoMap?
There's no automated import. You'd relink each business via its Google listing (or Search Console import) and run a fresh baseline scan. Your Local Viking history stays in Local Viking — export it as CSV or PDF before cancelling if you need it.
Which one is better for agencies in Germany or the wider DACH market?
SeoMap's interface, pricing (in euros) and workflows are built for German-speaking agencies and DACH clients. Local Viking's marketing and UI are English and US-centric, though its GeoGrid does offer a "Local Search" language mode for non-English queries. If reports and the day-to-day tool need to be in German, that's the practical difference.