To properly see how your storage facility ranks, you need to actually search from inside your market. If you can't physically be there, there are still some ways to do it.

Let's go over how to trick Google into thinking you're nearby!

There are two methods you can use to localize your Google search.

Valentin is much easier to use, but this article will go in-depth on doing it the manual way if you’d prefer to avoid using a third party.

Want written instructions you can follow? Read on below.

Step 1: Bring up Google Maps and choose a point near your facility

In this example, we’re using a spot about 2.5 miles from the facility. In your case, choose various distances and directions. OR, choose a market you’re trying to target.

Step 2: Right-click at the location you’ve chosen and click on the coordinates to copy them

You can also write the coordinates down on a scrap of paper, but they’re long.

Step 3: Pull up Google.com, right-click on the page, and click “Inspect”

Step 4: Click on “Sensors” at the bottom of the new panel

The new screen may look confusing, but all you need to do is click on “Sensors” at the bottom of the panel.

If you don’t see “Sensors,” you will need to click the three vertical dots on the left.

Step 5: Click the dropdown that says “No override” and scroll down the menu to click on “Other…”

You should now have a panel that looks like this:

Step 6: Enter the latitude and longitude, then close the Inspect panel

The latitude will be the first number you copied, and the longitude is the number after the comma. Make sure to include all periods and dashes (but not the comma!).

Step 7: Search “where am I” and see if the result is correct

If it’s not right, that’s normal. See step 8!

Step 8: If it is not correct, scroll to the bottom of the page and hit “Update location”

Step 9: Once the page refreshes, you should now see the correct city name and a blue dot at the location you chose on the map!

To undo the localization once you're done, follow steps 3 through 5 and change the dropdown back to “No override.”

Once the change is made, search “where am I”, scroll to the bottom, and click “Update location.”

Now that your browser is localized to the correct location, you can perform your searches and audit your search ranking.

Check out these articles to learn more about Google ranking, what to do, and how to frame what you find out:

If you have any other questions or can’t figure this out, you can reach out to help@storagepug.com for assistance!