Local SEO Heatmaps Now Support Custom Keywords

TL;DR

HighLevel's local SEO heatmaps in marketing audit reports now allow custom keywords and offer improved default controls. This is a small but useful update for agencies using prospecting and reporting tools.

Who this affects

This update affects agencies using HighLevel's marketing audit reports, specifically those leveraging local SEO heatmaps for prospecting or client reporting. HighLevel has not confirmed who is affected by plan level or sub-account setup.

What changed

HighLevel has updated its local SEO heatmaps within marketing audit reports. The key changes are:

• Local SEO heatmaps now support custom keywords. This allows agencies to define specific terms relevant to their clients or prospects.
• Default controls for heatmaps have been improved, offering better out-of-the-box configuration.
• Users can now generate up to three distinct heatmaps per report, providing more comprehensive coverage.
• The ability to set a default grid size for audits has been added.
• Users can also set a default radius for audits.
• Automatically selected keywords can now be removed from reports.
• When a report is shared, prospects can switch between the generated heatmaps.
• Prospects can also compare heatmaps side by side within a shared report.

HighLevel has not confirmed the rollout status, limits, or plan gating for these features.

Where to find it

These new capabilities are located within HighLevel's marketing audit reports. You can find them under Agency Prospecting or Reporting > Local Marketing Audit.

How agencies will use this

An agency can leverage this by creating highly targeted local SEO audits for potential clients. For instance, when prospecting a local plumbing company, the agency can generate a marketing audit report. Instead of relying solely on HighLevel's automatically selected keywords, they can now add custom, long-tail keywords specific to the plumber's services, like "emergency drain cleaning Anytown" or "water heater repair Anytown zip code." They can set a custom grid size and radius relevant to the plumber's service area. Within the same report, they can generate multiple heatmaps: one for general plumbing terms, one for specific repair services, and perhaps another for a competitor's terms. When the report is shared with the prospect, the plumber can then toggle between these three heatmaps and even compare them side-by-side, visually understanding their local search visibility for critical services and how it stacks up against competitors. This provides a more detailed and convincing demonstration of the agency's value.

Our take

This is a minor but practical update. The ability to use custom keywords is a welcome improvement, as automatically generated keywords don't always align perfectly with a client's niche services. The added flexibility with multiple heatmaps, default controls, and side-by-side comparisons will make audit reports more powerful for prospecting and clearer for clients. It enhances the existing local SEO audit tool rather than introducing a brand new core capability. It's not a 'must-act-now' update, but it's worth implementing for agencies heavily reliant on these reports.