Here is the most common mistake I see when people set up their first Moz campaign:
They dump all their keywords into one bucket.
They put “best marketing agency” (National) right next to “marketing agency in Austin” (Local). Then they look at their “Average Position” graph and wonder why it looks like a mess.
If you rank #1 in Austin but #50 nationally, your data is going to tell you that you are “failing” (Average Rank #25), even though your phone is ringing off the hook.
To run a serious SEO strategy, you have to separate your apples from your oranges. You need to know if you are winning in your neighborhood and if you are winning everywhere else.
Here is exactly how to set up Moz Pro to track both, without losing your mind.
Setting Up Global Rank Tracking (The “Big Picture”)
When we say “Global,” in SEO terms, we usually mean “National.” Unless you are Coca-Cola, you probably aren’t targeting every country on Earth at once.
Global tracking is for your broad, informational keywords—your blog posts, your “How To” guides, and your digital products that anyone, anywhere can buy.
How to do it in Moz:
-
Go to Campaign Settings > Search Engines.
-
Select Google US (or UK, CA, etc.) as your primary search engine.
-
Do not add a specific location here. Leave it blank.
This tells Moz: “Check where I rank for someone searching from a generic, unbiased location in this country.” This is your baseline.
How to Track Local Keywords and Map Packs
Now for the fun part. If you have a physical office, a store, or a service area, “National” rankings are useless. You need to know if you are showing up for the guy searching five miles away.
Moz allows you to get hyper-specific.
How to do it in Moz:
-
Go to the Rankings tab.
-
Scroll down to Tracked Keywords Overview and click Add Keywords.
-
Enter your keywords (e.g., “plumber,” “emergency repair”).
-
The Secret Step: In the “Location” dropdown, do not leave it blank. Type in your specific City or Zip Code (e.g., “Austin, TX” or “90210”).
Moz will now track these keywords specifically from the perspective of a user standing in that city. Even better? It will automatically tell you if you are ranking in the “Local Pack” (the map box with 3 businesses) which is the holy grail of local SEO.
The Secret Sauce: Using “Labels” to Separate Data
This is the step 90% of beginners skip, and it ruins their reports.
If you put National and Local keywords in the same list, your “Search Visibility” score will be an average of both. It’s bad data. You need to segment them.
The Fix: When you add your keywords, use Labels.
-
Tag your national keywords with:
Scope: National -
Tag your local keywords with:
Scope: Local - Austin
Now, when you look at your reports, you can filter by Label.
-
Filter
Scope: National: You might see a slow, steady climb (because national SEO is hard). -
Filter
Scope: Local: You might see you are dominating #1 for everything.
By separating them, you can show your boss (or client): “Look, we own the local market, and we are slowly chipping away at the national market.” That is a much better story than “Our average rank is #25.”
Analyzing the Data (When to Panic vs. Chill)
Once you have this setup, you will notice something interesting: Volatility is different.
-
Global/National Keywords tend to bounce around when Google does a “Core Update.” If you see red arrows here, check the SEO news.
-
Local Keywords bounce around when a competitor makes a move. If you drop locally, it’s usually because “Bob’s Plumbing” down the street just got 10 new reviews.
Knowing the difference saves you from fixing things that aren’t broken.
FAQs: Moz Keyword Tracking
Q1: Does tracking a keyword locally cost extra?
It doesn’t cost extra money, but it does count against your keyword limit. If you track “pizza” nationally, and “pizza” in Chicago, that counts as 2 keywords in your Moz allowance.
Q2: Can I track multiple locations for one business?
Yes. If you have branches in 5 cities, you should track your core keywords in all 5 locations. Use labels like Loc: City A, Loc: City B to keep them organized.
Q3: Why is my local rank different from what I see on my phone?
Google personalizes results based on your exact GPS location and history. Moz shows you a “clean,” unbiased version of what a typical user in that city sees. It is actually more accurate for reporting than your own phone.
Conclusion:
The difference between a stressed SEO and a confident SEO is data organization.
By taking 10 minutes to properly label and geo-target your keywords in Moz, you stop guessing. You know exactly where you are winning, where you are losing, and most importantly—why.
Don’t settle for messy averages. Get granular.
Ready to Clean Up Your Data?
Stop mixing your local wins with your global battles. Start tracking with precision using Moz Pro.
