Maps intelligence for local SEO — geo-grid rank tracking, GBP profile auditing via API, review intelligence across Google/Tripadvisor/Trustpilot, cross-platform NAP verification (Google/Bing/Apple/OSM), competitor radius mapping, and LocalBusiness schema generation from API data. Three-tier capability: free (Overpass + Geoapify), DataForSEO (full intelligence), DataForSEO + Google (maximum coverage). Use when user says "maps", "geo-grid", "rank tracking", "GBP audit", "review velocity", "competitor radius", "maps analysis", "local rank tracking", "Share of Local Voice", or "SoLV".
Maps intelligence for local SEO — geo-grid rank tracking, GBP profile auditing via API, review intelligence across Google/Tripadvisor/Trustpilot, cross-platform NAP verification (Google/Bing/Apple/OSM), competitor radius mapping, and LocalBusiness schema generation from API data. Three-tier capability: free (Overpass + Geoapify), DataForSEO (full intelligence), DataForSEO + Google (maximum coverage). Use when user says "maps", "geo-grid", "rank tracking", "GBP audit", "review velocity", "competitor radius", "maps analysis", "local rank tracking", "Share of Local Voice", or "SoLV".
user-invokable
true
argument-hint
[command] [url|keyword|location]
license
MIT
compatibility
DataForSEO MCP for Tier 1+, Google Maps API for Tier 2
Before gathering, check .seo-cache/ for reusable context from related SEO skills.
Reference: ../seo/references/shared-data-cache.md for schemas and dependency map.
Check these cache files when present:
.seo-cache/site-meta.json for domain, business type, industry, and crawl context
.seo-cache/audit-scores.json for prior full-audit priorities
.seo-cache/pages/{url-slug}/page-analysis.json for page-level context when a URL is provided
If found: parse and use clearly valid fields (note "Using cached [X] from [date]")
If missing, corrupt, or irrelevant: continue with fresh evidence
If the user says "refresh" or "re-run": ignore cache reads and overwrite on write
Maps platform analysis for local businesses. Works with external APIs to assess
how a business appears on Google Maps, Bing Places, Apple Maps, and OpenStreetMap.
Boundary with seo-local: This skill analyzes the business on maps PLATFORMS
(via APIs). seo-local analyzes local SEO signals on the WEBSITE (via HTML fetch).
Do not duplicate seo-local on-page analysis. Recommend /seo local <url> for
website-level checks.
Quick Reference
Command
What it does
Tier
/seo maps <url>
Full maps presence audit (auto-selects tier)
0+
/seo maps grid <keyword> <location>
Geo-grid rank scan (7x7, 1 keyword default)
1+
/seo maps reviews <business> <location>
Cross-platform review intelligence
1+
/seo maps competitors <keyword> <location>
Competitor radius mapping
0+
/seo maps nap <business-name>
Cross-platform NAP verification
0+
/seo maps schema <business-name>
Generate LocalBusiness JSON-LD from data
0+
/seo maps gbp <business> <location>
GBP completeness audit
1+
Three-Tier Capability Detection
Before any analysis, detect the available capability tier:
Tier 0 (Free)
Detection: DataForSEO MCP tools NOT available.
Capabilities: Overpass API competitor discovery, Geoapify POI search, Nominatim geocoding, static GBP checklist, schema generation, cross-platform NAP guidance.
Load:references/maps-free-apis.md
Tier 1 (DataForSEO)
Detection:business_data_business_listings_search MCP tool IS available.
Capabilities: Everything in Tier 0 PLUS geo-grid rank tracking, live GBP profile audit, review intelligence (velocity, sentiment, distribution), GBP post activity, Q&A data, Tripadvisor/Trustpilot reviews.
Load:references/maps-api-endpoints.md
Tier 2 (DataForSEO + Google Maps Platform)
Detection: Tier 1 available AND Google Maps API key in environment.
Capabilities: Everything in Tier 1 PLUS Google Places details, real-time business status, AI-powered place summaries, photo analysis.
Note: Google ToS restricts storage to place_id only. Lat/lng cached 30 days max.
Always communicate the detected tier to the user at the start of analysis.
Geo-Grid Rank Tracking (Tier 1+)
Simulates Google Maps searches from multiple GPS coordinates to show ranking
variation across a geographic area. Requires DataForSEO.
Load:references/maps-geo-grid.md for algorithm, SoLV formula, heatmap format.
Load:references/maps-api-endpoints.md for Maps SERP endpoint details.
Workflow
Geocode business address to get center lat/lng
Generate grid points (default: 7x7, 5km radius) using Haversine offset formula
Display cost estimate and ask for confirmation before proceeding
Fire DataForSEO Maps SERP API calls with location_coordinate per grid point
Add strategic properties for multi-location: branchOf, areaServed, sameAs
Add aggregateRating if review data available
Output valid JSON-LD block ready for implementation
Do NOT generate self-serving review markup -- Google ignores LocalBusiness review markup from the business itself. Only mark up third-party reviews visible on the page.
Reference Files
Load on-demand as needed (do NOT load all at startup):
Competitor landscape: count in radius, top 5 by rating/reviews, competitive density
Cross-platform presence: Google/Bing/Apple/OSM listing status
Schema recommendation: generated LocalBusiness JSON-LD (if missing or incomplete)
Top 10 prioritized actions (Critical > High > Medium > Low)
Cost report: DataForSEO credits consumed during analysis (Tier 1 only)
Limitations disclaimer: what could not be assessed at current tier
Cross-Skill Delegation
Website on-page local signals: recommend /seo local <url>
Full AI search visibility: recommend /seo geo <url>
Schema validation and fixes: recommend /seo schema <url>
Live SERP and keyword data: recommend /seo dataforseo [command]
Error Handling
Scenario
Action
DataForSEO MCP not available
Drop to Tier 0. Inform user: "DataForSEO not detected. Running free-tier analysis. For geo-grid tracking and review intelligence, install the DataForSEO extension."
Business not found in Maps SERP
Try My Business Info with keyword. If still not found, report "Business not found in Google Maps for this location."
Geocoding fails (Nominatim)
Ask user to provide coordinates or a more specific address.
API rate limit hit
Report the limit. Suggest waiting or using standard (queued) method instead of live.
No reviews found
Report zero review state. Recommend review generation strategy with 18-day cadence target.
Multi-location detected
Ask user which location to analyze, or offer batch mode with per-location cost estimate.
Write to shared data cache
After completing all work, write a concise JSON summary to .seo-cache/ when the workflow produced durable findings.
Use the schemas and naming rules in ../seo/references/shared-data-cache.md; include at least cache_type, analyzed_at, source URL/domain, key findings, issues, recommendations, and tool limitations. Add .seo-cache/ to .gitignore if it is missing.
