Maps Intelligence (March 2026)
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: ../seo/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: ../seo/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: ../seo/references/maps-geo-grid.md for algorithm, SoLV formula, heatmap format.
Load: ../seo/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_coordinateper grid point - Find target business rank at each point
- Calculate SoLV:
(top_3_count / total_points) * 100 - Render ASCII heatmap in output
Cost Warning (REQUIRED)
Before every geo-grid scan, display:
Geo-Grid Scan: [keyword] at [location] Grid: 7x7 (49 points) | Keywords: [N] | Est. cost: $[amount] DataForSEO credits will be consumed. Proceed?
GBP Profile Audit (Tier 1 preferred, Tier 0 manual)
Audits the 25 fields that affect Google Business Profile quality and ranking.
Load: ../seo/references/maps-gbp-checklist.md for full checklist and scoring.
AI & 2026 context (third-party reported): Ask Maps, reported by AP News as a Gemini conversational Maps feature launched 2026-03-12 (iOS/Android, US + India). AI Mode (1B+ MAU, reported from Google I/O 2026 keynote coverage; not confirmed on a Google-owned source) increasingly surfaces 1-2 business local AI interfaces in third-party terminology, and agentic booking/calling for local services (home repair, beauty, pet care) rolls out to all US users summer 2026 (Google can call businesses on the user's behalf). New 2026 GBP API additions: review media URLs, recurring local-post scheduling, review reply-state/moderation, and invitation Place ID. Source: blog.google/products-and-platforms/products/search/search-io-2026/ · developers.google.com/my-business/content/latest-updates
Tier 1 Workflow
- Fetch business profile via DataForSEO My Business Info API (keyword or CID)
- Map API response fields to 25-field checklist
- Score each field: Present + Optimized = 2pts, Present = 1pt, Missing = 0pts
- Apply industry-specific weight multipliers
- Normalize to 0-100 scale
Tier 0 Workflow
- Fetch the business website via WebFetch
- Extract any visible GBP signals (Maps embed, place references, review widgets)
- Apply static checklist based on detectable signals
- Mark undetectable fields as "Unknown (requires DataForSEO for live data)"
Review Intelligence (Tier 1+)
Cross-platform review analysis: velocity, sentiment, rating distribution, fake detection.
Reference: ../seo/references/local-seo-signals.md for benchmarks (shared with seo-local).
Workflow
- Fetch Google reviews via DataForSEO Reviews API (sort by newest)
- Calculate review velocity: reviews per month over last 6 months
- Check 18-day rule (Sterling Sky): any 3-week gap = ranking risk
- Analyze rating distribution: healthy = bell curve skewed to 5-star
- Calculate owner response rate: responses / total reviews
- Fetch Tripadvisor and Trustpilot reviews (if available)
- Cross-platform comparison table
Fake Review Detection Signals
Flag reviews matching 2+ of these patterns:
- Uniform timing (multiple reviews same day/hour)
- Reviewer accounts with limited history or single review
- Geographic inconsistencies (reviewer location vs business location)
- Exclusively 5-star velocity spike (vs historical baseline)
- Identical or near-identical text across reviews
- Sudden volume spike without corresponding marketing activity
Competitor Radius Mapping (Tier 0+)
Identify and analyze competitors within a defined radius.
Tier 0 (Overpass API)
Load: ../seo/references/maps-free-apis.md for query templates.
- Geocode business address
- Query Overpass API for businesses with same OSM tag within radius
- Parse results: name, address, phone, website, distance from center
- Sort by distance, present as competitor landscape table
Tier 1 (DataForSEO)
- Use Maps SERP API with business keyword + location
- Extract top 20 competitors with full profile data
- Compare: rating, review count, categories, photos, attributes
- Calculate competitive density score: competitors per km^2
Cross-Platform NAP Verification (Tier 0+)
Check business listing consistency across Google, Bing Places, Apple, and OSM.
Workflow
- Search for business name on each platform:
- Google: infer from GBP data or Maps SERP result
- Bing:
WebFetch https://www.bing.com/maps?q=BUSINESS+NAME+LOCATION - Apple: manual check (no public API -- verify/claim Apple business listing presence; treat Apple Business launch/rename claims as TechRadar-sourced until confirmed by Apple primary)
- OSM: Overpass or Nominatim search
- Extract NAP (Name, Address, Phone) from each source
- Compare for consistency: exact match, partial match, missing, or conflicting
- Flag discrepancies as Critical (name mismatch), High (address mismatch), Medium (phone mismatch)
- Recommend claiming unclaimed profiles
Schema Generation (Tier 0+)
Generate LocalBusiness JSON-LD markup from collected data.
Reference: ../seo/references/local-schema-types.md for industry subtypes (shared with seo-local).
Workflow
- Determine most specific schema subtype for the industry
- Populate required properties:
@type,name,address,image - Add recommended properties:
telephone,url,geo,openingHoursSpecification,priceRange - Add strategic properties for multi-location:
branchOf,areaServed,sameAs - Add
aggregateRatingif 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):
../seo/references/maps-api-endpoints.md: DataForSEO endpoint details, params, costs../seo/references/maps-free-apis.md: Overpass, Geoapify, Nominatim query templates../seo/references/maps-geo-grid.md: Grid algorithm, SoLV formula, heatmap rendering../seo/references/maps-gbp-checklist.md: 25-field GBP audit with industry weights../seo/references/local-seo-signals.md: Ranking factors, review benchmarks (shared)../seo/references/local-schema-types.md: LocalBusiness subtypes by industry (shared)
Output
Generate MAPS-ANALYSIS-{domain}.md with:
- Maps Health Score: XX/100 with dimension breakdown table
- Capability tier detected (Tier 0 or Tier 1) with explanation of what's available
- Geo-grid heatmap (Tier 1): ASCII grid with SoLV percentage and average rank
- GBP profile audit: field-by-field scoring with industry-specific weights
- Review intelligence: velocity chart, rating distribution, response rate, cross-platform comparison
- 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. |
