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:

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
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:

references/maps-gbp-checklist.md

for full checklist and scoring.

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:

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:

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 -- recommend Apple Business Connect at businessconnect.apple.com)
- 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:

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
```
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):

```
references/maps-api-endpoints.md
```
: DataForSEO endpoint details, params, costs
```
references/maps-free-apis.md
```
: Overpass, Geoapify, Nominatim query templates
```
references/maps-geo-grid.md
```
: Grid algorithm, SoLV formula, heatmap rendering
```
references/maps-gbp-checklist.md
```
: 25-field GBP audit with industry weights
```
references/local-seo-signals.md
```
: Ranking factors, review benchmarks (shared)
```
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.

seo-maps

NPX Install

Tags

SKILL.md Content

Maps Intelligence (March 2026)

Quick Reference

Three-Tier Capability Detection

Tier 0 (Free)

Tier 1 (DataForSEO)

Tier 2 (DataForSEO + Google Maps Platform)

Geo-Grid Rank Tracking (Tier 1+)

Workflow

Cost Warning (REQUIRED)

GBP Profile Audit (Tier 1 preferred, Tier 0 manual)

Tier 1 Workflow

Tier 0 Workflow

Review Intelligence (Tier 1+)

Workflow

Fake Review Detection Signals

Competitor Radius Mapping (Tier 0+)

Tier 0 (Overpass API)

Tier 1 (DataForSEO)

Cross-Platform NAP Verification (Tier 0+)

Workflow

Schema Generation (Tier 0+)

Workflow

Reference Files

Output

Cross-Skill Delegation

Error Handling