OpenSEO Local SEO

Goal

Work out why a business does or does not show up in Google Maps and the local pack near its customers, and what to fix first.

Use this when rankings depend on a physical location or service area. For national organic work, use

competitor-analysis

keyword-research

Required inputs

```
projectId
```
The business: name, or a
```
cid
```
/
```
placeId
```
(most reliable)
Its coordinate (latitude/longitude) — derive it from a
```
search_local_businesses
```
/
```
get_local_serp_results
```
row; only ask the user when derivation is ambiguous
One to three keywords customers actually search (e.g. "emergency plumber", not the brand name)

OpenSEO MCP tools

```
search_local_businesses
```
: nearby listings, filterable by
```
minRating
```
,
```
minReviews
```
, and
```
isClaimed
```
— use
```
isClaimed: false
```
to find unclaimed listings when prospecting. One call with the brand name as
```
query
```
and a wide radius returns category, rating, review count, claimed status, coordinates, and
```
cid
```
for every location of a chain — usually enough that per-location
```
get_business_profile
```
calls are unnecessary.
```
get_local_serp_results
```
: the Maps/Local Finder result set near a coordinate. The rows carry
```
cid
```
and
```
place_id
```
— collect them once and reuse them everywhere below.
```
get_business_profile
```
: the full profile for one business (hours, rating breakdown) when the
```
search_local_businesses
```
row isn't enough.
```
get_business_reviews
```
: reviews with ratings, text, and whether the owner replied. Queued: a
```
processing
```
response returns a
```
taskId
```
— call again with it after 30-60 seconds, at no extra cost.
```
get_local_rank_grid
```
: rank at every point of a grid around a coordinate, with each point's result count and #1 business. 3x3 is nine searches; only go to 5x5 when the service area is genuinely wide.
```
get_google_business_questions
```
: Q&A on the profile (accepts
```
cid
```
/
```
placeId
```
).
```
get_business_updates
```
: posts published on the profile, with dates.

list_business_categories

: valid category slugs for

search_local_businesses

Workflow

Find the business. Given only a name or website,
```
search_local_businesses
```
(name as
```
query
```
, wide radius) locates the listing and yields its
```
cid
```
and coordinate. If it returns several locations, the business is a chain — see multi-location below.
Run
```
get_local_serp_results
```
for the main keyword near the business coordinate. Record the top 3-5 competitors'
```
cid
```
/
```
place_id
```
and the user's own row.
Compare the user's listing against the top two competitors: primary category, additional categories, review count, hours completeness, photo count, claimed status.
```
search_local_businesses
```
rows usually carry all of this; use
```
get_business_profile
```
for what they lack.
Sanity-check each listing's website link (
```
url
```
/
```
contact_url
```
in the rows): it should deep-link to that location's page on the project domain, not a homepage or a stale domain. For broader on-page work, hand off to
```
run_site_audit
```
.
Call
```
get_business_reviews
```
for the user and the strongest competitor. Look at review volume, recency, average rating, and how many reviews got an owner reply.
Run
```
get_local_rank_grid
```
for the main keyword. Use the grid to separate "ranks at the storefront only" from "ranks across the service area", and each point's
```
topResult
```
to name who wins where the target doesn't.
Add
```
get_google_business_questions
```
and
```
get_business_updates
```
when the profile basics are already competitive and the gap is engagement rather than setup.
Turn the evidence into a prioritized list. Category and claim problems outrank posting cadence every time.

Multi-location businesses

Always build the profile snapshot table for the whole chain — one

search_local_businesses

call covers it. The per-location deep-dives (reviews, grid, posts, Q&A) are where cost scales:

5 locations or fewer: deep-dive them all.
More than 5: present the snapshot table, then ask the user (AskUserQuestion) which 1-3 locations to deep-dive. Pick sensible defaults to recommend — e.g. the weakest profile in the densest market.

Output format

Start with:

Profile snapshot (category, rating, reviews, claimed) — one row per location for chains
Where visibility drops off, per the grid
The one fix to do this week

Then include:

Signal	This business	Best competitor	Gap	Action

Cover: categories, reviews (count, recency, owner replies), hours and profile completeness, listing website links, Maps coverage from the grid, Q&A and posting hygiene.

Guardrails

Do not run a 5x5 grid, or grids for several keywords, without telling the user the cost first — every point is a paid SERP call.
Match businesses by
```
cid
```
or
```
place_id
```
when you have one. Name matching collides with chains and similarly named businesses.
A missing rank at a grid point means the business wasn't among the results returned there. Read it with that point's
```
resultsCount
```
: a full result set means outranked; a near-empty one means a sparse SERP, not proof of invisibility.
Do not infer local-pack strength from national organic metrics.
Never recommend review gating, fake reviews, or keyword-stuffed business names.
A grid centered on the wrong place is worse than no grid — confirm the coordinate matches the storefront before spending grid credits.

local-seo

NPX Install

Tags

SKILL.md Content