seo-local

What this skill does

# Local SEO Analysis (March 2026)

## Key Statistics

| Metric | Value | Source |
|--------|-------|--------|
| GBP signals share of local pack weight | 32% | Whitespark 2026 |
| Proximity share of ranking variance | 55.2% | Search Atlas ML study |
| Review signals share (up from 16%) | ~20% | Whitespark 2026 |
| Google searches seeking local info | 46% | Industry data |
| Mobile "near me" searches leading to visit in 24h | 76% | Google confirmed |
| ChatGPT/AI usage for local recommendations | 45% (up from 6%) | BrightLocal LCRS 2026 |
| ChatGPT local conversion rate | 15.9% | Seer Interactive |
| Google organic local conversion rate | 1.76% | Seer Interactive |
| Local pack ads growth (Jan 2025 to Jan 2026) | 1% to 22% | Sterling Sky |

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## Business Type Detection

Detect from page signals before analysis. This determines which checks apply.

### Brick-and-Mortar
- Physical street address visible in page content or footer
- Google Maps embed with pin/directions
- "Visit us at", "Located at", "Come see us"
- Structured address in LocalBusiness schema

### Service Area Business (SAB)
- No visible physical address
- Service area mentions: "serving [city/region]", "service area includes"
- "We come to you", "On-site service", "Mobile [service]"
- `areaServed` in schema without `address.streetAddress`

### Hybrid
- Both physical address AND service area language present
- "Visit our showroom" combined with "We also serve [areas]"

**Impact on checks**: SABs skip embedded map verification and physical address consistency. Brick-and-mortar gets full NAP + map checks.

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## Industry Vertical Detection

Detect from page signals and GBP category patterns. Routes to industry-specific checks from `references/local-schema-types.md`.

| Vertical | Detection Signals |
|----------|------------------|
| **Restaurant** | /menu, menu items, reservations, cuisine types, food ordering, "dine-in", "takeout" |
| **Healthcare** | insurance accepted, patients, appointments, NPI, medical terms, "Dr.", HIPAA notice |
| **Legal** | attorney, lawyer, practice areas, bar admission, case results, "free consultation" |
| **Home Services** | service area, emergency service, "free estimate", licensed/insured/bonded, "24/7" |
| **Real Estate** | listings, MLS, properties for sale/rent, agent bio, brokerage, "open house" |
| **Automotive** | inventory, VIN, test drive, dealership, service department, "new/used/certified" |

If no vertical detected, use generic `LocalBusiness` analysis path.

---

## Analysis Dimensions

### 1. GBP Signals (25%)

Primary category is the **single most important local pack factor** (Whitespark #1, score: 193). Incorrect primary category is the **#1 negative factor** (score: 176).

**Check for:**
- GBP embed or reference detectable on page (Maps iframe, place ID, reviews widget)
- Primary category appropriateness (infer from page content vs visible GBP data)
- Evidence of secondary categories (optimal: 4 additional per BrightLocal)
- GBP posts presence (no direct ranking impact per WebFX, but triggers Post Justifications)
- Photos/video evidence (45% more direction requests with photos, Agency Jet)
- Q&A content (deprecated Dec 2025, replaced by Ask Maps Gemini AI -- recommend recreating Q&A content as FAQ sections on website; GBP removed existing Q&A with no export available)
- Google Verified badge eligibility (replaced Guaranteed/Screened in Oct 2025)
- GBP link URL strategy: do NOT link to strongest website page (Sterling Sky Diversity Update -- risks suppressing organic rankings)
- Business hours visibility on page (businesses open at search time rank higher, factor #5)

**Scoring guide:**
- Full: GBP embed present, category signals align, posts active, photos present
- Partial: Some GBP signals present but incomplete
- Low: No visible GBP integration on website

### 2. Reviews & Reputation (20%)

Review velocity matters more than total count. The **18-day rule** (Sterling Sky): rankings cliff if no new reviews for 3 weeks.

**Check for:**
- Total Google review count visible on page or schema (magic threshold: 10, Sterling Sky)
- Star rating (31% of consumers only use 4.5+, 68% only use 4+, BrightLocal 2026)
- Review recency indicators (74% only care about reviews in last 3 months)
- `aggregateRating` in schema (ratingValue, reviewCount, bestRating)
- Third-party review presence (consumers use average of 6 review sites, BrightLocal 2026)
- Owner response patterns (88% would use business that responds, BrightLocal)
- Review gating detection: any pre-screening of satisfaction before directing to review platform is prohibited by Google (fake engagement policy) and FTC ($53,088/violation)

**Industry-specific:**
- Healthcare: HIPAA prohibits confirming/denying reviewer is a patient in responses
- Legal: attorney-client privilege considerations in review responses

**Scoring guide:**
- Full: 10+ reviews, 4.5+ stars, recent activity, owner responses, multi-platform presence
- Partial: Some reviews but gaps in recency, rating, or response rate
- Low: <10 reviews, no recent activity, no responses, single platform only

### 3. Local On-Page SEO (20%)

Dedicated service pages = **#1 local organic factor AND #2 AI visibility factor** (Whitespark 2026).

**Check for:**
- Title tag contains city/service keywords
- H1 tag with local intent (city + service)
- NAP (Name, Address, Phone) visible in page HTML (footer, contact section, header)
- Dedicated service pages (one page per core service)
- Location page quality for multi-location sites:
  - **>60-70% unique content** minimum (industry consensus, no Google-confirmed threshold)
  - **Swap test**: if you can swap the city name and content still makes sense, it's a doorway page (RicketyRoo method). HVAC company lost 80% rankings + 63% traffic after March 2024 Core Update for this pattern
  - Local photos, area-specific testimonials, local FAQs
- Embedded Google Map (geographic signal reinforcement, not direct ranking factor -- lazy-load to mitigate speed impact)
- Click-to-call button (`tel:` link) and contact form above the fold
- Internal linking architecture: hub-and-spoke, every critical page within 3 clicks of homepage
- 2-5 contextual internal links per 1,000 words with descriptive anchor text

**Multi-location specific:**
- Store locator with individual crawlable URLs (SSR/SSG preferred over CSR)
- Subdirectory structure: `domain.com/locations/city-name/` (subdirectories consolidate link equity better, Bruce Clay: 50%+ traffic lift)
- Each location page has unique LocalBusiness schema with `@id`

**Scoring guide:**
- Full: City in title + H1, NAP visible, dedicated service pages, no doorway patterns, good internal linking
- Partial: Some local signals but missing service pages or doorway page risk
- Low: Generic title/H1, NAP not visible, thin location pages

### 4. NAP Consistency & Citations (15%)

Citations declining for traditional pack rankings but **3 of top 5 AI visibility factors are citation-related** (Whitespark 2026). Google's July 2025 documentation update removed "directories" from prominence definition.

**Check for:**
- NAP extraction: compare Name, Address, Phone from:
  1. Visible page HTML (footer, contact page)
  2. LocalBusiness JSON-LD schema
  3. Any visible GBP data
  - Flag any discrepancies between these three sources
- Citation presence on Tier 1 directories (check via WebFetch or site: search patterns):
  - Google Business Profile signals on page
  - Yelp: `site:yelp.com "Business Name"`
  - BBB: `site:bbb.org "Business Name"`
  - Facebook business page references
- Apple Business Connect awareness (usage doubled to 27%, BrightLocal 2026 -- recommend claiming)
- Bing Places awareness (powers ChatGPT, Copilot, Alexa -- recommend claiming and optimizing)
- Industry-specific directory recommendations: load `references/local-schema-types.md` for per-vertical citation sources
- Data aggregator awareness: Data Axle, Foursquare, Neustar/TransUnion (recommend submission for dow