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

for

website-level checks.

Quick Reference

Command

What it does

Tier

/seo maps

Full maps presence audit (auto-selects tier)

0+

/seo maps grid

Geo-grid rank scan (7x7, 1 keyword default)

1+

/seo maps reviews

Cross-platform review intelligence

1+

/seo maps competitors

Competitor radius mapping

0+

/seo maps nap

Cross-platform NAP verification

0+

/seo maps schema

Generate LocalBusiness JSON-LD from data

0+

/seo maps gbp

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 Full AI search visibility: recommend /seo geo Schema validation and fixes: recommend /seo schema 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.