Local SEO analysis covering Google Business Profile optimization, NAP consistency, citation health, review signals, local schema markup, location page quality, multi-location SEO, and industry-specific recommendations. Detects business type (brick-and-mortar, SAB, hybrid) and industry vertical. Use

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 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. Industry Vertical Detection Detect from page signals and GBP category patterns. Routes to industry specific checks from ../seo/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: check whether GBP Q&A is available for the business category/region; optimize questions and owner answers when 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 Maps / Apple business listings awareness: claim and maintain Apple listings; treat Apple Business unified platform launch/rename claims as TechRadar sourced and verify against Apple primary before asserting. Bing Places awareness (powers ChatGPT, Copilot, Alexa recommend claiming and optimizing) Industry specific directory recommendations: load ../seo/references/local schema types.md for per vertical citation sources Data aggregator awareness: Data Axle, Foursquare, Neustar/TransUnion (recommend submission for downstream distribution) Scoring guide: Full: Consistent NAP across page/schema, Tier 1 citations detected, industry directories present Partial: NAP present but inconsistencies, some citations missing Low: NAP discrepancies, no detectable citations, no schema address 5. Local Schema Markup (10%) Schema is NOT a direct ranking factor (John Mueller confirmed). But enables rich results (43% CTR increase, Webstix case study) and helps AI systems parse business information. Check for: LocalBusiness schema presence (extract JSON LD blocks) Required properties: name , address with PostalAddress sub properties Recommended properties: geo (minimum 5 decimal places, Confirmed), openingHoursSpecification , telephone , url , priceRange (<100 chars), image , aggregateRating Correct subtype for industry load ../seo/references/local schema types.md : Restaurant using Restaurant not generic LocalBusiness Legal using LegalService not deprecated Attorney Auto dealer using AutoDealer not deprecated VehicleListing Healthcare using MedicalClinic / Hospital / Dentist not generic MedicalBusiness SAB specific: areaServed with named cities (recommended, not in Google's official list but Schema.org supported) Multi location: each location page has own LocalBusiness with unique @id , linked via branchOf to Organization on homepage Industry specific schema patterns (per ../seo/references/local schema types.md ): Restaurant: Menu + MenuSection + MenuItem + ReserveAction (note: Reservation/Order actions are not Google supported rich results; value is machine readable business data) Healthcare: Physician (Person) + MedicalSpecialty + sameAs to NPI Legal: LegalService + Person + Service (practice areas) Home Services: Subtype + areaServed + Service Real Estate: RealEstateAgent + Person + RealEstateListing Automotive: AutoDealer + Car + Offer (separate dept schemas) Scoring guide: Full: Correct subtype, all recommended properties, industry specific patterns, valid JSON LD Partial: LocalBusiness present but generic type or missing recommended properties Low: No local schema, or schema with errors/placeholder content 6. Local Link & Authority Signals (10%) Links declining for local pack but remain ~26% of local organic ranking (Whitespark 2026, 2 factor group). "Best of" list placements = 1 AI visibility citation factor . Check for: Local backlink indicators detectable from page: Chamber of Commerce mentions or links (high Trust Flow, ~80% more consumer visits, GlueUp) BBB accreditation/badge (Google uses BBB for business verification) Local news/press mentions Community involvement signals (sponsorships, local events, partnerships) "Best of" list presence (top AI visibility factor per Whitespark 2026) Digital PR signals: 66.2% of PR practitioners now track AI citations as KPI (BuzzStream 2026) Brand mentions correlate 3x more strongly with AI visibility than traditional backlinks (Ahrefs: 0.664 vs 0.218 correlation) Link velocity benchmark: 5 10 quality local links/month for small businesses (consensus) Scoring guide: Full: Local authority signals visible (chamber, BBB, press), community involvement evident Partial: Some authority signals but limited local link indicators Low: No detectable local authority signals AI Search Impact on Local Do not duplicate seo geo analysis. Provide local specific AI context and recommend /seo geo <url for full analysis. Key local AI facts: AI Overviews appear on up to 68% of local searches (Whitespark Q2 2025) ChatGPT converts at 15.9% vs Google organic at 1.76% (Seer Interactive) 3 of top 5 AI visibility factors are citation related (Whitespark 2026) ChatGPT does NOT access GBP directly sources from Bing index, Yelp, TripAdvisor, BBB, Reddit Bing Places is critical: powers ChatGPT, Copilot, Alexa Third party observed local AI interface changes (mobile US) may show only 1 2 business

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