# Local SEO Data

> 41 local SEO data tools for AI agents. Rankings, reviews, audits, keyword research, competitor analysis, geogrid tracking, and AI visibility scoring. One API replaces BrightLocal, Local Falcon, Whitespark, and more.

Full reference with response shapes: https://localseodata.com/llms-full.txt
MCP server setup: https://localseodata.com/llms-install.md

## Quick Start

- API base URL: https://api.localseodata.com
- Auth: `Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY`
- MCP server: `https://mcp.localseodata.com/mcp?key=YOUR_API_KEY`
- Sandbox: use `sk_test_` keys for free mock data (realistic shapes, zero credits charged)
- 50 free credits on signup, no credit card required
- All responses include `X-Credits-Used` and `X-Credits-Remaining` headers

## Before You Start

1. Call `get_balance` (free) to check available credits
2. Call `location_search` (free) to resolve city names when format is unclear (e.g. "Buffalo, NY" works, but "Orchard Park" alone may not)

## Which Tool Should I Use?

### Checking rankings?
- Just the local 3-pack? -> local_pack (1 cr)
- Full SERP page with ads, PAA, AI overview? -> organic_serp (1 cr)
- More than 3 local results with GPS coordinates? -> maps (1 cr)
- Google Guaranteed/Screened ads? -> local_services_ads (1 cr)

### Analyzing a business?
- Pull full GBP data (NAP, hours, categories)? -> business_profile (2 cr)
- Audit what's missing from a GBP? -> profile_health (2 cr)
- Read actual review text and replies? -> google_reviews (1 cr per 10)
- Review growth trends and sentiment? -> review_velocity (6 cr)
- Ratings across Google + Trustpilot? -> multi_platform_reviews (6 cr)

### Keyword research?
- Have keywords, need volume/CPC? -> search_volume (1 cr per 50 kw)
- Need keyword ideas from a seed? -> keyword_suggestions (2 cr)
- What does a competitor rank for? -> keywords_for_site (3 cr)
- Trending up or down? -> keyword_trends (1 cr)

### AI visibility?
- Is my brand mentioned in AI outputs? -> ai_mentions (5 cr)
- My domain's overall AI score? -> ai_visibility (10 cr)
- Compare domains side by side? -> ai_compare (10 cr)
- What does a specific LLM say? -> ai_llm_response (8 cr)
- Budget AI result scrape? -> ai_scraper (3 cr)

### Comprehensive audits? (expensive, use sparingly)
- Full local SEO audit -> local_audit (50 cr, async)
- Citation/NAP consistency -> citation_audit (50 cr)
- Reputation score -> reputation_audit (30 cr)
- Composite authority score -> local_authority (10 cr)

## All Endpoints

### SERP & Rankings (7 endpoints)
- POST /v1/serp/local-pack (1 cr) -- Local 3-pack rankings. Use when checking if a business appears in Google's top 3 local results for a keyword.
- POST /v1/serp/organic (1 cr) -- Complete SERP: organic + local pack + ads + PAA + AI overview in one call. Use when auditing overall search presence.
- POST /v1/serp/lsa (1 cr) -- Local Services Ads. Use when checking Google Guaranteed/Screened ads for service categories.
- POST /v1/serp/maps (1 cr) -- Google Maps listings up to 60 results with GPS coordinates. Use when local_pack's 3 results aren't enough.
- POST /v1/serp/local-finder (1 cr) -- Local Finder results with CIDs. Use when you need Google CID identifiers instead of coordinates.
- POST /v1/serp/ai-overview (1 cr) -- AI Overview extraction. Use when checking if Google shows an AI overview for a keyword and what sources it cites.
- POST /v1/serp/ai-mode (2 cr) -- Google AI Mode/SGE response. Use when getting the AI-generated answer text and its reference links.

### Business Data (7 endpoints)
- POST /v1/business/profile (2 cr) -- Complete GBP. Use when pulling one business's NAP, hours, categories, photos, rating, and attributes.
- POST /v1/profile/health (2 cr) -- Profile completeness audit. Use when finding what's missing or weak on a GBP with a score and specific fixes.
- POST /v1/reviews/google (1 cr per 10 reviews) -- Google reviews with text. Use when reading review text and owner replies for sentiment or reply auditing.
- POST /v1/reviews/velocity (6 cr) -- Review trends. Use when analyzing review growth rate, rating changes, reply rate, and sentiment over time.
- POST /v1/reviews/multi-platform (6 cr) -- Cross-platform reviews. Use when comparing ratings across Google + Trustpilot.
- POST /v1/business/qa (1 cr) -- GBP Questions & Answers. Use when checking what questions are asked on a profile and whether they're answered.
- POST /v1/business/listings (10 cr per 50) -- Bulk business discovery. Use when getting all businesses in a category + location, not single business lookup.

### Keyword Research (6 endpoints)
- POST /v1/keywords/search-volume (1 cr per 50 kw) -- Volume and metrics. Use when you have keywords and need monthly volume, CPC, and competition data.
- POST /v1/keywords/suggestions (2 cr) -- Keyword ideas. Use when generating new keyword ideas from a seed keyword.
- POST /v1/keywords/for-site (3 cr) -- Domain keywords. Use when reverse-engineering what keywords a competitor domain ranks for.
- POST /v1/keywords/related (2 cr) -- Related keywords. Use when expanding a keyword list with semantically related terms.
- POST /v1/keywords/trends (1 cr) -- Search trends. Use when checking if a keyword is rising, stable, or declining over 3-60 months.
- POST /v1/keywords/local-opportunities (4 cr) -- Local keyword opportunities. Use when finding the best local keywords to target based on difficulty vs current rank.

### AI Optimization (8 endpoints)
- POST /v1/ai/keyword-data (1 cr per 50 kw) -- AI search volume. Use when measuring how often keywords are searched in ChatGPT and other LLMs.
- POST /v1/ai/mentions (5 cr) -- AI mentions. Use when finding where a keyword appears in ChatGPT and Google AI outputs.
- POST /v1/ai/top-sources (5 cr) -- Top cited domains. Use when discovering which domains AI models cite most for a topic.
- POST /v1/ai/top-pages (5 cr) -- Top cited pages. Use when finding specific pages (not just domains) that AI models reference.
- POST /v1/ai/visibility (10 cr) -- Domain AI score. Use when measuring a domain's overall citation score across AI platforms.
- POST /v1/ai/compare (10 cr) -- Domain comparison. Use when comparing multiple domains' AI visibility side by side.
- POST /v1/ai/llm-response (8 cr) -- Query an LLM. Use when getting what ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or Perplexity says about a query.
- POST /v1/ai/scraper (3 cr) -- Scrape AI results. Budget alternative to llm-response for ChatGPT/Gemini search results.

### Backlinks & Site (3 endpoints)
- POST /v1/backlinks/summary (5 cr) -- Backlink profile. Use when getting a domain's backlink count, referring domains, spam score, and authority.
- POST /v1/backlinks/gap (10 cr) -- Backlink gap. Use when finding sites that link to competitors but not to you for link building.
- POST /v1/site/page-audit (4 cr) -- On-page SEO audit. Use when auditing a page's title, meta, headings, Core Web Vitals, schema, and mobile-friendliness.

### Competitive Intelligence (2 endpoints)
- POST /v1/ads/competitor (2 cr) -- Competitor ads. Use when seeing what Google Ads a competitor domain is running.
- POST /v1/brand/mentions (3 cr) -- Brand mentions. Use when monitoring where a brand is mentioned online with sentiment analysis.

### Composite Reports (4 endpoints)
- POST /v1/audit/local (50 cr, async) -- Full local audit. Use when running a comprehensive check: SERP + profile + reviews + competitors. Takes 15-45 seconds.
- POST /v1/audit/reputation (30 cr) -- Reputation audit. Use when analyzing cross-platform review reputation with sentiment. Takes 10-30 seconds.
- POST /v1/report/competitor-gap (10 cr + 2/competitor, default 20) -- Competitor comparison. Use when comparing your business vs local competitors on rankings, reviews, and profile completeness.
- POST /v1/score/local-authority (10 cr) -- Authority score. Use when calculating a composite 0-100 local authority score with component breakdown.

### Audits (2 endpoints)
- POST /v1/audit/citation (50 cr) -- Citation audit. Use when checking NAP consistency across 20+ directories.
- POST /v1/audit/citation-consistency (50 cr) -- Alias for citation audit.

### Geogrid Rank Scans (1 endpoint)
- POST /v1/geogrid/scan (50-162 cr, async) -- Geographic rank grid. Use when mapping where a business ranks across a geographic area. 5x5 (50 cr), 7x7 (98 cr), 9x9 (162 cr). Takes 30-60 seconds.

### Location Utilities (1 endpoint)
- GET /v1/locations/search (free) -- Resolve location names. Use before other tools when unsure if city/state format will be recognized.

### Account (1 endpoint)
- GET /v1/account/balance (free) -- Credit balance. Always call first to check available credits before starting work.

## Pricing

- 50 free credits on signup, no credit card required
- Pay-as-you-go: $0.005/credit, $5 minimum deposit, credits never expire
- Starter: $19/mo for 500 credits
- Agency: $49/mo for 2,000 credits
- Scale: $149/mo for 10,000 credits

## Free Tools

9 free browser-based local SEO tools, each powered by the same API endpoints:

- [AI Overview Checker](https://localseodata.com/tools/ai-overview-checker): Free tool: check whether Google generates an AI Overview for any keyword and location, and see which pages it cites as sources.
- [AI Visibility Checker](https://localseodata.com/tools/ai-visibility-checker): Free tool: check if your business appears in AI search results across ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, and Claude. Get your AI visibility score instantly.
- [Backlink Quick Check](https://localseodata.com/tools/backlink-check): Free tool: get your backlink profile summary in seconds — total backlinks, referring domains, domain rank, spam score, and link-type breakdown.
- [Competitor Gap Analyzer](https://localseodata.com/tools/competitor-gap): Free tool: see exactly where the businesses outranking you in local search are ahead — reviews, citations, rankings, and links — with the gaps ranked.
- [GBP Health Check](https://localseodata.com/tools/gbp-health-check): Free tool: check your Google Business Profile field by field, see exactly what's missing or thin, and get a prioritized fix list.
- [Local Authority Score](https://localseodata.com/tools/local-authority-score): Free tool: get a 0-100 local SEO authority score with a component-by-component breakdown of reviews, citations, profile, and ranking presence.
- [Local Pack Rank Checker](https://localseodata.com/tools/local-pack-checker): Free tool: see exactly who's in Google's local 3-pack for any keyword and location, with ratings, review counts, and your position if you appear.
- [Reputation Analyzer](https://localseodata.com/tools/reputation-analyzer): Free tool: analyze your review reputation across Google, Yelp, and Facebook with sentiment themes and response-rate tracking.
- [LocalBusiness Schema Generator](https://localseodata.com/tools/schema-generator): Free tool: generate valid LocalBusiness JSON-LD schema markup for your business. Copy, paste, and improve search and AI visibility.

## Research

Original studies and playbooks from Local SEO Data. Index: https://localseodata.com/research

- [AI Mode vs Local Pack: Where Do Local Businesses Actually Appear?](https://localseodata.com/studies/ai-mode-vs-local-pack): We ran 1,120 local searches across 7 verticals and 13 US cities.
- [How to Check If You Appear in AI Mode](https://localseodata.com/briefs/how-to-check-ai-mode-visibility): 28.5% of Local Pack businesses don't appear in AI Mode for the same search.
- [Why Your Local Pack Rankings Don't Tell the Full Story](https://localseodata.com/briefs/local-pack-rankings-blind-spot): You can be #1 in the Local Pack and invisible in AI Mode for the same search.
- [60% of Your AI Mode Competitors Are Invisible to Your Rank Tracker](https://localseodata.com/briefs/ai-mode-hidden-competitors): Only 40.6% of AI Mode businesses also show in the Local Pack, so roughly 60% of your AI Mode competitors never hit your rank tracker.
- [How Query Wording Controls Whether You Show Up in AI Mode](https://localseodata.com/briefs/ai-mode-query-wording): The same business is visible or invisible in AI Mode depending on two words.
- [AI Mode Visibility by Vertical: What the Data Shows for Your Industry](https://localseodata.com/briefs/ai-mode-visibility-by-vertical): AI Mode plumbers carry a median of 546 reviews vs 125 in the Local Pack, a +337% gap.

## Glossary

84 plain-English definitions of local SEO and AI search terms, many with free live-data tools embedded. Index: https://localseodata.com/glossary

- [NAP](https://localseodata.com/glossary/nap): Name, Address, Phone — the consistency signal Google uses to trust your business.
- [Citation](https://localseodata.com/glossary/citation): Any online mention of a business's NAP — directories, social, news.
- [Citation consistency](https://localseodata.com/glossary/citation-consistency): How closely your NAP matches across every directory it appears in.
- [Place ID](https://localseodata.com/glossary/place-id): Google's canonical unique identifier for a business location.
- [CID / Knowledge Graph ID](https://localseodata.com/glossary/cid): The Customer ID Google uses internally — convertible to/from Place ID.
- [Google Business Profile](https://localseodata.com/glossary/google-business-profile): The canonical business listing on Google (formerly Google My Business).
- [Google My Business](https://localseodata.com/glossary/google-my-business): The legacy name for Google Business Profile, retired in 2022.
- [Knowledge Panel](https://localseodata.com/glossary/knowledge-panel): The branded info box Google shows on the right of search results.
- [Knowledge Graph](https://localseodata.com/glossary/knowledge-graph): Google's structured database of entities, people, places, and things.
- [Local Pack](https://localseodata.com/glossary/local-pack): The top-3 map result block Google shows for local searches.
- [Map Pack](https://localseodata.com/glossary/map-pack): Common synonym for Local Pack — same 3-business map block.
- [Local Finder](https://localseodata.com/glossary/local-finder): The expanded list of 20+ local results below the Local Pack.
- [Proximity](https://localseodata.com/glossary/proximity): How physically close a business is to the searcher — a primary local ranking signal.
- [Prominence](https://localseodata.com/glossary/prominence): How well-known a business is across the web — reviews, citations, mentions.
- [Relevance](https://localseodata.com/glossary/relevance): How well a business matches what the searcher is looking for.
- [Geogrid](https://localseodata.com/glossary/geogrid): A grid of geographic points used to measure local rank across an area.
- [AGR, ATRP, SoLV](https://localseodata.com/glossary/agr-atrp-solv): The three composite scores derived from a geogrid scan.
- [Heatmap](https://localseodata.com/glossary/heatmap): The colored visualization of a geogrid scan's rank matrix.
- [UULE parameter](https://localseodata.com/glossary/uule-parameter): Google's URL parameter that targets a search to a specific location.
- [Service area business](https://localseodata.com/glossary/service-area-business): A business that serves customers at their location (no storefront).
- [Search radius](https://localseodata.com/glossary/search-radius): The geographic distance over which a local search returns results.
- [Hyperlocal](https://localseodata.com/glossary/hyperlocal): Targeting a very small geographic area — neighborhood or block.
- [Multi-location SEO](https://localseodata.com/glossary/multi-location): Local SEO for businesses with multiple physical locations.
- [GEO (Generative Engine Optimization)](https://localseodata.com/glossary/geo): Optimizing content for visibility in generative-AI engines like ChatGPT and Perplexity.
- [AEO (Answer Engine Optimization)](https://localseodata.com/glossary/aeo): Optimizing content to be cited in AI-generated answers.
- [AIO (AI Optimization)](https://localseodata.com/glossary/aio): Umbrella term for optimizing for AI-driven search surfaces.
- [Generative SEO](https://localseodata.com/glossary/generative-seo): Synonym for GEO — optimizing for generative-search visibility.
- [AI Overview](https://localseodata.com/glossary/ai-overview): Google's AI-generated summary at the top of search results.
- [AI Mode](https://localseodata.com/glossary/ai-mode): Google's conversational search interface — full chat-style answers.
- [AI Visibility](https://localseodata.com/glossary/ai-visibility): How often and prominently a domain appears across LLM-generated answers.
- [SGE (Search Generative Experience)](https://localseodata.com/glossary/sge): Google's earlier name for AI Overview, retired in 2024.
- [LLM citation](https://localseodata.com/glossary/llm-citation): When an LLM names or links to a domain inside a generated answer.
- [Source attribution](https://localseodata.com/glossary/source-attribution): The practice of LLMs naming the sources that informed an answer.
- [Hallucination](https://localseodata.com/glossary/hallucination): When an LLM generates plausible-sounding but factually wrong information.
- [RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation)](https://localseodata.com/glossary/rag): An LLM architecture that retrieves source documents before generating answers.
- [Vector search](https://localseodata.com/glossary/vector-search): Search that ranks results by semantic similarity, not keyword match.
- [Semantic search](https://localseodata.com/glossary/semantic-search): Search that understands meaning and intent, not just exact-match keywords.
- [Embeddings](https://localseodata.com/glossary/embeddings): Numerical representations of text that capture meaning for ML systems.
- [Topical authority](https://localseodata.com/glossary/topical-authority): A domain's perceived expertise across an entire topic cluster.
- [MCP (Model Context Protocol)](https://localseodata.com/glossary/mcp): The open standard letting AI agents call external tools and APIs.
- [AI agent](https://localseodata.com/glossary/ai-agent): An LLM-powered system that takes actions on a user's behalf.
- [Agentic workflow](https://localseodata.com/glossary/agentic-workflow): A multi-step process executed autonomously by an AI agent.
- [Tool calling / Function calling](https://localseodata.com/glossary/tool-calling): An LLM capability for invoking external functions in a structured way.
- [Claude Desktop](https://localseodata.com/glossary/claude-desktop): Anthropic's desktop application for Claude, with native MCP support.
- [ChatGPT Custom GPT](https://localseodata.com/glossary/chatgpt-custom-gpt): OpenAI's user-built variant of ChatGPT, callable via REST endpoints.
- [Context window](https://localseodata.com/glossary/context-window): The maximum amount of text an LLM can process in a single request.
- [Prompt engineering](https://localseodata.com/glossary/prompt-engineering): The craft of writing inputs that reliably produce the desired LLM output.
- [SERP (Search Engine Results Page)](https://localseodata.com/glossary/serp): The page of results Google returns for a search query.
- [Featured snippet](https://localseodata.com/glossary/featured-snippet): A short excerpt Google shows at the top of search results to answer a question.
- [People Also Ask (PAA)](https://localseodata.com/glossary/people-also-ask): Google's accordion of related questions shown inside search results.
- [Local Services Ads (LSA)](https://localseodata.com/glossary/local-services-ads): Pay-per-lead ads shown above the Local Pack for service businesses.
- [Google Guaranteed](https://localseodata.com/glossary/google-guaranteed): Trust badge on Local Services Ads — Google backs the work.
- [Google Screened](https://localseodata.com/glossary/google-screened): Trust badge on professional-services LSAs — Google verified credentials.
- [Rich results](https://localseodata.com/glossary/rich-results): Search results with extra visual elements pulled from structured data.
- [Sitelinks](https://localseodata.com/glossary/sitelinks): The sub-links Google shows under a top result, pointing to interior pages.
- [Review velocity](https://localseodata.com/glossary/review-velocity): The rate at which a business accumulates new reviews over time.
- [Owner reply rate](https://localseodata.com/glossary/owner-reply-rate): The percentage of reviews on a business profile the owner has responded to.
- [Review sentiment](https://localseodata.com/glossary/review-sentiment): The emotional tone — positive, neutral, negative — extracted from review text.
- [Verified review](https://localseodata.com/glossary/verified-review): A review whose author the platform has confirmed as a real customer.
- [Star rating](https://localseodata.com/glossary/star-rating): The 1-5 numeric rating attached to a business or product review.
- [E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness)](https://localseodata.com/glossary/e-e-a-t): Google's content-quality framework used in ranking guidance.
- [Data aggregator](https://localseodata.com/glossary/data-aggregator): A wholesale business-data provider that feeds NAP info to downstream directories.
- [Yext](https://localseodata.com/glossary/yext): A listings-management service that syncs NAP across a fixed directory network.
- [Primary vs secondary citation](https://localseodata.com/glossary/primary-secondary-citation): Major directories that influence ranking vs niche directories that don't.
- [Directory listing](https://localseodata.com/glossary/directory-listing): A business's profile entry on a directory site like Yelp, BBB, or Yellow Pages.
- [Aggregator pollution](https://localseodata.com/glossary/aggregator-pollution): When one bad NAP entry at an aggregator propagates errors to dozens of directories.
- [Search volume](https://localseodata.com/glossary/search-volume): How many times a keyword is searched per month on a given engine.
- [CPC (Cost Per Click)](https://localseodata.com/glossary/cpc): The average price an advertiser pays for one click in paid search.
- [Keyword difficulty](https://localseodata.com/glossary/keyword-difficulty): An estimate of how hard it is to rank organically for a given keyword.
- [Search intent](https://localseodata.com/glossary/search-intent): The reason behind a query — commercial, informational, navigational, transactional.
- [Long-tail keyword](https://localseodata.com/glossary/long-tail-keyword): Specific, multi-word queries with lower volume but higher intent.
- [Head keyword](https://localseodata.com/glossary/head-keyword): Short, broad, high-volume queries — the head of the search-volume curve.
- [Google Autocomplete](https://localseodata.com/glossary/google-autocomplete): Google's real-time query suggestions as you type in the search box.
- [Topic cluster](https://localseodata.com/glossary/topic-cluster): A pillar page plus interlinked supporting pages on a related topic.
- [Backlink](https://localseodata.com/glossary/backlink): A hyperlink from another website pointing to yours.
- [Domain authority (DA)](https://localseodata.com/glossary/domain-authority): Moz's 0-100 prediction of how well a domain will rank in search.
- [Anchor text](https://localseodata.com/glossary/anchor-text): The visible, clickable text of a hyperlink.
- [Dofollow / Nofollow](https://localseodata.com/glossary/dofollow-nofollow): Link attributes that signal whether search engines should pass authority.
- [Schema markup / Structured data](https://localseodata.com/glossary/schema-markup): Standardized tags that help search engines understand page content.
- [Core Web Vitals](https://localseodata.com/glossary/core-web-vitals): Google's three page-experience metrics: LCP, CLS, INP.
- [Pigeon update (2014)](https://localseodata.com/glossary/pigeon-update): Google's 2014 algorithm change that tied local results closer to web search signals.
- [Possum update (2016)](https://localseodata.com/glossary/possum-update): Google's 2016 local update that filtered duplicate businesses by shared address.
- [Vicinity update (2021)](https://localseodata.com/glossary/vicinity-update): Google's 2021 local update that increased the weight of proximity in ranking.
- [Helpful Content Update](https://localseodata.com/glossary/helpful-content-update): Google's recurring algorithm signal that demotes content written for ranking, not readers.

## Links

- Documentation: https://localseodata.com/docs
- MCP setup: https://localseodata.com/docs/mcp-server
- Pricing: https://localseodata.com/pricing
- Sign up: https://localseodata.com/signup
- For AI Agents: https://localseodata.com/for/claude