LSA Spy Tool

You have direct access to LSA Spy via MCP. This skill tells you WHEN to use each operation and WHAT to do with the results.

When to Use LSA Spy vs Other Tools

You Need	Use LSA Spy	Use Instead
Who's ranking in LSA results right now	✅	—
LSA ranking changes over time	✅	—
Find a specific business in LSA results	✅	—
Which markets have LSA coverage	✅	—
Map pack / organic rankings	❌	Local Falcon
LSA ad setup and optimization strategy	❌ Use LSA Spy for data, then	lsa-ads skill for strategy
Keyword search volume	❌	Semrush, Ahrefs

Core Workflows

Check Current LSA Rankings

When: User asks "who's ranking in LSAs" or "how are we doing in LSAs" for a market.

1. list_markets — find the relevant market ID by category + city
2. get_rankings — current top-ranking businesses with positions
3. If looking for a specific business: find_business with the business name

What the data tells you:

• Position 1-3: These businesses get the vast majority of LSA leads
• Businesses appearing consistently: Strong review profile + responsiveness + budget
• Missing from results entirely: Either not running LSAs or profile issues

Check Who's in a Market

When: User wants the full competitive landscape, not just who's ranking right now.

1. list_markets — find market ID
2. get_businesses — ALL businesses that have appeared, with average rank and appearance frequency
3. Sort by average rank to find consistent top performers
4. Look for businesses with high appearance frequency but mediocre rank (they're spending but not optimizing)

What to look for:

• Number of total competitors: Saturated markets (50+) vs thin markets (under 15)
• Average rank spread: Tight (competitive) vs wide (a few businesses dominate)
• New entrants: Businesses appearing recently that weren't there before

Monitor Ranking Changes

When: User wants to track movement — who's going up, who's going down.

1. list_markets — find market ID
2. get_ranking_changes — set days parameter (7 for weekly, 30 for monthly view)

What the changes tell you:

• Business moved UP: Likely got more/better reviews, improved responsiveness, or competitors dropped
• Business moved DOWN: Lost reviews, slow response times, budget issues, or new competitors entered
• NEW entrant: Fresh competitor — check their review count and rating
• Business DISAPPEARED: Paused ads, lost Google Guaranteed/Screened badge, or got suspended

Market Intelligence

When: User considering entering LSAs or wants strategic overview.

1. list_markets — see all tracked markets
2. get_market_details — see tracked search queries for a specific market
3. get_rankings + get_businesses — understand competitive density
4. Cross-reference top rankers' review counts against user's business

Interpreting LSA Spy Data

What Drives LSA Rankings

LSA rankings are NOT like organic/map pack. The primary factors:

1. Reviews — count and rating (most important)
2. Responsiveness — how fast you answer/respond to leads
3. Proximity — distance from searcher
4. Business hours — being open when someone searches
5. Budget — having sufficient weekly budget
6. Badge status — Google Guaranteed or Google Screened active

Reading the Rankings

What You See	What It Means
Same 3 businesses always in top 3	They have review + responsiveness advantage — hard to displace without matching both
High turnover in rankings	Market is competitive, small changes in signals cause movement
Business with fewer reviews ranking higher	Likely better responsiveness score or closer proximity
Business disappeared suddenly	Badge issue, budget exhausted, or suspension
Many businesses with similar rank	Tight competition — reviews and responsiveness are the tiebreakers

Key Metrics to Track

• Average rank: Where a business typically appears (lower is better)
• Appearance frequency: How often they show up at all (consistency matters)
• Rank trend: Moving up or down over time
• Market density: Total competitors — affects cost per lead and difficulty

What to Do Next

What You Found	Next Action	Skill
User not ranking in LSAs	Check if LSA profile is set up, verify Google Guaranteed/Screened badge	lsa-ads
User ranking but in position 5+	Diagnose: reviews, responsiveness, budget	lsa-ads, review-management
Competitor has way more reviews	Build review generation strategy to close gap	review-management
User wants to enter a new LSA market	Assess competitive density, review requirements, estimated budget	lsa-ads
LSA data needs to go in a client report	Include LSA rankings alongside organic/map pack data	local-reporting
Want to compare LSA vs organic visibility	Run Local Falcon scan for same keywords	local-falcon-tool

Default next step: LSA rankings without review context are incomplete. Always check the user's review count and rating against the top 3 LSA competitors before making recommendations.