GBP/Local-First Audit Mode (No-Website Clients)

GBP/Local-First Audit Mode (No-Website Clients) 

 Implemented: MC #102861 (2026-06-03) 
 Driver: First real client Smoke House Hadžići (no website, GBP-only) via partner Asmir 
 Status: PASS — type-check, build, validate:phase4, validate:phase5, validate:gbp-local 

 Overview 

 The SEO Readiness Portal now supports clients who do not have a website and rely solely on Google Business Profile (GBP) as their primary online presence. This is a common scenario for small local businesses (restaurants, trades, services). 

 When a client is detected as no-website , the audit runner switches into GBP-first mode and runs a different checklist tailored to local optimization best practices. 

 Detection Logic 

 No-website mode is activated when: 

 
 intake.hasWebsite === false (explicit opt-in), OR 
 site.canonicalUrl is empty or blank (implicit) 
 

 The detection is implemented in src/lib/audit/runner.ts function isNoWebsiteMode(site, intake) . 

 New Intake Fields (Optional, Non-Breaking) 

 Three new fields have been added to the Intake type ( src/lib/workspace/types.ts ): 

 
 
 
 Field 
 Type 
 Purpose 
 
 
 
 
 hasWebsite 
 boolean? 
 Explicit override: when false, forces no-website mode even if canonicalUrl is not empty 
 
 
 gbpClaimed 
 boolean? 
 Whether the business owner has claimed the GBP listing 
 
 
 gbpManagerAccess 
 boolean? 
 Whether ALAI/partner has been added as a manager to the GBP listing 
 
 
 

 All three are optional and undefined-safe . Existing fixtures and validations are unaffected. 

 GBP-First Checklist (12 Checks) 

 When no-website mode is active, the audit runs the following checks instead of website-dependent checks: 

 
 
 
 Check ID 
 Severity 
 Category 
 Description 
 
 
 
 
 intake-not-submitted 
 P1 
 evidence 
 Intake must be submitted or reviewed before workspace is review-ready 
 
 
 gbp-first-strategy 
 P1 
 local 
 Strategy finding: recommends GBP-first approach + optional simple-site later 
 
 
 gbp-not-claimed 
 P0 
 local 
 Business owner has not claimed the GBP listing → cannot manage or optimize 
 
 
 gbp-manager-access-missing 
 P1 
 local 
 ALAI/partner not added as manager → cannot perform optimization work 
 
 
 gbp-claim-status-unknown 
 P1 
 local 
 Claim/manager status not confirmed → action recommended to clarify 
 
 
 gbp-nap-url-missing 
 P1 
 local 
 GBP URL not recorded → NAP consistency cannot be verified 
 
 
 gbp-primary-category-missing 
 P2 
 local 
 Priority services missing → cannot determine correct GBP primary category 
 
 
 gbp-hours-not-confirmed 
 P2 
 local 
 Business hours not confirmed → can reduce customer trust 
 
 
 gbp-photos-not-confirmed 
 P2 
 local 
 Photos not confirmed → profiles with photos attract more engagement 
 
 
 gbp-review-routine-not-confirmed 
 P2 
 local 
 Review response routine not set → important trust/engagement signal 
 
 
 gbp-posts-not-confirmed 
 P2 
 local 
 GBP posts activity not confirmed → posts keep profile active and relevant 
 
 
 missing-priority-services 
 P2 
 content 
 Priority services missing → needed for page/backlog recommendations 
 
 
 missing-competitors 
 P2 
 content 
 Competitor list missing → needed for manual review context 
 
 
 access-status-unknown 
 P2 
 evidence 
 Analytics/Search Console access status unknown 
 
 
 

 Total: 12 checks in no-website mode vs. 6 in standard website mode. 

 Skipped Website-Dependent Checks 

 The following checks are conditionally skipped in no-website mode: 

 
 httpsCanonicalCheck — requires canonicalUrl 
 domainMatchCheck — requires canonicalUrl and domain 
 

 These are replaced by the GBP-specific checks above. 

 Report/Backlog/Export Flow 

 GBP-first findings flow through the existing report/backlog/export workflow with no changes: 

 
 Findings are categorized (new local category introduced) 
 Backlog conversion works as normal 
 Markdown export includes all GBP findings 
 No-ranking disclaimer is preserved 
 

 Validation Scripts 

 A new fixture script validates the no-website path: 

 npm run validate:gbp-local 

 This runs scripts/validate-gbp-local.ts which: 

 
 Creates a test client with empty canonicalUrl 
 Runs the local audit in no-website mode 
 Asserts exactly 12 checks are run 
 Confirms gbp-first-strategy finding is present 
 

 Existing validations remain unchanged and passing: 

 
 npm run validate:phase4 — standard website path (6 checks) 
 npm run validate:phase5 — report generation 
 

 GBP API Integration (Deferred) 

 Important operator note: This is a manual-input MVP . The portal does not integrate with the Google Business Profile API to fetch live data (photos count, reviews count, hours, etc.). 

 All GBP checks rely on: 

 
 Intake fields ( gbpClaimed , gbpManagerAccess , googleBusinessProfileUrl ) 
 Intake notes (hours/photos/reviews confirmed via text patterns) 
 

 Live GBP API integration is a follow-on scope , likely in parallel with Google Search Console/Analytics integration (MC #102806 deferred). 

 Safe Defaults 

 All GBP checks follow a fail-closed philosophy: 

 
 If a field is undefined or unknown → emit an "action recommended" finding (P1 or P2) 
 Never emit a false pass 
 

 Example: if gbpClaimed is undefined , the check emits gbp-claim-status-unknown (P1) asking the operator to confirm with the client. 

 Implementation Evidence 

 
 Source: src/lib/audit/runner.ts lines 124-437 
 Types: src/lib/workspace/types.ts lines 54-63 
 Fixture: scripts/validate-gbp-local.ts 
 Validation: npm run validate:gbp-local passes 
 Build: npm run type-check and npm run build pass 
 

 Summary 

 The SEO Readiness Portal now handles two client profiles : 

 
 Website clients (existing path) — 6 checks, website-dependent validation 
 No-website / GBP-only clients (new path) — 12 checks, GBP-first optimization 
 

 Detection is automatic based on canonicalUrl or explicit hasWebsite flag. Both paths use the same report/backlog/export workflow. No breaking changes to existing fixtures or validations.