Most agency websites ask visitors for contact information before giving them anything. The form sits on a page the visitor may or may not find, requesting a name, email, and description of what they need, in exchange for the vague promise that someone will get back to them.
For a visitor who arrived skeptical, that exchange asks for too much too soon. They do not know yet whether you understand their situation. So they close the tab.
An embedded audit tool inverts the sequence. The visitor gets something specific and valuable about their own business first. The contact information comes second, at the moment their interest is highest. Here is how to set one up.
In This Article
What You Need Before You Start
Three things, all of which you likely either already have or can set up in under 20 minutes:
- A WordPress site on any theme. The plugin works with any WordPress installation.
- A Google Places API key to pull live Google Business Profile data, competitor listings, and business details for any business a visitor searches.
- An Anthropic API key to power the AI-generated analysis that converts raw GBP data into plain-language findings and prioritized recommendations.
Both API keys are pay-per-use with no monthly minimums. A typical scan costs between $0.01 and $0.05 in combined API usage. At a volume of several hundred scans per month, the total API cost is usually under $10. You pay each provider directly at their published rates, with no markup from the plugin.
Getting Your Google Places API Key
- Go to console.cloud.google.com and sign in with your Google account.
- Create a new project. Name it anything: “Agency Scanner,” “Local Audit Tool,” or whatever helps you identify it later.
- In the left sidebar, go to APIs and Services, then Library.
- Search for Places API (New) and enable it. Also enable PageSpeed Insights API if you want website performance data included in the scan results.
- Go to APIs and Services, then Credentials. Click Create Credentials and select API Key.
- Copy the key that appears. Store it somewhere accessible.
Optional but recommended: restrict the key to the specific APIs you enabled. In the key settings, under API Restrictions, select Restrict Key and choose Places API and PageSpeed Insights API. This limits the key so it cannot be used for unintended purposes if it ever appears in a browser request.
Cost Expectations for Google API Usage
| Usage Level | Estimated Monthly API Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Light use (under 100 scans/month) | Under $3 | Google offers $200/month free credit for new accounts |
| Moderate use (100 to 500 scans/month) | $3 to $15 | Varies by data depth per scan |
| Heavy use (500+ scans/month) | $15 to $50+ | Set a monthly spend cap in the console to control costs |
Getting Your Anthropic API Key
- Go to console.anthropic.com and create an account.
- Under Billing, add a payment method. Anthropic requires this before generating keys, but charges only when you use the API.
- Go to API Keys in the left navigation and click Create Key.
- Name the key and copy it immediately. Anthropic shows the full key only once at creation.
The recommended model for the scanner is Claude Haiku: the fastest model in the Claude lineup and the most cost-efficient for high-volume scan analysis. A full 8-category scored audit using Haiku runs roughly $0.01 to $0.03 per scan. Claude Sonnet produces richer output at approximately $0.03 to $0.08 per scan. You configure which model to use in the plugin settings.
Installing and Configuring the Plugin
- In your WordPress admin, go to Plugins, then Add New.
- Upload the plugin zip file or install directly if it appears in the directory.
- Activate the plugin. It creates its database tables and admin menus automatically on activation.
- Go to Settings, then the plugin settings panel.
- Paste your Google Places API key into the Google field. Paste your Anthropic API key into the Anthropic field.
- Select your preferred AI model and configure any optional settings: scan radius for competitor detection, number of competitors to include in the report, whether to show PageSpeed data, and lead capture form fields.
- Save settings. The plugin will validate both keys on save and display a confirmation if the connections are working.
Total time for this step if both API keys are ready: under five minutes.
Setting Up the Audit Page
Create a new WordPress page. The content of this page matters more than most agencies realize. The page has one job: get the visitor to enter their business name and run the scan. Everything on the page that does not serve that goal should be removed.
What works:
Headline: “Find Out How Your Google Business Profile Compares to Your Competitors” or “Free Local SEO Audit: See How You Stack Up in 60 Seconds”
Subheadline (one sentence): “Enter your business name and city. We’ll pull your live Google data and show you exactly where you stand.”
Shortcode: [paste the plugin shortcode here]
Nothing else on the page.
No testimonials, no service descriptions, no pricing information. The audit is the offer. Anything else on the page competes with it for attention and reduces conversion. Publish the page and note the URL. That page is now your primary lead capture mechanism.
Where to Link to the Audit Page
- Main navigation: a link labeled “Free Audit” or “Check Your Score” converts consistently from the nav bar
- Homepage hero section: a secondary CTA below your primary headline
- Services pages: inline text links at natural decision points (“see how your current GBP compares”)
- Blog posts: contextual links when the post topic is directly relevant to what the audit measures
- Email signatures: a one-line mention with the direct URL
What Visitors See When They Scan
The visitor enters a business name and city (or address for disambiguation). The scanner queries the Google Places API, identifies the business, pulls its full GBP data, and runs a Lighthouse performance audit against its website. The AI analyzes all of that data and generates an 8-category scored report in plain language.
The report the visitor receives includes:
- An overall composite score with a category breakdown
- Their star rating and review count compared to the nearest competitors by name
- Specific GBP completeness gaps: missing service categories, sparse description, outdated photos
- Mobile PageSpeed score with a plain-language explanation of what it means for their search visibility
- Prioritized recommendations ordered by likely impact
The competitor comparison is the most consistently engaging element. Seeing that a specific named competitor has 3x their review count makes the gap personal. Abstract scores fade. Named competitors stick.
What You Receive and How to Use It
When a visitor submits their email through the lead capture form (included in the premium tier), their record lands in your WordPress pipeline dashboard. You see:
- Business name and location
- Overall score and category breakdown
- The competitor that appeared in their scan, with their review count and rating
- The specific categories where the prospect scored lowest
- Timestamp of the scan
Your first follow-up email is not cold. It references the specific findings from their scan: the competitor’s name, the review gap, the PageSpeed score if it was flagged. The prospect already saw this data. You are continuing a conversation they started with themselves, not introducing a problem they did not know about.
For the follow-up sequence that converts these leads, see How to Follow Up After a Free SEO Audit Request.
Driving Traffic to the Audit Page
The audit page converts well when it gets traffic. The challenge for most agencies is that the page starts with zero organic visibility and no direct audience. Here are the channels that produce results fastest.
| Channel | Time to First Lead | Effort Level | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cold email with audit page link as CTA | Days | Medium | “Run your business through our free audit” converts better than a calendar link as a first-touch CTA |
| LinkedIn posts for local business owners | Days to weeks | Medium | Post about a specific finding from a scan; link to the audit page for readers to check their own business |
| Local business associations and chambers | Weeks | Low ongoing | Offer the audit tool as a free member resource; associations are often looking for valuable content to share |
| Organic search for GBP and local SEO queries | Months | Low ongoing | Blog content that links to the audit page compounds over time; each ranking post drives passive audit traffic |
| Referral partners sending clients to the page | Weeks to months | Medium upfront | Web designers, accountants, and business coaches can refer clients to run the free audit as a starting point |
The fastest path to the first inbound lead from the audit page is cold email that uses the audit as the CTA rather than a discovery call. “Run your business through our free local SEO audit and see how you compare to your top competitor” is a lower-friction first ask than 30 minutes of someone’s time. The prospects who run the scan and submit their email are self-qualifying. The ones who do not are telling you something useful too.