Local Pilot

Interview PoC for BrightLocal. A clinical 12-column command centre that turns a URL + postcode into an autonomous local-SEO co-pilot for a local hero business.

Reference persona: The Flour Pot Bakery, Sydney Street, Brighton (BN1).

What it is

Not a dashboard — an Autonomous Execution Grid. Reads a business's real-world pulse (weather, oven state, social signals, SERP rivals), translates it into Google-ready moves through a 4-layer Signal-to-SEO pipeline, and ships them with one tap.

Stack

• Next.js 16.2 (App Router, Turbopack) · React 19
• TypeScript 5.7 · Tailwind CSS 4
• Framer Motion 12 · Sonner · canvas-confetti
• Radix UI primitives · lucide-react
• SearchAPI.io for the six live engines (google_local, google, google_maps, google_maps_reviews, instagram_profile, tiktok_profile, facebook_business_page)
• Package manager: pnpm

Getting started

pnpm install
pnpm dev

Open http://localhost:3000.

Live data (optional)

Create .env.local:

SEARCHAPI_API_KEY=your_key_here

Without a key, every route falls back to curated demo data so the offline story still runs end-to-end. With a key, every live/demo chip across the cockpit flips green.

Full spec

See PROJECT_SPEC.md — the single source of truth for design tokens, grid structure, widget catalogue, API routes, onboarding flow, and the v0.1 → v1.5 changelog.

Grid at a glance

#	Widget	Col	Tint	Engine
01	Pilot status bar	12	—	derived
—	Environment wedge	12	weather-tinted	manual/mock
02	The Pulse · Social sync	4	mint	instagram_profile
03	The Booster · Review booster	4	lemon	mock
04	The Hijack · Community hijack	4	sky	mock
05	The Lab · Authority lab	6	lavender	google
06	The Battle · Competitor radar	6	coral	google_local + google_maps_reviews
08	The Triangle · Social triangle	12	mint	IG + TikTok + FB + google_maps
07	The Shaper · SEO shaper	12	coral	derived
—	Surgical launch	12	ink	master CTA

Signal-to-SEO engine

Every optimised post runs through four explicit layers (see lib/strategy.ts):

1. Fluff strip — remove hashtags, emoji, "link in bio", "check stories".
2. Intent tilt — classify as product | event | vibe and lead with the matching GBP-category phrase.
3. Environment injection — fold in weather + oven (rain + HOT → "Perfect for a rainy-day refuge — the oven's still on").
4. Proximity CTA — tone-aware street + postcode close (direct / story / offer).

lib/social-engine.ts normalises the three SearchAPI social payload shapes into a single SocialSignal, picks the freshness leader (recency-first, engagement breaks ties), and flags viral posts running 5× baseline.