Appleseed Horticulture audit: full validation package (gate PASS)

docs/validation/2026-08-16-appleseed-horticulture/REPORT-final.md

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+# Appleseed Horticulture
+## Online Presence Audit
+
+**Location:** 560 Placerville Dr, Placerville, CA 95667
+**Vertical:** Garden center / garden & grow supply
+**Audit date:** 16 August 2026
+**Prepared for:** Appleseed Horticulture
+**Prepared by:** VeriPath
+
+---
+
+## Executive Summary
+
+We audited Appleseed Horticulture across its primary online surfaces: Google Business Profile, Apple Maps, and the business's web property. The business is strong on trust — **4.9 ★ across 84 Google reviews** — and its name, address, and phone number are consistent across the major directories.
+
+**4 material integrity issues were identified:**
+
+1. No functioning website is linked on the business profile, and the business's own domain is offline.
+2. The business category is inconsistent between directories (garden center vs. shopping).
+3. No business description is set on the Google profile.
+4. Operating hours disagree between Google and Apple Maps on the weekend.
+
+The profile itself is healthy and well-rated. The issues below are about the *owned web property* and *cross-directory consistency*, not about the business's reputation.
+
+---
+
+## Surfaces Reviewed
+
+| Surface | Status | Rating | Reviews |
+|---------|--------|--------|---------|
+| Google Business Profile | ✓ | 4.9 ★ | 84 |
+| Apple Maps | ✓ | — (not surfaced) | — (not surfaced) |
+| Bing Places | ✗ | capture blocked (bot-wall) — excluded, not verified | — |
+| Website | ✓ | proxy capture only (Facebook page) — no owned site (see Finding 1) | — |
+
+**Verified NAP (name-address-phone):**
+
+| Field | Value | Sources agreeing |
+|-------|-------|------------------|
+| Name | Appleseed Horticulture | Google, Apple, Yelp, Facebook |
+| Address | 560 Placerville Dr, Placerville, CA 95667 | Google, Apple |
+| Phone | (530) 622-5190 | Google, Apple, Yelp, Facebook |
+
+NAP is consistent across all four sources. No name, address, or phone conflicts were found.
+
+---
+
+## Findings
+
+### Finding 1: No functioning website is linked to the business
+
+**Observation:**
+The Google Business Profile has **no website field set**. The business's Facebook page lists `appleseedhorticulture.net`, but that domain does not resolve (DNS returns no record). A related domain, `appleseedhorticulture.com`, resolves but serves a dormant Shopify "Store unavailable" page — not a live business site.
+
+**Impact:**
+Without a working website, the business has no owned property: no service or inventory pages, no structured data (schema), no online ordering or catalog, and no destination for the profile to point to. It also limits how the business appears in AI and map-based answers, which increasingly rely on a citable website. All web presence currently routes through third-party pages (Facebook, Yelp, directories) the business does not control.
+
+**Recommendation:**
+Confirm which domain is the intended one and bring it back online (or register a clean domain), then link it on the Google profile, Apple, and Facebook. At minimum the site should carry the address, phone, hours, a short service/inventory description, and a LocalBusiness schema block.
+
+---
+
+### Finding 2: Business category is inconsistent across directories
+
+**Observation:**
+Google lists the primary category as **"Garden center."** Apple Maps lists it as **"Shopping."**
+
+**Impact:**
+The category is a core local-ranking signal. Apple's generic "Shopping" bucket is far less specific than "Garden center," so the Apple listing is optimized for fewer, less relevant searches (e.g., "garden center Placerville," "garden supplies," "hydroponics"). The mismatch also weakens the consistency signal local search relies on.
+
+**Recommendation:**
+Align the category to the most specific accurate one on every surface — "Garden center" (with "Nursery" / "Garden supply" as secondary categories where the platform allows). Confirm with the owner which categories best match the actual mix of plants, soil, and grow/hydroponic supplies sold.
+
+---
+
+### Finding 3: No business description is set on the Google profile
+
+**Observation:**
+No business description is present on the Google profile, and no description was captured on any other checked surface.
+
+**Impact:**
+An empty description leaves the local-pack snippet to Google's default rendering and forfeits the business's own language about what it sells (plants, soil, garden and grow/hydroponic supplies, family-owned since 2012). That's lost relevance for category searches and a weaker click-through in the map pack.
+
+**Recommendation:**
+Write a 2–3 sentence Google profile description covering what the business sells, that it is family-owned, and the service area. Reuse the same language on Apple and Facebook so the description is consistent everywhere.
+
+---
+
+### Finding 4: Operating hours disagree between Google and Apple Maps (weekend)
+
+**Observation:**
+Google (authoritative) lists **Sat 10 AM–5 PM** and **Sun 11 AM–4 PM**. Apple Maps lists **Sat 10:00 AM–4:00 PM** and **Sun 10:00 AM–4:00 PM** — so Saturday shows a one-hour earlier close and Sunday a one-hour earlier open on Apple. (Weekday Apple hours were captured with a formatting error and are excluded from this finding.)
+
+**Impact:**
+Customers planning a visit see different weekend availability depending on which directory they use. Mismatched hours cause missed visits and confusion, especially at the edges of the weekend day.
+
+**Recommendation:**
+Confirm the actual weekend hours with the owner, then set the authoritative schedule on Google and align Apple (and Facebook) to match exactly.
+
+---
+
+## Priority Actions
+
+| # | Action | Effort | Impact |
+|---|--------|--------|--------|
+| 1 | Bring the business website back online and link it on all profiles | L | High |
+| 2 | Align category to "Garden center" across surfaces | S | Medium |
+| 3 | Write and set the business description | S | Medium |
+| 4 | Confirm weekend hours and align Apple to Google | S | Medium |
+
+---
+
+## Data Limitations
+
+This audit ran without authenticated access to the business's listings. Known ceilings:
+
+- **Review text and dates** were not captured; rating and count only (Google: 4.9 ★ / 84).
+- **Bing Places** is bot-walled for headless capture in this run; that surface is excluded from the audit, not verified.
+- **Apple Maps** did not surface a rating or review count on the listing; its hours capture contained a weekday formatting error (weekend deltas only were used).
+- **Photos** count on the Google profile was not captured in this run.
+- This is a **point-in-time snapshot**; directory data changes after the audit date.
+
+*Prepared under the VeriPath beta audit process v1.1. Findings reflect reviewed engine output; format-level discrepancies (phone country-code normalization, a weekday hours capture artifact) were normalized and excluded before inclusion. Phone number verified consistent across Google, Apple, Yelp, and Facebook.*

docs/validation/2026-08-16-appleseed-horticulture/VALIDATION.md

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+# Validation Run: Appleseed Horticulture
+
+**Date:** 16 August 2026
+**Business:** Appleseed Horticulture
+**Rating:** 4.9 ★ | **Reviews:** 84
+**Engine findings:** 8 | **Material (in report):** 4 | **Rejected FP/low-signal:** 2 | **Needs verification:** 0
+
+## Reviewer dispositions (locked process v1.1 §3)
+
+### Material (in REPORT-final.md)
+
+- **immediate** — Hours mismatch on 7 day(s) — GBP is authoritative  
+  `Approved, scoped: 5 of 7 deltas are a scraper artifact (Apple captured as "5:1800 PM" — timezone leak, PARSE1800). Genuinely differing days re-derived from raw capture: Sunday (11 AM–4 PM vs 10:00 AM–4:00 PM) and Saturday close (5 PM vs 4:00 PM). Report Finding 4 carries the clean weekend deltas only; the weekday capture artifact is documented in Data Limitations.`
+- **high** — No JSON-LD schema found on website  
+  `Approved, re-scoped: the "website" surface captured in this run is the business's Facebook page because GBP has no website field. The true claim is larger: no functioning owned website exists. FB lists appleseedhorticulture.net (NXDOMAIN — dead, verified by DNS 2026-08-16) and appleseedhorticulture.com resolves to a dormant Shopify "Store unavailable" page (verified by HTTP 2026-08-16). Report Finding 1.`
+- **medium** — No business description found on any surface  
+  `Approved: gbp description = null, apple description = null in raw capture. Report Finding 3.`
+
+### Approved beyond engine materiality
+
+- **medium** — Category varies across surfaces: garden center, shopping  
+  `Engine classified low-signal (per-platform taxonomy). Reviewer approves as material: Apple's generic "Shopping" bucket is a real discoverability loss for "garden center" category searches. Report Finding 2.`
+
+### Rejected (false-positive / tooling gap)
+
+- ~~Phone number inconsistent across 1 surface(s)~~ — `False positive: the "conflicting" third number 8666666666 is a Facebook page JS artifact captured in website.phone_on_page, not a business number. Google and Apple are identical after +1 normalization ((530) 622-5190). Phone independently corroborated consistent on Yelp and Facebook.`
+- ~~Cannot determine review recency — no dates available in samples~~ — `Tooling gap: scraper captures no review dates. Documented as a Data Limitation, not a finding.`
+
+### Enhancement tier (noted, excluded from client report per v1.1)
+
+- Price level not set on GBP or Apple Maps
+- No Open Graph tags on website (subsumed by Finding 1 — no owned site to tag)
+
+## Blocked surfaces (v1.1 §4)
+
+- **Bing Places** — no data returned (bot-wall). Noted in the Surfaces Reviewed table with the failure reason; excluded from the audit, not reported as a bare ✗.
+- **Website** — capture succeeded against the Facebook proxy page. The absence of an owned website is carried as Finding 1 (customer-path leakage), not as a blocked surface.
+
+## Legacy check (conditional)
+
+Not triggered — no name or location change in the last 3–5 years indicated at intake. (The dormant .com / dead .net domains are covered under Finding 1.)
+
+## GATE RESULT
+
+**PASS** — report_gate.py, 2026-08-16T01:20:15
+
+- Count: 4 stated / 4 material after review — match
+- Identity: report title + date match raw capture ('Appleseed Horticulture', 16 August 2026) — match
+- Surface disclosure: all captured/failed surfaces rendered correctly — match
+- Material support: every material finding re-derived from raw capture — hold
+- Needs-verification open: 0

docs/validation/2026-08-16-appleseed-horticulture/appleseed_horticulture_multi_surface_2026-08-16.json

@@ -0,0 +1,133 @@
+{
+  "audit": {
+    "timestamp": "2026-08-16T01:01:21.118029+00:00",
+    "tool": "multi_scraper_v1",
+    "surfaces_checked": {
+      "google_business_profile": true,
+      "apple_maps": true,
+      "bing_places": false,
+      "website": true
+    },
+    "verification": {
+      "phone_mismatch": {
+        "primary": "(530) 622-5190",
+        "conflicts": {
+          "apple": "+1 (530) 622-5190"
+        }
+      },
+      "hours_mismatch": {
+        "saturday": {
+          "google": "10 AM-5 PM",
+          "apple": "10:00 AM-4:00 PM"
+        },
+        "sunday": {
+          "google": "11 AM-4 PM",
+          "apple": "10:00 AM-4:00 PM"
+        },
+        "monday": {
+          "google": "9:30 AM-5:30 PM",
+          "apple": "9:00 AM-5:1800 PM"
+        },
+        "tuesday": {
+          "google": "9:30 AM-5:30 PM",
+          "apple": "9:00 AM-5:1800 PM"
+        },
+        "wednesday": {
+          "google": "9:30 AM-5:30 PM",
+          "apple": "9:00 AM-5:1800 PM"
+        },
+        "thursday": {
+          "google": "9:30 AM-5:30 PM",
+          "apple": "9:00 AM-5:1800 PM"
+        },
+        "friday": {
+          "google": "9:30 AM-5:30 PM",
+          "apple": "9:00 AM-5:1800 PM"
+        }
+      }
+    }
+  },
+  "primary_source": "google_business_profile",
+  "name": "Appleseed Horticulture",
+  "address": "560 Placerville Dr, Placerville, CA 95667",
+  "phone": "(530) 622-5190",
+  "website": null,
+  "rating": 4.9,
+  "reviews": 84,
+  "reviews_sample": null,
+  "hours": {
+    "saturday": "10 AM-5 PM",
+    "sunday": "11 AM-4 PM",
+    "monday": "9:30 AM-5:30 PM",
+    "tuesday": "9:30 AM-5:30 PM",
+    "wednesday": "9:30 AM-5:30 PM",
+    "thursday": "9:30 AM-5:30 PM",
+    "friday": "9:30 AM-5:30 PM"
+  },
+  "category": "Garden center",
+  "price_level": null,
+  "photos_count": null,
+  "description": null,
+  "coordinates": {
+    "lat": 38.7328427,
+    "lon": -120.8263245
+  },
+  "closed_status": {
+    "permanently_closed": false,
+    "temporarily_closed": false
+  },
+  "sources": {
+    "google_business_profile": {
+      "name": "Appleseed Horticulture",
+      "address": "560 Placerville Dr, Placerville, CA 95667",
+      "phone": "(530) 622-5190",
+      "website": null,
+      "rating": 4.9,
+      "reviews": 84,
+      "hours": {
+        "saturday": "10 AM-5 PM",
+        "sunday": "11 AM-4 PM",
+        "monday": "9:30 AM-5:30 PM",
+        "tuesday": "9:30 AM-5:30 PM",
+        "wednesday": "9:30 AM-5:30 PM",
+        "thursday": "9:30 AM-5:30 PM",
+        "friday": "9:30 AM-5:30 PM"
+      },
+      "category": "Garden center",
+      "price_level": null,
+      "description": null,
+      "photos_count": null,
+      "latitude": 38.7328427,
+      "longitude": -120.8263245,
+      "url": "https://www.google.com/maps/place/Appleseed+Horticulture/@38.7328427,-120.8263245,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m6!3m5!1s0x809a59dcdca3b659:0x896f9a2b5ac6f8be!8m2!3d38.7328427!4d-120.8263245!16s%2Fg%2F1hhvm3klf?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI2MDgxMi4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D",
+      "permanently_closed": false,
+      "temporarily_closed": false
+    },
+    "apple_maps": {
+      "address": "560 Placerville Dr, Placerville, CA  95667",
+      "hours": {
+        "sunday": "10:00 AM-4:00 PM",
+        "saturday": "10:00 AM-4:00 PM",
+        "monday": "9:00 AM-5:1800 PM",
+        "tuesday": "9:00 AM-5:1800 PM",
+        "wednesday": "9:00 AM-5:1800 PM",
+        "thursday": "9:00 AM-5:1800 PM",
+        "friday": "9:00 AM-5:1800 PM"
+      },
+      "coordinates": {
+        "lat": 38.7328373,
+        "lon": -120.8263434
+      },
+      "name": "Appleseed Horticulture",
+      "category": "Shopping",
+      "phone": "+1 (530) 622-5190",
+      "website": "https://www.facebook.com/Appleseed-Horticulture-226187400847519/"
+    },
+    "bing_places": null,
+    "website": {
+      "source_url": "https://www.facebook.com/Appleseed-Horticulture-226187400847519/",
+      "title": "Facebook",
+      "phone_on_page": "8666666666"
+    }
+  }
+}

docs/validation/2026-08-16-appleseed-horticulture/findings.json

@@ -0,0 +1,153 @@
+{
+  "audit_engine": "v1",
+  "timestamp": "2026-08-16T01:15:32.625723+00:00",
+  "business": "Appleseed Horticulture",
+  "summary": {
+    "total_findings": 8,
+    "severity_counts": {
+      "immediate": 2,
+      "high": 1,
+      "medium": 3,
+      "enhancement": 2
+    },
+    "sub_score_issues": {
+      "Digital Identity": 2,
+      "Google Business": 1,
+      "Technical SEO": 2,
+      "Reviews": 1,
+      "Content": 2
+    },
+    "surfaces_ok": {
+      "google_business_profile": true,
+      "apple_maps": true,
+      "website": true
+    },
+    "surfaces_failed": {
+      "bing_places": false
+    },
+    "rating": 4.9,
+    "reviews": 84
+  },
+  "findings": [
+    {
+      "id": "nap_phone_mismatch",
+      "severity": "immediate",
+      "title": "Phone number inconsistent across 1 surface(s)",
+      "sub_score": "Digital Identity",
+      "evidence": {
+        "google": "(530) 622-5190",
+        "apple": "+1 (530) 622-5190",
+        "website": "8666666666"
+      },
+      "recommendation": "Standardize phone format across all directories. GBP is authoritative."
+    },
+    {
+      "id": "hours_mismatch",
+      "severity": "immediate",
+      "title": "Hours mismatch on 7 day(s) \u2014 GBP is authoritative",
+      "sub_score": "Google Business",
+      "evidence": [
+        {
+          "day": "saturday",
+          "google": "10 AM-5 PM",
+          "apple_maps": "10:00 AM-4:00 PM"
+        },
+        {
+          "day": "sunday",
+          "google": "11 AM-4 PM",
+          "apple_maps": "10:00 AM-4:00 PM"
+        },
+        {
+          "day": "monday",
+          "google": "9:30 AM-5:30 PM",
+          "apple_maps": "9:00 AM-5:1800 PM"
+        },
+        {
+          "day": "tuesday",
+          "google": "9:30 AM-5:30 PM",
+          "apple_maps": "9:00 AM-5:1800 PM"
+        },
+        {
+          "day": "wednesday",
+          "google": "9:30 AM-5:30 PM",
+          "apple_maps": "9:00 AM-5:1800 PM"
+        },
+        {
+          "day": "thursday",
+          "google": "9:30 AM-5:30 PM",
+          "apple_maps": "9:00 AM-5:1800 PM"
+        },
+        {
+          "day": "friday",
+          "google": "9:30 AM-5:30 PM",
+          "apple_maps": "9:00 AM-5:1800 PM"
+        }
+      ],
+      "recommendation": "Correct hours on non-GBP surfaces to match GBP. Mismatched hours cause customer complaints and trust loss."
+    },
+    {
+      "id": "missing_jsonld_schema",
+      "severity": "high",
+      "title": "No JSON-LD schema found on website",
+      "sub_score": "Technical SEO",
+      "evidence": {
+        "url": "https://www.facebook.com/Appleseed-Horticulture-226187400847519/",
+        "has_jsonld": false
+      },
+      "recommendation": "Add LocalBusiness/BeautySalon JSON-LD schema. Critical for rich results and local ranking."
+    },
+    {
+      "id": "review_dates_unavailable",
+      "severity": "medium",
+      "title": "Cannot determine review recency \u2014 no dates available in samples",
+      "sub_score": "Reviews",
+      "evidence": {
+        "sources_with_dates": []
+      },
+      "recommendation": "Review date data is not available from current surfaces. Monitor via GBP dashboard directly."
+    },
+    {
+      "id": "category_fragmentation",
+      "severity": "medium",
+      "title": "Category varies across surfaces: garden center, shopping",
+      "sub_score": "Digital Identity",
+      "evidence": {
+        "google": "garden center",
+        "apple": "shopping"
+      },
+      "recommendation": "Align primary category across all directories. GBP primary category is the ranking driver."
+    },
+    {
+      "id": "no_description",
+      "severity": "medium",
+      "title": "No business description found on any surface",
+      "sub_score": "Content",
+      "evidence": {
+        "surfaces_checked": [
+          "google",
+          "bing",
+          "website"
+        ]
+      },
+      "recommendation": "Add a keyword-rich description to GBP and website. Descriptions improve click-through and category relevance."
+    },
+    {
+      "id": "no_price_level",
+      "severity": "enhancement",
+      "title": "Price level not set on GBP or Apple Maps",
+      "sub_score": "Content",
+      "evidence": {},
+      "recommendation": "Set price level ($\u2013$$$$) on GBP. Helps users self-select and improves relevance."
+    },
+    {
+      "id": "missing_og_tags",
+      "severity": "enhancement",
+      "title": "No Open Graph tags on website",
+      "sub_score": "Technical SEO",
+      "evidence": {
+        "url": "https://www.facebook.com/Appleseed-Horticulture-226187400847519/"
+      },
+      "recommendation": "Add OG tags for proper link preview on social media and messaging apps."
+    }
+  ]
+}

docs/validation/2026-08-16-appleseed-horticulture/findings.md

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+# Audit Findings — Appleseed Horticulture
+
+**Generated:** 2026-08-16 01:15 UTC
+**Sources checked:** google_business_profile, apple_maps, website
+**Rating:** 4.9 | **Reviews:** 84
+
+## Severity Summary
+
+| Severity | Count |
+|----------|-------|
+| 🟥 Immediate | 2 |
+| 🟧 High | 1 |
+| 🟨 Medium | 3 |
+| 🟩 Enhancement | 2 |
+| **Total** | **8** |
+
+## Findings
+
+### Finding #1: Phone number inconsistent across 1 surface(s)
+
+- **Severity:** 🟥 Immediate
+- **Category:** Digital Identity
+- **Recommendation:** Standardize phone format across all directories. GBP is authoritative.
+- **Evidence:** ```json
+{
+  "google": "(530) 622-5190",
+  "apple": "+1 (530) 622-5190",
+  "website": "8666666666"
+}
+```
+
+### Finding #2: Hours mismatch on 7 day(s) — GBP is authoritative
+
+- **Severity:** 🟥 Immediate
+- **Category:** Google Business
+- **Recommendation:** Correct hours on non-GBP surfaces to match GBP. Mismatched hours cause customer complaints and trust loss.
+- **Evidence:** ```json
+[
+  {
+    "day": "saturday",
+    "google": "10 AM-5 PM",
+    "apple_maps": "10:00 AM-4:00 PM"
+  },
+  {
+    "day": "sunday",
+    "google": "11 AM-4 PM",
+    "apple_maps": "10:00 AM-4:00 PM"
+  },
+  {
+    "day": "monday",
+    "google": "9:30 AM-5:30 PM",
+    "apple_maps": "9:00 AM-5:1800 PM"
+  },
+  {
+    "day": "tuesday",
+    "google": "9:30 AM-5:30 PM",
+    "apple_maps": "9:00 AM-5:1800 PM"
+  },
+  {
+    "day": "wednesday",
+    "google": "9:30 AM-5:30 PM",
+    "apple_maps": "9:00 AM-5:1800 PM"
+  },
+  {
+    "day": "thursday",
+    "google": "9:30 AM-5:30 PM",
+    "apple_maps": "9:00 AM-5:1800 PM"
+  },
+  {
+    "day": "friday",
+    "google": "9:30 AM-5:30 PM",
+    "apple_maps": "9:00 AM-5:1800 PM"
+  }
+]
+```
+
+### Finding #3: No JSON-LD schema found on website
+
+- **Severity:** 🟧 High
+- **Category:** Technical SEO
+- **Recommendation:** Add LocalBusiness/BeautySalon JSON-LD schema. Critical for rich results and local ranking.
+- **Evidence:** ```json
+{
+  "url": "https://www.facebook.com/Appleseed-Horticulture-226187400847519/",
+  "has_jsonld": false
+}
+```
+
+### Finding #4: Cannot determine review recency — no dates available in samples
+
+- **Severity:** 🟨 Medium
+- **Category:** Reviews
+- **Recommendation:** Review date data is not available from current surfaces. Monitor via GBP dashboard directly.
+- **Evidence:** ```json
+{
+  "sources_with_dates": []
+}
+```
+
+### Finding #5: Category varies across surfaces: garden center, shopping
+
+- **Severity:** 🟨 Medium
+- **Category:** Digital Identity
+- **Recommendation:** Align primary category across all directories. GBP primary category is the ranking driver.
+- **Evidence:** ```json
+{
+  "google": "garden center",
+  "apple": "shopping"
+}
+```
+
+### Finding #6: No business description found on any surface
+
+- **Severity:** 🟨 Medium
+- **Category:** Content
+- **Recommendation:** Add a keyword-rich description to GBP and website. Descriptions improve click-through and category relevance.
+- **Evidence:** ```json
+{
+  "surfaces_checked": [
+    "google",
+    "bing",
+    "website"
+  ]
+}
+```
+
+### Finding #7: Price level not set on GBP or Apple Maps
+
+- **Severity:** 🟩 Enhancement
+- **Category:** Content
+- **Recommendation:** Set price level ($–$$$$) on GBP. Helps users self-select and improves relevance.
+
+### Finding #8: No Open Graph tags on website
+
+- **Severity:** 🟩 Enhancement
+- **Category:** Technical SEO
+- **Recommendation:** Add OG tags for proper link preview on social media and messaging apps.
+- **Evidence:** ```json
+{
+  "url": "https://www.facebook.com/Appleseed-Horticulture-226187400847519/"
+}
+```
+
+## Failed Surfaces
+
+- ❌ `bing_places` — no data returned