A business’s online presence often begins and ends with its Google My Business (GMB) profile. Across industries, from local retail stores to service providers and niche vendors, how visible and accurate a GMB listing is can mean the difference between foot traffic and missed opportunity. As mobile search and “near me” behaviour continue to rise, a well-optimised GMB listing becomes essential to reach local customers. This article analyses the latest data and trends to help businesses understand GMB’s real-world impact and unlock its potential.
Many local businesses, from neighbourhood restaurants to independent clinics, now rely on GMB to drive customer visits, calls, and bookings. Meanwhile, franchise chains and multi-location retailers use it to maintain consistent visibility across regions. Scroll through the full article to see why GMB remains a powerful tool.
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- 80% of U.S. consumers search online for a local business at least once a week.
- 72% of consumers rely on Google when they look up local business information.
- 76% of people who perform a local “near me” search on their smartphone visit a business within 24 hours.
- On average, a local business with a GMB listing receives 1,260 views per month.
- 70% of consumers are more likely to visit or consider purchasing from a business with a complete GMB profile.
- 48% of customer interactions on GMB result in a website visit.
- 88% of smartphone users who search for a local business contact or visit it within a day.
Recent Developments
- Google removed in-profile chat, call logs, and GBP-hosted websites in 2024 as part of a streamlining effort.
- Verification standards tightened, requiring video verification and recent utility documents starting in 2024.
- Google now uses generative AI in 13.14% of searches to populate business profile overviews.
- Thousands of suspicious reviews were purged in late 2024 to improve review authenticity.
- 86% of GMB views in 2024 came from category-based or intent-driven searches.
- 30% of businesses with outdated profiles saw a drop in local search visibility.
- Fully populated and verified profiles surface 80% more often and generate 4× more website visits.
- Google’s AI overview feature rewards profiles with complete, structured, and current content.
- Mobile and location-based local searches account for over 70% of total local searches.
- Businesses with recent photos and accurate hours of operation see 12% more calls and 10% more direction requests.
Key Google My Business Usage Statistics
- 80% of U.S. consumers search online for a local business at least weekly.
- 32% of American consumers perform local business searches multiple times a day.
- 72% of consumers rely on Google when searching for local business information.
- 51% of users turn to Google Maps for local business discovery, second only to Google Search.
- 61% of 18–24-year-olds in the U.S. still use Google for local business lookup.
- 42% of searchers click on the “Google Map Pack” in local queries.
- 62% of consumers say they will avoid a business if online information seems incorrect.
- 64% of consumers use GMB to find a business’s address or phone number.
- A local business listing receives 1,260 views per month on average.
- 48% of customer actions on GMB listings result in a website visit.

Why Google My Business Is Important for Local Businesses
- Nearly 46% of all Google searches have local intent, highlighting the importance of GMB for discovery.
- 64% of consumers have used Google My Business listings to find a local business’s address or phone number.
- On average, a local business receives 1,260 views each month through GMB, with 75% of views coming from Search.
- About 78% of location-specific mobile searches on Google result in an in-store purchase.
- Searches for “near me” or “close by” keywords on Google have grown by more than 900% since 2018.
- Over 70% of customers are directed to physical stores by local search, facilitated by GMB listings.
- Multi-location brands often create and maintain separate GMB profiles for each site to ensure consistent and accurate information.
- Businesses with well-maintained GMB profiles see higher customer engagement, including increases in calls, direction requests, and website clicks.
- 96% of local businesses get at least 25 monthly views on their GMB listings through Google Search.
- GMB listings with complete information and positive reviews significantly build consumer trust and drive foot traffic to physical stores.
Verified Google Business Profile Rates by Industry
- Property Management leads the pack with 83% of businesses having a verified Google Business Profile, underscoring its strong digital validation.
- The Hospitality sector follows closely with an impressive 81% verification rate, underscoring a robust online presence in customer-centric services.
- Healthcare and Retail industries demonstrate high verification adoption, showing 75% and 73% verified profiles, respectively, signalling strong digital participation.
- Technology companies sustain a solid 70% verification rate, reflecting consistent engagement in online business authentication.
- Both Consumer Goods and Beauty & Wellness show strong representation, with 69% and 65% verified profiles, highlighting active digital visibility.
- The Finance sector also reports 65% verification, indicating a notable rise in digital engagement.
- The Recreation and Legal industries exhibit moderate verification levels at 58% and 57%, respectively, reflecting measured online adoption.
- Automotive and Home Services industries lag behind, each showing only 45% of businesses verified, illustrating comparatively low digital verification rates.

“Near Me” Search Queries and Local Discovery Trends
- 76% of smartphone users who search for a “near me” business visit or call it within 24 hours.
- Nearly one in three local mobile searches is location-related.
- After a strong GMB presence, 45% of consumers are likely to visit a physical location.
- 44% of people use search engines to find businesses or services in a specific location.
- Two out of three consumers decide what they will buy before entering a store.
- Local mobile searches with purchase-intent terms have jumped by 500% over two years.
- Approximately 30% of all mobile searches relate to location.
- 58% of consumers have used voice search to find a local business.
How Consumers Find Businesses Online
- 72% of consumers use Google when searching for business information.
- 51% of users rely on Google Maps for local searches.
- On average, consumers use 3.6 platforms when researching a purchase.
- 44% of searchers use location-specific queries to look up businesses.
- 42% of online searches use generic, non-brand terms.
- 45% of users who discover a business online visit the physical location.
- 62% avoid a business if its online information seems incorrect.
- 64% use GMB to access phone numbers or addresses.
- 91% of consumers get frustrated if a business shows incorrect online information.
- GMB remains a primary source of online visibility due to its high engagement potential.

Proportion of Direct vs. Discovery Searches
- The average business receives about 1,009 searches per month, with roughly 84% from discovery searches and 16% from direct searches.
- Discovery searches outnumber direct searches by over 5-to-1, highlighting the importance of generic search visibility.
- About 34% of local businesses appear in more than 1,000 discovery searches per month.
- The share of discovery searches is higher in industries like hospitality and retail.
- Discovery and direct search metrics help businesses understand where visibility originates.
- Businesses optimising for generic search terms gain more reach than those relying on brand recognition.
- GBP continues to provide detailed Search and Maps breakdowns for monitoring visibility.
Average Monthly Views and Search Impressions
- The average GBP listing receives 1,260 monthly views, with 943 from Search and 317 from Maps.
- 75% of monthly views typically come from Search, 25% from Maps.
- 49% of businesses report more than 1,000 Search views monthly.
- 96% of businesses receive at least 25 monthly Search views, and 86% get at least 25 from Maps.
- Google continues to report monthly views, search terms, and engagement metrics.
- High-ranking and well-maintained profiles dominate in impressions.
- Recently updated profiles toward photos, hours, and services receive consistently higher impressions.
Website Visits from Google My Business Profiles
- 48% of all actions on Google My Business profiles result in website visits.
- A typical Google My Business listing receives about 33 website clicks per month.
- Verified Google My Business profiles may see up to 105 monthly website visits.
- Complete Google My Business profiles generate 7 times more clicks than incomplete ones.
- Businesses with optimised profiles get an average of 59 website clicks per month.
- Local searches on Google My Business have a high intent to visit or buy, driving valuable website traffic.
- Google My Business listings provide traffic data separate from general website analytics.
- Cost-effective Google My Business traffic benefits businesses without heavy SEO budgets.
- Between 2017 and 2018, website clicks from Google My Business listings grew by 29%.
- On average, 75% of Google My Business views come from Google Search, contributing to website visits.
Google My Business Call and Direction Request Statistics
- 64% of consumers use GBP to find contact information.
- A typical listing generates 59 actions per month, including calls and direction requests.
- 16% of listings receive 100+ calls per month.
- Verified listings may generate around 200 interactions per month.
- Direction requests and calls are key engagement indicators.
- GBP continues to track calls and direction requests.
- Complete profiles yield higher call and direction-request volumes.
Impact of Complete and Verified Business Profiles
- Complete, verified profiles outperform incomplete listings in engagement.
- Verified profiles gain better visibility in local searches and maps.
- Verified listings generate around 21,643 annual search views.
- Updated profiles signal relevance and trustworthiness.
- GBP is free, making verification a high-ROI action.
- Fully optimised listings stand out in competitive markets.
- In 2025’s search environment, complete profiles remain essential for visibility.
Most Important Performance Metrics for Businesses
- Return on Investment (ROI) remains the top priority, with 60% rating it as very important, emphasising its role as a key performance metric.
- Sales/Revenue comes closely behind at 57%, reflecting a strong organisational emphasis on financial outcomes.
- The conversion rate is regarded as very important by 53% of businesses, highlighting its significance in performance evaluation.
- Cost per lead follows next, with 43% stating it is a crucial metric for assessing marketing effectiveness.
- Website traffic is viewed as very important by 41%, placing it on equal footing with cost per lead in terms of perceived value.
- Calls are considered very important by 39%, indicating moderate attention to direct customer engagement.
- Foot traffic is the least prioritised, with only 35% viewing it as very important, and 17% rating it as not at all important, marking the highest level of negative sentiment among all metrics.

Reviews and Ratings: Influence and Totals
- 87% of customers engage with businesses rated 3–4 stars.
- 73% trust reviews written within the last month.
- 95% of customers read online reviews before purchase.
- GBP reviews hold primary importance in local reputation.
- Over 90% of consumers prefer businesses with positive reviews.
- Reviews influence local ranking indirectly through trust signals.
- Steady review flow matters more than large one-time bursts.
Conversion Rates for Google My Business Listings
- Fully optimised profiles convert at 4.5%, incomplete ones at 1.8%.
- Adding products and services increases conversions by 28%.
- Updated listings show 32% better performance.
- Responding to reviews yields 5.1% conversion rates.
- Booking integrations raise conversions by 19%.
- Multilingual profiles convert 14% better.
- Optimised listings are 3.2 times more likely to convert.
- Localised GMB posts increase conversions by 17%.
Google Maps and Location-Based Interactions
- 76% of local searches on Google result in a same-day store visit.
- Businesses in Google Local Pack drive 93% more actions like calls and direction requests.
- Google Maps generates 70% more direction requests than the Local Pack in search results.
- Mobile users are 2.5 times more likely to use Google Maps than desktop users.
- Businesses optimising their Google Business Profile get around 1,200 views per month on average.
- 87% of consumers used Google to evaluate local businesses within the past year.
- Direction requests from Google Maps correlate with a 47% increase in repeat business visits.
- Google Maps visibility can lead to 43% more direct bookings for hotels compared to OTA reliance.
- 68% more phone calls come from Google Maps than Local Pack for service businesses.
- Devices driving Google Maps interactions are predominantly mobile smartphones over desktops.
Key Actions Taken by Customers on Google Business Profile
- Website visits remain the most common action, with 48% of users clicking through to a business’s site.
- Direction requests represent 29%, highlighting a strong intent to visit physical locations.
- Calls to business make up 21% of interactions, reflecting direct interest in real-time communication.
- Other interactions (like viewing photos or reading reviews) are minimal, comprising only 2% of total actions.

Most Active Days and Times for Calls
- Peak call activity occurs between 10 AM and 1 PM on weekdays, accounting for 38% of total weekly calls.
- Mondays see a 16% higher call volume compared to other weekdays.
- Retail and hospitality calls increase by 22% on Saturday afternoons.
- Mobile-originated calls make up 67% of business inbound calls between 9 AM and 5 PM.
- Weekday mornings (8–11 AM) represent 44% of all support calls.
- Call drops are lowest during early afternoons, with a 9% reduction versus late evenings.
- Customer service staffing increases by 15% during periods identified by “actions by hour” analytics.
- Lunch hours (12 PM–2 PM) saw a 29% spike in restaurant and food delivery calls.
- Weekend call volumes for retail rise 18% compared to weekdays.
- On-the-go searches result in 54% of immediate calls within 30 minutes of the search.
Importance of Optimising Google My Business Listing
- In 2025, 80% of AI-driven local searches prioritise complete Google Business Profiles.
- Businesses that maintain an optimised GBP see a 30% increase in local search visibility.
- Google Business Profile delivers a 400% higher ROI compared to traditional ads due to cost efficiency.
- Listings updated weekly are 70% more likely to be trusted by users and ranked higher.
- Responding promptly to reviews can boost conversion rates by up to 80%.
- Small businesses with optimised GBPs capture 60% more local customers than those without.
- Consistent information across multi-location GBPs leads to a 25% improvement in stable local rankings.
- AI-powered searches increase clicks on GBP listings by 50% compared to non-optimised profiles.
- More than 90% of local consumers rely on Google Business Profiles to find trusted service providers.
- GBP posts and updates drive 35% more local traffic through AI-enhanced search results.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Over 7.1 million U.S. businesses use Google My Business in 2025.
GMB listings see an average 37% increase in local search visibility compared to unclaimed listings.
83% of consumers use Google to evaluate reviews of local businesses in 2025.
Businesses with photos see 45% more direction requests than those without.
Conclusion
The data makes a clear case: a fully optimised, complete, and actively managed Google My Business (GMB), now Google Business Profile (GBP), is more than just a digital listing. It is a conversion driver that turns online searches into website visits, calls, direction requests, and real-world customer visits. Businesses that treat GBP as a dynamic channel, updating photos, maintaining accurate info, and engaging with reviews, consistently outperform peers.
Rising expectations for immediacy and accuracy mean that optimising your GBP profile today remains one of the most cost-effective and powerful ways to win local visibility and conversions.

