40 Google Business Profile Statistics for 2026 (Local SEO)

Google Maps now lists 250 million businesses and places and is used by more than 2 billion people a month. Yet only about a third of small businesses have claimed a Google Business Profile.

The businesses that do complete one are seen as 2.7 times more reputable, and 97% of shoppers read reviews before they choose.

Below are 40 Google Business Profile statistics for 2026, covering reach, local search habits, reviews, ranking factors, fake content and AI.

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Key Google Business Profile Statistics

Metric	Latest figure
Businesses and places on Google Maps	250 million
Monthly Google Maps users	2 billion+
Small businesses with a Google Business Profile	35%
Local searches that start on a phone	73%
More likely to be seen as reputable with a complete profile	2.7x
Consumers who read reviews for local businesses	97%
Consumers who use Google to read reviews	71%
Top local pack ranking factor	Primary GBP category
Fake Business Profiles Google removed in 2025	13 million+
Consumers using AI tools for local recommendations	45%

How Many Businesses Use Google Business Profile?

Google Maps holds a quarter of a billion places, but most small businesses still have not claimed their profile.

1. Google Maps lists 250 million businesses and places, up from 150 million in 2015.
2. More than 2 billion people use Google Maps every month, double the number from five years earlier.
3. 500 million people add reviews, photos, ratings and updates to Google Maps each year.
4. Google Maps published more than 1 billion helpful reviews in 2025.
5. Just 35% of small businesses have a Google Business Profile.
6. Only 40% of local businesses have a dedicated website, so for many the profile is their main online presence.

If your business has no profile, you are in the majority, and that is exactly why claiming one is an easy edge over nearby competitors.

How Do People Search for Local Businesses?

Most local searches start on a phone, run through Google, and end in a decision within half an hour.

7. 84% of consumers searched for a local business in the past three months.
8. 73% of local searches start on a mobile device.
9. 52% of consumers started their most recent local search on Google, and 71% used Google Search at some point along the way.
10. 75% of consumers use more than one channel during a local business search.
11. 46% of consumers always or often add “near me” to local searches.
12. 75% of consumers decide which business to use in under 30 minutes, and 28% decide in under five.
13. 72% of consumers look at three or fewer businesses before choosing.
14. 67% of consumers often or always go on to read reviews after a local search.
15. Apple Maps use for local business research nearly doubled in a year, from 14% to 27%.

With only three businesses in the running and a decision in minutes, the profile a searcher sees first often wins. See more in our online review statistics.

What Does a Complete Profile Earn You?

A complete profile makes customers more likely to trust you, visit you and buy from you.

16. Customers are 2.7 times more likely to consider a business reputable when they find a complete Business Profile on Search and Maps.
17. Customers are 70% more likely to visit and 50% more likely to consider buying from a business with a complete profile.
18. The top three reasons consumers pick a business to contact are clear, complete information (32%), the best or most reviews (30%) and clear pricing (29%).
19. 85% of consumers say contact details and opening hours are important when researching a local business.
20. 96% of consumers think it matters that a local business manages its online presence, and 33% say it is a must.

Hours, phone number, categories and services take minutes to fill in, and they are the details searchers check first.

How Much Do Reviews Change Local Decisions?

Reviews are the part of a profile consumers study most, and their standards rose sharply in 2026.

21. 97% of consumers read reviews for local businesses, and 41% always do, up from 29% a year earlier.
22. 71% of consumers use Google to read local reviews, down from 83% in 2025.
23. 68% of consumers will only use a business rated 4 stars or higher, and 31% want 4.5 stars or more, up from 17%.
24. 47% of consumers won’t use a business with fewer than 20 reviews.
25. 74% of consumers only care about reviews written in the last three months.
26. 65% of consumers who rejected a business did so for a review-related reason, such as a low rating or old reviews.
27. 89% of consumers expect a reply to their review, 81% within a week and 19% on the same day.
28. 45% of consumers wrote a Google review in the past year, making Google the most-used site for writing reviews.
29. 83% of people who were asked to leave a review went on to write one.

The fix is simple: ask every customer, reply to every review, and keep new ones coming. Our Google review statistics go deeper, and these Google review response examples help you reply faster.

What Ranks a Google Business Profile?

Local SEO experts rank profile details above almost everything else for the map pack.

30. Your primary Google Business Profile category is the number one local pack ranking factor.
31. Proximity of your address to the searcher ranks second.
32. Keywords in your business title rank third.
33. Being open at the time of the search ranks fifth, a factor added to the list only recently.
34. High Google star ratings rank sixth, and review and behavior signals gained the most weight in 2026.

Choose the most specific primary category, keep hours accurate, and treat reviews as a ranking task, not just a trust signal.

How Much Fake Content Does Google Remove?

Google is removing more fake reviews and profiles every year, which makes genuine ones worth more.

35. Google blocked or removed more than 292 million policy-violating reviews in 2025, up from 240 million in 2024.
36. Google removed more than 13 million fake Business Profiles in 2025 and restricted over 782,000 accounts.
37. Google blocked 79 million inaccurate or unverified edits to Business Profiles in 2025.

Verify your profile and check suggested edits, because a spam attack can pause new reviews on your listing.

How Is AI Changing Local Search?

AI tools went from a niche to a common way to find local businesses in a single year.

38. 45% of consumers use ChatGPT or other AI tools for local recommendations, up from 6% a year earlier.
39. 82% of consumers read AI-generated review summaries, and 23% are happy to decide from the summary alone.
40. Only 68% of business contact details shown on ChatGPT and Perplexity match the business’s Google Business Profile.

AI tools pull from your profile and reviews, so keeping both accurate helps you show up in answers as well as in the map pack.

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How to Use These Numbers

• Claim and verify your profile. Most small businesses still haven’t, so it’s an easy lead.
• Complete every field. Category, hours, phone, services and photos are what searchers and rankings check.
• Keep reviews fresh. Ask every customer; see our guide on how to get more reviews.
• Reply to every review within a few days, in your own words.
• Show reviews on your site too. You can add Google reviews to your website so trust carries past the click.

Wrap Up

Google Business Profile is often the first thing a local customer sees, and for many businesses it matters more than the website.

Claim it, complete it and keep the reviews coming, and you will already be ahead of most competitors in your area.

Sources

Google Maps at 20 | Google Maps 2025 Trust & Safety | Google Business Profile Help | BrightLocal Local Consumer Review Survey 2026 | BrightLocal Consumer Search Behavior | Whitespark Local Search Ranking Factors 2026