What do the small businesses that show up on Google Maps have in common?
7 questions an owner could check in their own setup
Boise, IDSpokane, WATucson, AZKnoxville, TNColumbus, OHRaleigh, NC
We collect our own data on how small local businesses show up on Google Maps and across the web, then publish what we find. Every finding comes with how sure we are of it, how we measured it, and the data behind it, so you can check it yourself.
We looked at 1,571 owner-operated local businesses across 9 small-business categories and 6 U.S. metros. Seven questions came out of it, each one something an owner could look at in their own setup.
What the websites of small businesses competing on Google Maps do, which practices go with better results, and how doing them well differs by platform and trade.
The same local searches checked again about one and two months after an October 2026 baseline, to see how Maps rankings, listings and websites change over time.
On one online store, do visitors who find it through search buy as often as comparable visitors who arrive directly or from ads?
How well do independent local businesses across the US manage their online presence? Across 27 trades: who has their own website and who relies on a Facebook or directory page instead, how fast those sites are for real visitors, and what their home pages say and run.
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