Data Studies
Research on the map pack, Google Business Profiles and reviews. These studies measure what local businesses do on Google and what the ones that rank have in common: review counts, ratings and reply rates, profile completeness, categories and distance from the searcher. The data comes mainly from Google Business Profiles and the Google reviews on them, plus Google Maps results and Google search results for local searches, with Tripadvisor listings for restaurant comparisons. Use them to see which local signals are worth your time in your industry and city.
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Google reviews posted in the last 12 months average 41 words, up from 30 in 2021, and the share of reviews with no text at all has fallen from one in three to under one in five. One-star reviews are the longest, at 88.5 words.
Price is the most common complaint in one-star Google reviews: 34.5% mention price or cost, against 13.1% of five-star reviews. Waiting (19.6%) and rude staff (18.4%) follow, and one-star reviews of moving companies mention price almost half the time.
Happy customers praise trust more than warmth: 30.2% of five-star Google reviews use the word "recommend" and 20.6% say "professional", while 11% say "friendly". In five-star reviews of roofers, 44.1% say "recommend".
70.5% of restaurants listed on both Tripadvisor and Google have a lower rating on Tripadvisor. The same restaurants average 4.41 stars there against 4.52 on Google, and 43.2% reach 4.5 stars on Tripadvisor against 73.7% on Google.
58.1% of plumber Google Business Profiles have fewer than 20 reviews, and 57.9% of plumbing businesses never replied to any of their 20 newest reviews, five points above the average of 18 local business categories.
45% of one-star Google reviews of HVAC companies mention price or cost. HVAC companies keep tidier Google Business Profiles than most local businesses, but 52.2% have fewer than 20 reviews and they reply to 27.6% of negative reviews, against 53% of five-star ones.
The median US roofer has 9 Google reviews, a third of the median of 27 across 18 local business categories, and 60.7% of roofers have fewer than 20. Roofers reply to reviews more than most businesses, but 45.5% still never replied to any of their recent ones.
77.5% of electrician Google Business Profiles have fewer than 20 reviews, the second-highest rate of 18 local business categories, and the median electrician has 4. 64.8% of electricians never replied to any of their recent Google reviews.
55.2% of dentist Google Business Profiles are unclaimed, meaning no one at the practice controls the listing, against a 29.2% average across 18 local business categories. Claimed dentist profiles have a median of 61 reviews; unclaimed ones have none.
76.2% of US law firms never replied to any of their 20 newest Google reviews, the highest rate of 18 local business categories, against a 52.8% average. Law firms reply to 16.2% of negative reviews, and 77.4% have fewer than 20 Google reviews.
28.8% of US restaurants are rated below 4 stars on Google, about twice the 13.8% average across 18 local business categories, even though the median restaurant has 214 Google reviews. 50.3% of restaurants never replied to any of their recent reviews.
49.9% of US auto repair shop Google Business Profiles link no website, against a 35.1% average across 18 local business categories, the widest gap of any profile field. Shops in Google's top three map results link one 76.2% of the time.
Hair salons reply to 30.7% of their Google reviews, 16th of 18 local business categories, against a 40.5% average, even though their customers rate them highly: an average of 4.69 stars, with 4.8% of salons below 4 stars.
Gyms reply to 44.1% of their one- and two-star Google reviews, against a 30.8% average across 18 local business categories, the highest rate of the 18. They also have deeper review profiles: 41.1% of gym Google Business Profiles have fewer than 20 reviews, against a 58.2% average.
48.7% of veterinary practice Google Business Profiles have 100 or more reviews, more than twice the 20% average across 18 local business categories, and the median practice has 86 reviews. Price drives the complaints: 40.5% of one-star vet reviews mention cost.
81.1% of real estate agent Google Business Profiles have fewer than 20 reviews, the highest share of 18 local business categories, and the median agent has 2 reviews. Yet the agents Google shows first in Maps have a median of 21, a bar most agents could reach.
77% of landscaper Google Business Profiles have fewer than 20 reviews, against a 58.2% average across 18 local business categories, and 64.7% of landscaping businesses never replied to any of their 20 newest reviews.
46.7% of chiropractor Google Business Profiles are unclaimed, against a 29.2% average across 18 local business categories, and claimed chiropractors have a median of 22 Google reviews against 1 for unclaimed ones.
Pest control companies reply to 58.4% of their Google reviews, against a 40.5% average across 18 local business categories, and 36.5% never replied to any recent review, the lowest share of the 18. Only 5.5% of pest control listings are unclaimed.
47.5% of English-language one-star Google reviews of moving companies mention price or cost, against 18.3% that mention rude or unprofessional staff. Movers answer their reviews more than most local businesses, but 17.3% of moving companies sit below 4 stars.
Cleaning services reply to 60.8% of their Google reviews, the highest rate of 18 local business categories and well above the 40.5% average. Their weak spot is volume: 72.1% have fewer than 20 reviews.
21.7% of rated daycare Google Business Profiles sit below 4 stars, against a 13.8% average across 18 local business categories, and 60% of daycares never replied to any of their 20 newest reviews. Parents' one-star reviews focus on staff more than on price.
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