Yelp appears in Google's first-page results for 66.6% of "near me" searches and 40.4% of all local searches, usually just below the top three results. For plumbing searches the rate is 73.3%.
Analysis of 5,853 local Google search results pages in 24 industries · Google search results, September 2026
Key Findings
- 1.Yelp ranks on Google's first page for 66.6% of "near me" searches.
- 2.Yelp ranks in Google's first ten results for 40.4% of local searches, against 4.6% of searches that show no local map.
- 3.When Yelp ranks on a local Google search, its best position is 4 at the median, and it holds a top-three spot 39.2% of the time.
- 4.On mobile, Yelp ranks on Google's first page for 30.2% of local searches.
- 5.Yelp ranks on Google's first page for 73.3% of local plumbing searches, against 8.4% of personal injury law searches.
Summary
A homeowner searches "plumber near me", glances at the map, scrolls past it, and clicks the first thing that promises a comparison: a Yelp page listing the ten best plumbers in town. The plumbing company that is not on that list, or sits at the bottom of it, has just lost a customer it never knew was looking.
Below the map of local businesses, Google shows ordinary search results, and those results are not always businesses' own websites. Directory and review sites compete for the same spots, and Yelp is the one that shows up most. For a local business, that makes a Yelp page a second shop window on Google, whether or not the owner ever set it up.
Yelp ranks on Google's first page for 66.6% of "near me" searches and 40.4% of all local searches. It usually sits in positions 2 to 6, just below the top three, and it shows up most for home services such as plumbing and moving, where it appears on more than seven in ten searches.
What we measured
On September 23, 2026 we collected Google's first page of results in the US for searches across 24 industries, from plumbing and moving to dental and personal injury law. We kept the 5,853 desktop results pages that show a local map, the sign that Google treats the search as local, and checked whether yelp.com appears in the ten regular results below it, and in which position.
A local search is one where Google shows a map with nearby businesses. "Near me" searches are searches that include the words "near me", such as "plumber near me". Yelp's best position is its highest-ranked listing on the page. For comparison we ran the same check on 1,711 "near me" searches, on 4,205 local results pages on mobile and on 14,147 results pages that show no local map.
Yelp shows up where Google sees local intent
Across all local searches, Yelp ranks in the first ten results 40.4% of the time. On searches with no local map it appears on 4.6%, so Yelp's presence on Google is almost entirely a local phenomenon. When someone signals they want a business nearby, Google treats a Yelp list of nearby businesses as a good answer.
The rate is lower on phones: Yelp ranks on the first page of 30.2% of local searches on mobile. Search volume makes little difference: Yelp appears for 42.1% of local searches with 1,000 to 10,000 monthly searches and 38.6% of those with 10,000 or more, so it competes for small local searches as well as big ones.
Yelp usually sits just below the top three
When Yelp ranks, its best position is 4 at the median. It holds the number one spot on 6.8% of those searches and a top-three spot on 39.2%, and 73.6% of its appearances fall in positions 2 to 6.
Source: Suff Digital analysis of 5,853 local Google search results pages in 24 industries · Google search results, September 2026
That is prime space. A customer who scrolls past the map reaches Yelp within the first few results, often before any individual business's website. The Yelp page they land on then decides which businesses they see next.
Plumbing and moving searches show Yelp most
Yelp shows up most for home services: 73.3% of local plumbing searches and 71.7% of moving company searches, followed by pest control at 60.6% and home remodeling at 56.5%. It shows up least for legal, auto and wedding searches, and only 8.4% of personal injury law searches.
Source: Suff Digital analysis of 5,853 local Google search results pages in 24 industries · Google search results, September 2026
Home services are the searches where customers most want to compare several providers quickly and read what other homeowners said, which is exactly what a Yelp list offers. Personal injury searches work differently: clients choose a lawyer on reputation and case results, and Yelp rarely makes the first page.
What this means for local business owners
Claim your free Yelp business page and keep it accurate: hours, photos, services and a link to your website. In plumbing and moving searches, Yelp appears on Google's first page more than 70% of the time, so a complete Yelp page puts you in front of customers who scroll past the map. Being listed well on the Yelp pages Google already ranks helps on its own.
Search your main service and city, with and without "near me", and see which Yelp page ranks. Check whether you are on it and where. The businesses near the top of those lists get a second chance at the customer, so keep your Yelp page as complete and current as your Google profile.
Treat Yelp as one of several places your business appears on Google, alongside your own website and Google Business Profile. Our local seo packages include Yelp and other directory profiles in every local review we run.
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<p style="font:14px/1.5 system-ui,sans-serif">Source: <a href="https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/yelp-google-page-one-local-searches">Yelp Ranks on Google's First Page for 66.6% of "Near Me" Searches - Suff Digital</a></p>
Cite this study
Suff Digital. (2026). Yelp Ranks on Google's First Page for 66.6% of "Near Me" Searches. https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/yelp-google-page-one-local-searches
Yelp Ranks on Google's First Page for 66.6% of "Near Me" Searches - Suff Digital - https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/yelp-google-page-one-local-searches
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