Insights & Analytics

GBP Insights provide valuable data about how customers find and interact with your business. Use this data to optimize your local presence.

Available Metrics

Discovery Metrics

How customers find you:

Direct searches: Searched for your business name
Discovery searches: Searched for category/product/service
Branded searches: Searched for related brand

What this tells you:

Direct = brand awareness
Discovery = local SEO effectiveness
High discovery = good keyword optimization

Visibility Metrics

Where customers see you:

Search views: Seen in Google Search
Maps views: Seen in Google Maps
Total views: Combined visibility

Trends to watch:

Growing views = improving visibility
Search vs Maps ratio varies by business
Mobile typically dominates Maps views

Action Metrics

What customers do:

Website clicks: Clicked to your website
Direction requests: Asked for directions
Phone calls: Called your business
Messages: Sent a message

Conversion indicators:

High actions relative to views = engaged audience
Low actions = profile or relevance issues
Compare to competitors if possible

Photo Metrics

Photo engagement:

Views of your photos
Comparison to similar businesses
Most viewed photos

Interpreting Data

Benchmarking

Against yourself:

Week over week comparison
Month over month trends
Year over year seasonality

Against category:

GBP shows category averages (when available)
Above average = outperforming
Below average = room for improvement

Identifying Patterns

Seasonal patterns:

Holiday impacts
Weather effects
Industry seasonality
Event-driven spikes

Weekly patterns:

Best performing days
Action timing
Customer behavior cycles

Warning Signs

Declining views:

Lost rankings
Competitor gains
Algorithm changes
Profile issues

Low action rates:

Poor profile quality
Wrong category
Irrelevant traffic
Missing information

Unusual spikes:

Bot traffic
News mention
Competitor actions
Data errors

Advanced Analysis

Attribution Challenges

What GBP doesn't tell you:

Actual conversions/sales
Revenue from GBP traffic
Customer journey beyond click
Phone call outcomes

How to bridge the gap:

UTM parameters on website links
Call tracking numbers
Landing page analytics
CRM integration

Correlation Analysis

Connect metrics to actions:

Post frequency → engagement
Photo additions → views
Review responses → sentiment
Information updates → relevance

Multi-Location Analysis

Compare locations:

Identify top performers
Spot underperformers
Find best practices
Allocate resources

Using Data for Optimization

Profile Improvements

Based on insights:

Low discovery → improve categories/description
Low actions → add compelling CTAs
Low photo views → update photos
High certain action → optimize for it

Content Strategy

Data-driven content:

Post when engagement highest
Topics aligned with searches
Photos that perform well
Offers that drive action

Resource Allocation

Invest where data supports:

High-potential locations
Growing categories
Converting traffic sources
Effective tactics

Tracking Tools

GBP Dashboard

Native insights available in your profile:

Basic metrics
Simple trends
Category comparisons

Google Search Console

Connect for additional data:

Search queries
Click-through rates
Position data
Website performance

Google Analytics 4

Track website behavior from GBP:

Landing page performance
Conversion tracking
User behavior
Traffic attribution

Third-Party Tools

Enhanced analytics options:

Rank tracking
Competitor comparison
Historical data
Custom reporting

Reporting Best Practices

Regular Reporting

Weekly:

Views and actions overview
Review activity
Notable changes

Monthly:

Trend analysis
Month-over-month comparison
Goal progress

Quarterly:

Strategic review
Year-over-year comparison
Competitive analysis

Key Metrics to Track

Visibility:

Total views (search + maps)
View growth rate
Category ranking indicators

Engagement:

Actions per view
Action growth rate
Most valuable actions

Reviews:

New review count
Average rating
Response rate and time

Reporting Format

Executive summary:

Key numbers at a glance
Notable changes
Recommended actions

Detailed analysis:

Metric breakdowns
Trend visualizations
Correlation insights

Action items:

Specific recommendations
Priority ranking
Expected impact

Limitations of GBP Data

Data Delays

Not real-time
24-48 hour lag typical
Monthly data may take longer

Data Accuracy

Estimates, not exact counts
Bot traffic included
Attribution challenges
Privacy thresholds

Historical Data

Limited historical access
Export before it's gone
Third-party tools for archives

Missing Data

Individual user behavior
Conversion data
Revenue attribution
Offline conversions

Key Takeaways

Monitor trends, not just absolute numbers
Connect GBP data to business outcomes
Use data to drive optimization decisions
Compare against yourself and category
Acknowledge data limitations