FlashCrafterGuide
What Google says about local ranking, reviews and Local Services Ads, what 2026 consumer data shows, and what each local marketing channel costs, with the weak statistics flagged.
Owners of independent local service businesses in the United States (plumbing, HVAC, electrical, home services, legal and similar trades) who are deciding where to put marketing time and money.
Most local marketing guides give the same list of six to thirteen tactics: Google Business Profile, local SEO, social media, reviews, email, referrals, community sponsorships, local ads and direct mail. What they usually leave out is the part that decides whether those tactics work for a service business: Google's actual rules for profiles and reviews, what the channels cost, and which popular statistics have no traceable source.
This guide starts with what Google itself publishes, then moves to consumer behavior data from 2026, expert opinion on ranking factors, and the published price ranges for each channel. Where a figure comes from a vendor's own price list, a single agency's client sample, or a secondary write-up rather than the original publisher, the text says so. Where sources conflict, you get the range.
Information here was captured on October 1, 2026. Google's Business Profile help pages show no visible date, so check them before acting on any detail. Local Services Ads in particular are changing through late 2026 and 2027.
At a glance
Google says prominence is influenced by links to your business and by reviews, and that there is no way to request or pay for a better local ranking.
Submissions can take up to 5 business days to review. Do not request a second code, because that invalidates the first.
You may ask customers for reviews with a Google link or QR code. Free or discounted goods or services in exchange for a review are described by Google as strictly prohibited.
31% require 4.5+ stars, 47% won't use a business with fewer than 20 reviews, and 74% prioritize reviews from the last three months.
A separate BrightLocal study (July 9, 2026) found 23% used AI tools during a local search, and only 18% of those AI users felt confident contacting a recommended business without verifying.
SearchLight Digital's February 2026 agency data shows a blended $53 per lead across 888 contractor accounts, from $39 (electrical) to $59 (drain/sewer).
Phase 1 covers select US home and storefront service advertisers. Broader groups follow in late 2026, with non-US accounts and remaining categories in 2027.
Minimum 200 pieces, maximum 5,000 per day per ZIP code. Print and design costs are not included.
WebFX is a vendor's own price list. Ahrefs polled 439 SEOs and updated its data on Aug 15, 2024.
Google says pages need to be indexed and snippet-eligible, and that you don't need new machine-readable files, AI text files or markup.
A practical path
Set up and verify your Google Business Profile. Adding or claiming a profile is free. Choose from the verification methods Google offers (phone/SMS, email, postcard, live video call or video recording). You cannot change which are offered.
Check your business name against Google's rules: no marketing taglines, store codes, ALL-CAPS words or business hours.
If you work at customers' locations and have no storefront, hide your address. Keep one profile for your central office and keep your service area within about 2 hours of driving time.
Pick the fewest categories that represent your core business, worded as what the business IS, not what it HAS.
If you verify by postcard, wait. Don't edit your name, address or category while waiting, and don't request a second code. Codes usually arrive within 14 days and expire after 30.
Keep address, hours, category and attributes current, and add photos and videos.
Ask every customer for a review using a Google link or QR code. Do not offer discounts or free goods or services in exchange, and do not discourage negative reviews or solicit only positive ones.
Reply to reviews once verified. BrightLocal's 2026 survey found 80% of consumers will use a business that responds to every review, and 19% expect a same-day response.
Add LocalBusiness structured data to your site with the required name and address, plus telephone, opening hours, geo coordinates (at least 5 decimal places) and URL.
Choose a paid channel only after reading its pricing model. Compare Local Services Ads (pay per valid lead), Google Ads search, Yelp, Meta, Nextdoor and direct mail using the cost table and cautions below.
If you run Local Services Ads, plan for the Performance Max migration: manual max-CPL bidding is no longer supported in Google Ads, weekly budgets convert to daily averages, and LSA performance reports will not transfer.
Track what each channel produces. Set a budget from your own revenue, using the SBA blog's figures by business model as a reference, and review it against the leads and booked jobs each channel delivers.
Watch for these
Google's guidelines say business names can't include marketing taglines, store codes, ALL-CAPS words or business hours. Keyword stuffing the name is also a common tactic in ranking-factor surveys, but Google's own rules limit what the name can contain.
Service-area businesses without a storefront must hide their address. P.O. boxes and virtual offices are ineligible.
Google says the boundaries of a profile's overall service area shouldn't extend farther than about 2 hours of driving time, and a service-area business should have one profile for its central office.
Google says not to edit the name, address or category while waiting for a postcard, and that requesting a second code invalidates the first.
Free or discounted goods or services in exchange for posting, changing or removing a review is described by Google as fake and misleading content and strictly prohibited. Asking with a link or QR code is allowed.
Google's merchant-review policy bars discouraging negative reviews and soliciting only positive ones.
Google states there is no way to request or pay for a better local ranking. Paid ads are separate from local ranking.
Google says there are no additional requirements to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode, and you don't need to create new machine-readable files, AI text files or markup.
The '46% of Google searches have local intent' figure traces back to a single 2018 tweet and Google hasn't published it. '78% of local searches result in offline purchases' appears with no source or year on one agency's page. Use the sourced figures in this guide instead.
The Local Services Ads cost-per-lead data here comes from one agency's client sample of 888 contractor accounts for February 2026. It is useful for a rough benchmark but is not an industry census.
Badges have been unified under Google Verified, and advertisers are being migrated to Performance Max pay-per-lead campaigns. Reports will not transfer, so export what you need.
Choose with context
Google Local Services Ads
Google Ads search
Yelp Ads
Meta lead-gen ads
Nextdoor
USPS Every Door Direct Mail
Local SEO agency
Google Business Profile
| Pricing model | Published price | How reliable the price information is | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google Local Services Ads | Pay per valid lead; weekly budget | None from Google. Agency data: $39 to $59 per lead by trade, $53 blended (Feb 2026) | Model is on Google's pages. Prices come from one agency's sample of 888 contractors. |
| Google Ads search | Cost per click | Home and Home Improvement $7.85 (2025); attorneys $8.58 (2025) | Search summary of WordStream; unverified |
| Yelp Ads | Reported as pay-per-click | None from Yelp. Third party reports $5 per day or $150 per month minimum | Third-party claim; unverified |
| Meta lead-gen ads | Lead objective | $27.39 per lead average (WordStream-attributed) versus $4 to $18 for local services (Coupler.io) | Sources conflict; both from search summaries |
| Nextdoor |
Takeaway
Start with the free, rule-bound basics: a verified Business Profile with a compliant name, a hidden address if you have no storefront, a short and accurate category list, and a steady supply of recent reviews collected without incentives. Customers read reviews almost universally (97% in BrightLocal's 2026 survey) and many set a 4.5-star threshold, so reviews and replies are where small businesses can gain the most for the least cost. Then pick paid channels by their pricing model: Local Services Ads charge per valid lead, but Google publishes no prices and the product is migrating to Performance Max; direct mail has a published USPS price; and the other channels have only unverified third-party ranges. Quote only statistics you can trace to a primary source.
Start here (free)
Verified Google Business Profile with compliant name, hidden address and reviews
Google's ranking factors (relevance, distance, prominence) are influenced by reviews and links, adding or claiming a profile is free, and you can't pay for a better local ranking.
Best for pay-per-lead from Google
Local Services Ads (now moving to Performance Max pay-per-lead)
You pay for valid leads, and agency data for February 2026 shows $39 to $59 per lead across trades. Plan for the migration: manual max-CPL bidding is no longer supported and LSA reports won't transfer.
Best for a published, predictable price
USPS Every Door Direct Mail Retail
$0.26 per piece with a 200-piece minimum and a 5,000 per day per ZIP cap, plus print and design costs you need to add.
Check before you spend
Yelp, Meta, Nextdoor and Google Ads search
The price ranges available come from search summaries or third parties and are not confirmed on the platforms' own pages, so ask for current pricing and test with a small budget.
Google's Business Profile help names three local ranking factors: relevance, distance and prominence. It defines prominence as how well-known a business is, and says prominence is influenced by links to your business and by reviews. The same page is blunt about money: there is no way to request or pay for a better local ranking on Google.
The actions Google lists are practical: verify your profile, keep your address, hours, category and attributes current, respond to reviews, and add photos and videos. None of these costs anything beyond time.
Google's Search Central ranking-systems guide has no dedicated local-ranking section. It lists local features (business details and a Top Places list) in its navigation and includes a paragraph on local news systems. Google's local ranking guidance therefore lives in the Business Profile help, not in the Search Central documentation.
Adding or claiming a Business Profile is free.
Google's Business Profile guidelines set eligibility and naming rules that most generic marketing guides skip. They matter more for service businesses than for storefronts, because many service businesses work from a home office or a truck.
Naming: business names can't include marketing taglines, store codes, ALL-CAPS words or business hours.
Eligibility: P.O. boxes and virtual offices are ineligible. Service-area businesses should have one profile for their central office. Google says the boundaries of the profile's overall service area shouldn't extend farther than about 2 hours of driving time. A service-area business without a storefront must hide its address.
Categories: Google's guidance is that categories should answer 'This business IS a,' not 'HAS a.' Use the fewest categories that represent your core business.
The help articles on these pages show no visible date, so confirm the current wording before making changes.
Google's verification methods are phone or SMS, email, postcard, live video call and video recording. Google decides which methods are offered for your profile, and you can't change that. Live video calls are only available during business hours. Google describes the video-recording option as recommended where eligible. A search summary of Google's help page says the video must be captured live on a phone or tablet and run from 30 seconds to 5 minutes; check Google's own page for the current requirements.
If you verify by postcard, most codes arrive within 14 days and codes expire after 30 days. Reviewing a submission takes up to 5 business days.
Two things to avoid while waiting on a postcard: don't edit the name, address or category, and don't request a second code, because that invalidates the first.
Google says you may ask customers to leave a review using a Google link or a QR code. Reviewers need a Google Account.
Incentives are off the table. Google says offering free or discounted goods or services in exchange for posting, changing or removing a review is fake and misleading content and is strictly prohibited. Its merchant-review policy also bars discouraging negative reviews and soliciting only positive ones.
You must be verified before you can reply to reviews, and replies are checked against Google's content policies. (This detail comes from a search summary of Google's reply help page.)
Google collects 'aspect' ratings, such as price or quality, only for certain service businesses.
BrightLocal's Local Consumer Review Survey 2026 (n=1,002 US adults, SurveyMonkey panel, dated February 11, 2026) is the most current review-behavior data in this guide. The figures below come from BrightLocal's own page.
Some secondary write-ups report different numbers from BrightLocal's page: 41% instead of 45% who always read reviews, 68% instead of 31% requiring a star threshold (stated there as 4.0+, up from 55%), 89% expecting owners to respond, and 59% wanting 20 to 99 reviews before trusting a rating. When in doubt, go by the figures on BrightLocal's page, listed in the first table.
BrightLocal's Consumer Search Behavior Survey 2026 (published July 9, 2026; n=1,227 US consumers who searched for a local business in the prior 3 months) shows how people move across channels. 73% searched on a mobile device. 52% started on Google Search and another 9% on Google Maps. 75% used more than one channel, and 71% used Google Search at some point in the journey. 23% used AI tools; only 18% of those AI users felt confident contacting a recommended business without verifying, and 43% of those who started on AI tools then checked Google.
A search summary of the same study adds that 75% decide in under 30 minutes and 72% look at three or fewer businesses. That summary comes from a secondary source (eMarketer), so confirm it on BrightLocal's page before quoting it.
BrightLocal's statistics roundup also lists 'Just 35% of SMBs have Google Business Profile,' from its 2025 SMB Marketing Report. The roundup page is dated January 14, 2025 but cites 2026 data, so its date is inconsistent.
| Finding | 2026 figure | Comparison where reported |
|---|
Whitespark's 2026 Local Search Ranking Factors, published November 6, 2025, surveyed 47 local search experts. It is an expert-opinion survey, not a measured ranking study, so treat it as informed opinion about what to prioritize, not as proof of how Google's system works.
The top local-pack factors by points are in the table below. Whitespark reports that review and behavioral signals gained importance, and that citations decreased slightly but are still cited as foundational for AI search visibility.
A search summary reports Whitespark's category weights as Google Business Profile 32%, reviews 20%, on-page 19% and links 15%. Those percentages were not visible on Whitespark's page, so don't rely on them.
Nothing in this survey conflicts with Google's statement that you can't pay for a better local ranking; the factors listed involve no payment.
| Rank | Factor | Points |
|---|---|---|
1 | Primary Google Business Profile category |
Google's Search Central documentation says LocalBusiness structured data requires name and address. Recommended properties include telephone, openingHoursSpecification, geo (at least 5 decimal places), priceRange (under 100 characters), url and department. That page was last updated September 8, 2026.
On AI search, Google's AI features documentation (last updated December 10, 2025) says: there are no additional requirements to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode, nor other special optimizations necessary. Pages must be indexed and snippet-eligible, and you don't need to create new machine-readable files, AI text files or markup.
That matters because customers are using AI tools: 45% use ChatGPT for local recommendations per BrightLocal's review survey, and 23% used AI tools in the search journey per its search behavior survey. Those are consumer behaviors, and Google's guidance does not tell you to do anything special for them. The practical response is to keep your profile accurate and your reviews current, since 43% of people who started on AI tools then checked Google.
Google's Local Services Ads charge for valid leads: 'With Local Services Ads, you pay for valid leads.' Prices vary by location, job type, lead type and bidding mode. You set an average weekly budget, and spend can't exceed the monthly maximum (weekly budget multiplied by average weeks per month). Google's LSA page says you choose the budget based on the number of new leads you want every week. It publishes no dollar prices and mentions no sign-up fee. The program covers eight categories: home services, business services, healthcare, learning, care, wellness, beauty and automotive.
A valid lead can be a text or email, a voicemail, an answered call, a returned missed call, or a booking request. Reassessed charges may be credited automatically in the US and Canada, with exclusions for healthcare, tax specialists and EMEA. Google's lead page states no time window for disputes.
Badges: starting October 2025, Google unifies Local Services Ads badges into 'Google Verified,' which supersedes Google Guaranteed, Google Screened, License Verified by Google and the Money Back Guarantee. Google announced this on August 20, 2025. Third-party sources date the end of the money-back guarantee to November 7, 2025, but that date has not been confirmed on a Google page.
Migration: Google is moving LSA advertisers to Performance Max campaigns with pay-per-lead goals. Phase 1 began in August 2026 for select US home and storefront service advertisers. It expands to broader groups in late 2026, with non-US accounts and remaining categories in 2027. Manual max-CPL bidding is no longer supported in Google Ads, and weekly budgets convert to daily averages. LSA performance reports will not transfer. Pay-per-lead pricing continues, with ads showing on Search and Maps.
None of the generic local marketing guides reviewed mention the Google Verified badge change, the end of the money-back guarantee, or the migration to Performance Max.
Two sources give a sense of agency pricing, and they measure different things.
WebFX's own price list says monthly retainers range from $501 to $3,000, one-time projects from $500 to $5,000, and hourly work from $75 to $200 per hour or more. Its listed scope includes 40+ directories and call tracking. The page carries no date, and as a vendor's price list it describes what WebFX sells, not the market.
Ahrefs polled 439 SEOs and updated its data on August 15, 2024. Agencies charge $3,209 per month on average. The most popular monthly rate is $501 to $1,000, chosen by 20.4% of respondents. Local SEO averages $1,557 per month. The most common hourly rate is $75 to $100 (24% of respondents), and 90% charge $150 per hour or less. Some search summaries describe this as 2026 survey data with a $501 to $2,000 most-common range; the page itself says 2024 and $501 to $1,000.
| Measure | WebFX (vendor price list) | Ahrefs (439 SEOs, Aug 2024) |
|---|---|---|
Monthly retainer | $501 to $3,000 |
Because Google publishes no prices, the best available benchmark is agency data. SearchLight Digital analyzed February 1 to 28, 2026 data (page last updated March 2026): $6.72 million in spend across 888 contractors and 126,650 leads. This is a single agency's client sample, not an industry census, so use it for rough planning and compare it against your own account.
A search summary of the same vendor's data, published by The Valley Marketing Group, adds a plumbing booking rate of 44.5% and an average ticket of $1,714. That summary has not been checked against the original page.
| Trade | Cost per lead | Accounts in sample |
|---|---|---|
Blended | $53 | 888 |
Google Ads search. WordStream's benchmark page could not be opened directly, so these figures come from a search summary and should be checked before use. Home and Home Improvement average CPC was $7.85 in 2025, and $8.33 in 2026-labelled data (up 6.1%). Attorneys and Legal Services were $8.58 in 2025 and $9.87 in 2026-labelled data.
Yelp Ads. Yelp's advertise page publishes no pricing and gives a sales phone number. Third-party claims, which are not from Yelp and have not been verified, say ads start at $5 per day or $150 per month, are pay-per-click, and run $2 to $8 per click for home services and $5 to $15 or more for legal (WebFX).
Meta (Facebook) ads. No Meta page was read, and the two available sources conflict. A WordStream-attributed benchmark gives lead-generation averages of 2.70% CTR, $1.80 CPC and $27.39 cost per lead, with Home and Home Improvement CPC at $2.18 for the lead objective. A separate vendor (Coupler.io) claims local-services cost per lead of $4 to $18. Treat both as unverified and test with a small budget.
Direct mail. USPS Every Door Direct Mail Retail is $0.26 per piece, and EDDM BMEU is as low as $0.259. The minimum is 200 pieces and the maximum is 5,000 per day per ZIP code. Pieces are addressed to 'Postal Customer.' No effective date was visible on the page, and print and design costs are not included.
Nextdoor. Figures here come from third-party summaries (tech.co and nearleadsgrow.com), not Nextdoor's pricing page. A business page is free, with two free business posts per month. Self-serve CPC or CPM bidding has recommended minimum bids of about $2 CPC and $10 CPM. Local Deals run from about $1 to an average of about $75. Sponsored Posts are gated to national brands at about $25,000 per month.
| Channel | Pricing model |
|---|
Many guides say the SBA recommends spending 7 to 8% of gross revenue on marketing for businesses under $5 million in sales. A search snippet attributes this to an SBA 'Strategic Marketing' PDF on ascent.sba.gov, but the PDF's text could not be read, and the SBA's Marketing and Sales page states no percentage. Treat the 7 to 8% figure as unconfirmed.
The SBA blog post 'How to Get the Most From Your Marketing Budget' (Rieva Lesonsky, July 9, 2019) gives different numbers. The average business spends 1.08% of revenue on advertising, with retailers at about 4% and restaurants at 1.93%. By business model (2018 data), B2B product companies spend 6.3%, B2B services 6.9%, B2C product 9.6% and B2C services 11.8%. The post says startups should use projected revenue.
The figures are several years old. For a service business that sells to consumers or other businesses, the model rows give a range of 6.9% to 11.8%, but they reflect 2018 data, so use them as a starting reference and adjust to your own results.
| Business type | Share of revenue |
|---|---|
Average business, advertising only | 1.08% |
Several statistics appear in local marketing guides without a verifiable source. If you quote them to customers or in your own marketing, know where they come from.
'46% of Google searches have local intent.' This traces to a Google representative at 'Secrets of Local Search' in Mountain View in October 2018. The only evidence is a tweet by Nick Wilsdon on October 10, 2018, reported by Barry Schwartz at Search Engine Roundtable, who notes he has 'only a tweet.' Google hasn't published the figure. Guides repeat it with no source (ShopMentor), or attribute it to another vendor (HubSpot attributes it to GoGulf, per a search summary).
'78% of local searches result in offline purchases.' Agent Hi5 gives no source or year. A search summary attributes it to Think with Google but gave no URL, so it could not be verified.
HubSpot's local marketing page cites '88% of mobile local searches result in a call or visit within one day,' '61% more likely to contact if mobile-friendly' and '28% of small businesses invest in online listings.' None has a year. The page shows an update date of 01/28/26 and author Allie Decker.
Yelp's article (March 15, 2024) cites Litmus (no year) for 87% on email, Lob (2023) for 74% on direct mail, and Nielsen (2021) for 88% on trusting recommendations from people they know.
For market size, the SBA Office of Advocacy's FAQ About Small Business 2026 (February 3, 2026) reports 36,207,130 small businesses, 99.9% of US businesses, employing 62.3 million people (45.9% of private-sector workers). Those figures come from a search summary because the page was blocked. A June 30, 2025 Advocacy release states the number 'exceeds 36 million.'
A search for 'local business marketing guides' returned, in this order: Hiscox, WareSpace, US Chamber, Agent Hi5, Yelp for Business, ShopMentor, Engage Media, Galant Studios and SFGate Marketing. Another query returned HubSpot's local marketing page and WordStream's 47 local marketing ideas (a 2020 URL). A service-trade query returned ServiceTitan, Jobber, Housecall Pro, Scorpion, Kickserv and similar plumbing-marketing guides. The order is the search tool's, not a rank-tracker result, and a live Google results page may differ by location and date.
The pages that could be read are near-uniform lists of 6 to 13 tactics: Google Business Profile, local SEO, social media, reviews, email, referrals, community and sponsorships, local paid ads and direct mail.
What those guides don't say is useful to a service business owner. The Chamber, Yelp, Agent Hi5, ShopMentor and HubSpot pages give no price, budget or cost-per-lead figure, and HubSpot's gaps include no specific budget recommendations. Where statistics appear, they usually lack a year or source, and the Yelp page uses 2021 to 2023 data. None of them mention the business-name restrictions, hidden addresses for service-area businesses, the roughly 2-hour service-area limit or the incentive-for-review ban. None mention the Google Verified badge change, the end of the money-back guarantee or the 2026 Local Services Ads migration. AI search is absent from the generic guides, although BrightLocal's 2026 data shows 45% using AI tools for local recommendations and 23% using them in the search journey. HubSpot and ShopMentor have limited measurement or ROI content. Agent Hi5 has a section on tracking metrics, tools and adjustments.
The generic pages are written for retail and storefront readers. Trade-specific guides from ServiceTitan, Jobber and Housecall Pro appeared in a separate query but were not reviewed. Also note the business model behind each guide: WareSpace sells warehouse space, Yelp sells ads, and Agent Hi5 is an agency.
These ten points can each be confirmed on the publisher's page. They are the safest basis for decisions.
1. A Business Profile name can't contain taglines, store codes, ALL CAPS or hours (support.google.com/business/answer/3038177). 2. A service-area business with no storefront has to hide its address, and the stated service-area limit is about 2 hours of driving time (same page). 3. Postcard verification codes usually arrive within 14 days and expire in 30. Reviews of submissions take up to 5 business days (support.google.com/business/answer/7107242). 4. Asking for reviews via a Google link or QR code is allowed. Free or discounted goods or services in exchange for a review are not (support.google.com/business/answer/3474122). 5. Google says you can't pay for better local ranking (support.google.com/business/answer/7091). 6. LocalBusiness structured data requires name and address (developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/structured-data/local-business). 7. Google says no special optimization is needed for AI Overviews or AI Mode (developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/ai-features). 8. Local Services Ads charge per valid lead with no published prices. The badge is Google Verified, not Google Guaranteed, and advertisers are being moved to Performance Max pay-per-lead campaigns from August 2026 (support.google.com/google-ads/answer/17213585). 9. EDDM Retail costs $0.26 per piece with a 200-piece minimum (usps.com/business/every-door-direct-mail.htm). 10. BrightLocal's 2026 data: 97% read reviews, 31% need 4.5+ stars and 74% want reviews from the last three months (brightlocal.com/research/local-consumer-review-survey/).
A few points could not be confirmed on a primary page and should be checked before you rely on them. The SBA 7 to 8% marketing budget figure is not confirmed on any readable sba.gov page, and the SBA blog's own figures differ. None of Google's Business Profile help articles show a date. Hiscox's guide, WordStream's benchmarks, the SBA Advocacy FAQ and the Meta, Nextdoor and Yelp pricing pages could not be opened, so figures from them are secondary only. WordStream's 2026 Google Ads CPC figures and the Whitespark category percentages also come only from search summaries.
Questions
Keep reading
Vendor pages change. Figures are as published on the capture date; confirm before deciding.
| Free page; self-serve CPC or CPM |
| About $2 CPC and $10 CPM recommended minimum bids |
| Third-party summaries; unverified |
| USPS Every Door Direct Mail | Per piece | $0.26 per piece (Retail); 200 minimum; excludes print and design | USPS page; no effective date visible |
|---|
| Local SEO agency | Retainer, project or hourly | $501 to $3,000 per month (WebFX); $1,557 per month local SEO average (Ahrefs 2024) | Vendor price list and an Aug 2024 survey of 439 SEOs |
|---|
| Google Business Profile | Free to add or claim | Free | Google help page summary |
|---|
Read reviews for local businesses | 97% | |
'Always' read reviews | 45% | Up from 29% |
Use Google for reviews | 71% | Down from 83% |
Use ChatGPT for local recommendations | 45% | Up from 6% |
Require 4.5+ stars | 31% | Up from 17% |
Won't use a business with fewer than 20 reviews | 47% | |
Prioritize reviews from the last three months | 74% | |
More likely to use a business with positive reviews | 85% | |
Will use a business that responds to every review | 80% | |
Expect same-day responses | 19% | |
Expect punishment for fake reviews | 97% |
Source: BrightLocal, n=1,002 US adults, SurveyMonkey panel, Feb 11, 2026. Figures from BrightLocal's own page. Secondary write-ups report some different numbers (see text).
| Finding | Figure |
|---|---|
Searched on a mobile device | 73% |
Started on Google Search | 52% |
Started on Google Maps | 9% |
Used more than one channel | 75% |
Used Google Search at some point in the journey | 71% |
Used AI tools | 23% |
AI users confident contacting a recommended business without verifying | 18% |
Those who started on AI tools and then checked Google | 43% |
Source: BrightLocal, published July 9, 2026, n=1,227 US consumers who searched for a local business in the prior 3 months.
227 |
2 | Proximity of address to search point | 225 |
3 | Keywords in Google Business Profile business title | 223 |
4 | Physical address in city of search | 213 |
5 | Business open at time of search | 189 |
Source: Whitespark, 2026 Local Search Ranking Factors, published Nov 6, 2025; survey of 47 local search experts. Points as reported.
| Factor experts rank highly | What Google's rules say |
|---|---|
Primary category | Use the fewest categories that represent your core business; categories answer 'This business IS a.' |
Keywords in business title | Names can't include marketing taglines, store codes, ALL-CAPS words or business hours. |
Physical address in city of search | Service-area businesses without a storefront must hide their address. |
Whitespark is expert opinion. Google's guidelines on names and addresses still apply.
Average agency: $3,209 per month; most popular band $501 to $1,000 (20.4%); local SEO average $1,557 per month
One-time project | $500 to $5,000 | Not reported |
Hourly | $75 to $200 per hour or more | Most common $75 to $100 (24%); 90% charge $150 or less |
WebFX is a vendor's own price list (no date on page). Ahrefs polled 439 SEOs; data updated Aug 15, 2024.
Electrical |
$39 |
112 |
HVAC | $51 | 409 |
General / all trades | $54 | 464 |
Plumbing | $57 | 230 |
Drain / sewer | $59 | 23 |
Source: SearchLight Digital, Feb 1 to 28, 2026 data (page last updated March 2026). $6.72M spend, 888 contractors, 126,650 leads. Single agency's client sample.
| Reported price |
|---|
| Basis |
|---|
Google Local Services Ads | Pay per valid lead; weekly budget | No Google price. Agency data: $39 to $59 per lead by trade, $53 blended (Feb 2026) | Google page for model; SearchLight Digital sample for prices |
Google Ads search (home and home improvement) | Cost per click | $7.85 (2025); $8.33 (2026-labelled) | Search summary of WordStream; unverified |
Google Ads search (attorneys and legal) | Cost per click | $8.58 (2025); $9.87 (2026-labelled) | Search summary of WordStream; unverified |
Yelp Ads | Reported as pay-per-click | Yelp publishes none; third party reports $5 per day or $150 per month minimum, $2 to $8 per click for home services | Third-party claim; unverified |
Meta lead-gen ads | Lead objective | $27.39 per lead average and $1.80 CPC (WordStream-attributed); $4 to $18 per lead for local services (Coupler.io). Sources conflict | Search summaries; unverified |
USPS EDDM Retail | Per piece | $0.26 per piece, 200 minimum, 5,000 per day per ZIP code; excludes print and design | USPS page |
Nextdoor | Free page; self-serve CPC or CPM | About $2 CPC and $10 CPM recommended minimum bids; Local Deals about $1 to $75 | Third-party summaries; unverified |
Local SEO agency | Retainer, project or hourly | $501 to $3,000 per month (WebFX); $1,557 per month local SEO average (Ahrefs 2024) | WebFX vendor list; Ahrefs survey |
Verification level matters. Google LSA, USPS and Yelp's own page are primary. WordStream, Meta-related, Yelp per-click and Nextdoor figures are from search summaries or third parties and are not confirmed on the primary page.
Retailers (approximate) | About 4% |
Restaurants | 1.93% |
B2B product | 6.3% |
B2B services | 6.9% |
B2C product | 9.6% |
B2C services | 11.8% |
Source: SBA blog, 'How to Get the Most From Your Marketing Budget,' Rieva Lesonsky, July 9, 2019. Business-model figures are 2018 data. The separate 7 to 8% figure is unconfirmed on a readable SBA page.
| Page | Date / author (as stated) | Covers | Statistics | Costs |
|---|
US Chamber | Feb 10, 2025; Emily Heaslip | What 'local' means, Yelp, Google Business Profile, Nextdoor, directories, newspapers, radio, sponsorships, authenticity | None cited (anecdote of a 2019 local business debate) | None |
Yelp | Mar 15, 2024; Yelp for Business | 10 tactics: email, listings, social, direct mail, referrals, local ads, community, loyalty, blog, influencers | Litmus (undated), Lob 2023, Nielsen 2021 | None; emphasizes free tactics |
WareSpace | Published Apr 25, 2024; modified Jun 23, 2026 | 10 strategies including Google Business Profile, paid local, SMS, local media | None | Only its own warehouse units, from $1,000 per month |
Agent Hi5 | Jun 19, 2025; no author | Google Business Profile, local SEO, social, community, review management, analytics | '78% of local searches result in offline purchases,' no source | None |
ShopMentor | Date not stated | 10 strategies: SEO, social, Google Business Profile, email, reviews, content, partnerships, paid, events, loyalty | '46% of searches local,' no source | None |
HubSpot | Updated 01/28/26; Allie Decker | 9 strategies, localizing site and ads, directories, community | Four stats, none with a year | None |
Pages opened and reviewed. Hiscox returned a 403 error and Engage Media, Galant Studios, SFGate and WordStream were not reviewed.