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FlashCrafter / First-party field research

How Google Maps results differed across five search points

Provisional finding · Selected observational sample

The first-place profile differed across five points in 91 of 98 area × query groups with complete first-place results; 28 others were incomplete and excluded.

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Seven reports generated 19 August–21 September 2026. Report generation is not map capture.

Illustrative schematic: five neutral sample points around a service area; no observed profile positions or distances12345
Illustrative schematic. One area × one exact query × five distinct points. Not a map, not to scale, and not observed business locations.

01 / Follow the denominator

126 groups. 98 complete. 91 changed.

  1. 01

    126

    area × query groups

    Each has five distinct geographic points.

  2. 02

    98

    complete first-place groups

    28 incomplete groups excluded; never counted as unchanged.

  3. 03

    91

    groups with a different first-place profile

    At least one difference across the five points.

91/98 (92.9%) of eligible groups changed first-place identity. The median eligible group had 3 distinct first-place profiles. This pooled share describes this sample only. Source: FlashCrafter Briefs sanitized aggregate, linked below.

02 / The sample is uneven

One report contributes 72 of 126 groups.

The bars count groups, using the same 0–72 scale for every report. Dates below are report-generation dates, not provider capture dates.

Changed first placeSame first placeIncomplete / excluded

  1. Report 1 ·

    11/11 eligible changed · 14 total · 3 excluded. Top three: 8/8 eligible changed; 6 excluded.

  2. Report 2 ·

    5/6 eligible changed · 6 total · 0 excluded. Top three: 6/6 eligible changed; 0 excluded.

  3. Report 3 ·

    46/52 eligible changed · 72 total · 20 excluded. Top three: 26/26 eligible changed; 46 excluded.

  4. Report 4 ·

    7/7 eligible changed · 12 total · 5 excluded. Top three: 7/7 eligible changed; 5 excluded.

  5. Report 5 ·

    2/2 eligible changed · 2 total · 0 excluded. Top three: 2/2 eligible changed; 0 excluded.

  6. Report 6 ·

    5/5 eligible changed · 5 total · 0 excluded. Top three: 5/5 eligible changed; 0 excluded.

  7. Report 7 ·

    15/15 eligible changed · 15 total · 0 excluded. Top three: 12/12 eligible changed; 3 excluded.

Largest report: 46/52 eligible first-place groups changed. Other six reports combined: 45/46. This sensitivity check does not correct selection bias. Source: FlashCrafter Briefs sanitized aggregate.

03 / A separate comparison

Top-three membership also varied.

66/66 eligible groups had a different top-three set at least once. Only 66/126 groups had three distinct, identified profiles at every point; the other 60 groups were incomplete and excluded.

The median eligible group had 9 distinct profiles across its 15 observed top-three slots. In 42/66, no profile appeared in the top three at all five points. Membership ignores the order of those three profiles.

04 / Reproducible, with boundaries

How we counted—and what this cannot tell you.

For a specific query and service area, inspect more than one location before treating one Maps result as the whole market. These first-party Briefs observations describe a selected operational research sample, not a national prevalence rate. They do not explain why results differed.

  1. Read all 14 admitted Briefs source projections through the approved agent API. Confirm each reference against the admitted-source inventory and require publicUse.admitted=true. Keep raw responses private.
  2. Select the latest runAt for each distinct subject, retaining seven reports. Group by exact area and query within each report. Require five distinct coordinates; reject duplicate area/query/grid signatures between reports.
  3. At each point, require exactly one nonempty profile ID at rank one. Compare identity across all five points. Exclude a group if any point lacks an identifiable first-place profile.
  4. For top-three sets, require ranks one, two and three to have one identified profile each, with three distinct IDs at every point. Compare sets regardless of order. Exclude incomplete groups.
  5. Compute counts and medians from profile identities, then export only sanitized aggregates. Report-generation dates span 19 August–21 September 2026; these are not provider capture dates. Capture dates cannot be inferred from that range.

Limits to interpretation

  • This is a selected observational sample of admitted reports generated for operational market research. It is neither random nor comprehensive. No national estimate or statistical uncertainty is attached to the pooled share.
  • The 72-group report dominates the pooled rate. Groups within a report share a collection design and are not independent businesses or consumers. Removing repeated reports does not remove selection bias.
  • Five sample points do not cover every street or search context. Sparse responses are excluded from eligible comparisons, never counted as unchanged.
  • There is one retained observation per area/query/point, not a controlled time series. Geography, capture timing and other unmeasured factors may contribute; the study identifies no cause or Google ranking-factor effect.
  • These are Maps profile observations. They do not measure website organic positions, clicks, leads, bookings, FlashCrafter client outcomes or improvement after a website edit.

05 / Put the method to work

A checklist for your next map check.

  1. Choose one exact query and define the service area before collecting results. Keep queries separate.
  2. Choose and record multiple distinct locations across the area you serve. Five points are this study’s design, not a proven universal minimum.
  3. Record coordinates, actual capture time, query and search context for every check. Keep missing observations visible.
  4. Save profile identity and rank at each point. Compare first place and top-three membership separately; report complete and excluded denominators.
  5. Repeat the same design over time before interpreting a change. Keep Maps visibility separate from organic rankings and business outcomes.

Want a starting point for your own market? Explore a Growth Brief, then use consistent locations and queries to track Maps visibility.

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Source & public-use boundary

First-party observations, sanitized for public use.

FlashCrafter calculated these findings from Briefs’ admitted public-market projections. Admissions allow reviewed public-market findings; they do not permit private connected-account outcomes, client testimonials, full website text or unrestricted review quotation. Profile identities, exact queries, coordinates and business references are not included in the public aggregate.

The downloadable aggregate supports the published arithmetic. Reproducing collection requires authorized access to the admitted source projections; raw responses remain private. The source report and extraction scripts are retained for review. Independent source and arithmetic audit passed on 25 October 2026.

Related reading · Separate questions, separate evidence

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