GBP Insights: Understanding Your Analytics
Google Business Profile's Performance tab shows how people find your business, what actions they take, and how you compare to competitors. Here's how to read every metric and use the data to grow.
Accessing Your Insights
Google rebranded "Insights" to the "Performance" tab in 2022. You can access it two ways:
- Google Search: Search your business name → click your listing → select "Performance"
- Google Maps: Open Google Maps → search for your business → click "Performance"
Data is available for the last 6 months with daily granularity.
Key Metrics Explained
| Metric | What It Measures | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|
| Business Profile Interactions | Total actions: calls, messages, bookings, direction requests, website clicks | Overall engagement health |
| Searches Shown In | How many unique searches triggered your profile | Visibility / reach |
| People Who Viewed Profile | Unique users who saw your listing | Top-of-funnel awareness |
| Direction Requests | Users who tapped "Directions" to your location | High-intent foot traffic signal |
| Calls | Users who tapped the call button | Direct lead generation |
| Website Clicks | Users who clicked through to your website | Traffic generation |
| Messages | Users who messaged you via GBP | Engagement (if messaging enabled) |
| Bookings | Bookings made through GBP (if integrated) | Direct conversions |
| Search Keywords | Actual terms people used to find you | Keyword targeting intelligence |
Search Keywords: Your Secret Weapon
The "Searches shown in" section reveals exactly what people search for before seeing your profile. This data is gold:
- Branded searches: People searching your business name — indicates brand awareness
- Service searches: People searching for what you offer (e.g., "plumber near me") — indicates discoverability
- Missing keywords: Services you offer but don't appear for — indicates optimization opportunities
💡 Pro Tip
Export your search keywords monthly. Look for keywords where you appear but get few clicks — these are opportunities to improve your profile content to better match that search intent. Our free optimizer tool can identify these gaps automatically.
How to Interpret Your Data
Healthy Metrics Benchmarks
| Business Type | Monthly Views | Monthly Actions | Action Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Restaurant | 1,000–10,000+ | 200–2,000+ | 15-25% |
| Home Services | 300–3,000 | 50–500 | 10-20% |
| Professional Services | 200–2,000 | 30–300 | 8-15% |
| Retail | 500–5,000 | 100–1,000 | 12-22% |
| Healthcare | 400–4,000 | 60–600 | 10-18% |
Red Flags to Watch
- High views, low actions: Your profile isn't compelling enough — improve photos, reviews, and description
- Declining searches: You may be losing ranking position — audit your profile for issues
- Few service keywords: Your category and description may not be optimized — see our categories guide
- Seasonal dips: Expected in many industries — compare year-over-year, not month-over-month
Using Insights to Improve Performance
📊 Low discovery searches?
Focus on your categories, description keywords, and posting regularly to signal relevance for more search terms.
📞 Low call volume?
Add more photos, improve your review count and rating, and make sure your business hours are accurate.
🗺️ Low direction requests?
Verify your address pin is correctly placed. Add photos of your storefront and parking area. Include landmarks in your description.
Tracking Insights Over Time
Create a monthly tracking spreadsheet with these columns:
- Month
- Total profile views (Search + Maps)
- Total interactions (calls + website + directions)
- Action rate (interactions ÷ views × 100)
- Top 10 search keywords
- Changes made that month (e.g., "added 5 photos," "responded to 10 reviews")
This creates a clear correlation between actions you take and results you see, helping you double down on what works.
Get Deeper Profile Analysis
Our AI goes beyond basic Insights — analyzing your profile against competitors and providing specific fixes.
Analyze My Profile Free →