Google Business Profile performance: what the numbers count
The performance report shows how people find your Business Profile on Search and Maps and what they do next. This guide explains what each metric counts, why views can look low, how the searches list works, and how to get the data into a spreadsheet, Google Analytics or your own dashboard, using what Google documents.
This guide is built from Google's own documentation: Business Profile Help's Understand your Business Profile performance & insights and Connect your Business Profile to Google Analytics, Analytics Help's Connect Google Business Profile (GBP) to Google Analytics, and the Business Profile Performance API reference. Setting up a profile, reviews and local ranking are in our Google Business Profile guide; this page is only about reading the numbers.
Where to find the report
Google puts two conditions first: performance data is available only for verified Business Profiles, and you must be signed in to the Google Account associated with the profile. Owners and managers can both see it. If your profile isn't verified yet, start with our verification guide.
On a computer, go to your Business Profile, click Performance, pick a time period at the top and click Apply. In the Google Maps app, tap Business at the bottom right, then See more next to "Performance", choose the period and tap Apply. Google describes the data as showing "how customers use Search and Maps to find your profile, and what actions they take once they do."
Two points shape everything that follows. First, "only metrics that apply to your business appear", so a plumber won't see menu or hotel booking numbers. Second, "performance data includes views, searches, and actions from both organic search results and Google Ads." The report does not split organic from paid.
What each metric counts
These are the definitions from Google's performance help page. The wording matters, because several metrics count taps on a button, not completed actions.
| Metric | What Google says it counts | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| Interactions | A summary of all your total interactions | A total of the action metrics, so read the parts, not only the sum. |
| Searches | The search terms people used to find your business | Updated at the start of each month; may take up to 5 days to appear. |
| Views | How many people viewed your profile on Search and Maps | Unique visitors, at most once a day per person (see below). |
| Directions | How many people asked for directions to your business | Google adjusts the count for multiple taps, cancelled requests and spam. |
| Calls | Times a customer clicked the call button on your profile | Needs a phone number on the profile. A click is not an answered call. |
| Website clicks | Times people clicked the website link on your profile | Not the same as sessions in your analytics. |
| Messages | The number of different conversations through messages | Counts conversations, not individual messages. |
| Bookings | Bookings people completed | Only when bookings are managed through a booking provider. |
| Booking clicks | Clicks on your hotel's booking link | Hotels only. |
| Products | Times customers viewed products over a period | Only products sold at the profile's location, not online. |
| Menus | Clicks on menu content per user, per day | Includes menu photos, menu links and structured menu data. |
| Offers | Times customers viewed and clicked offers on your profile | Only if you publish offers. |
Hotels also get a price comparison view. Google says the overview "shows the average of the cheapest rate across providers for the next 30 days", with daily comparisons in the details.
Why views look lower than you expect
Owners often notice that the Views figure in the report is smaller than numbers quoted on the profile itself or in Google's notification emails. Google's help page says this can happen and gives the reasons:
- The metric counts unique visitors who viewed your profile.
- A person who views your profile on several devices (desktop and mobile) and platforms (Maps and Search) is counted only a limited number of times.
- "A person can only be counted once a day." Repeat visits on the same day don't add to the total.
- It counts views of your Business Profile only, "and not the overall views of your business on Google."
The API documentation describes impressions the same way: "multiple impressions by a unique user within a single day are counted as a single impression." So a month of views is a sum of daily unique viewers, not a count of different people across the month.
The searches list
The searches section lists the terms people used when your profile appeared. Google notes that "search queries show up whenever your Business Profile appears for a certain search" and that "you can't directly manage these queries." The figures refresh monthly, so the current month won't appear until early next month.
The API reference explains the numbers behind each term. A keyword's value is "the sum of the number of unique users that used the keyword in a month", stored as "the lower-cased string that the user entered." For small numbers, Google returns a threshold instead: "a threshold that indicates that the actual value is below this threshold." So for low-volume terms you get an upper limit, not an exact count. Treat the list as a guide to wording customers use, not as a precise demand count.
If a term you care about is missing, the fix is in the profile, not the report. Google's help page points to its tips to improve your local ranking, which come down to relevance, distance and prominence.
Downloading data for several locations
You can export performance data to a spreadsheet, and Google says multi-location businesses can download several profiles at once "to compare the performance of different locations". The steps:
- On a computer, go to Business Profile Manager.
- Tick the checkbox next to the profiles you want.
- At the top right, click Actions, then Insights.
- Select the timeframe and click Download Report.
- If a "Download ready" box appears at the bottom left, click Download.
If some columns show "***", Google explains that the profile hasn't been enabled for downloads, and links to its page on profile status for bulk uploads.
Business Profile data in Google Analytics
Google Analytics 4 can now show Business Profile numbers next to your website data. The link is made in Analytics, not in the profile: in Admin, under Product links, click Google Business Profile links, then Link, choose the profiles and confirm. You need the Administrator or Editor role on the GA4 property and must be an owner or manager of the profile. One property can link to several profiles.
Once linked, a "Google Business Profile" collection appears in your reports with these aggregated metrics: interactions, website clicks, calls, directions, messages, bookings and menus. Analytics Help lists the limits plainly:
- Business Profile metrics are available for the last 6 months only, whatever date range you pick in GA4.
- With several profiles linked, the reports show their sum, and you can't segment or filter by an individual profile.
- The metrics can't be used in explorations or comparisons, or have filters applied.
- Linking shares all the listed metrics; there is no setting to choose which.
- Subproperties aren't supported, and the link can only be deleted in GA4 Admin by an Editor or Administrator.
- GA4 shows every available metric regardless of business type, unlike the performance page, which hides metrics that don't apply.
While the link is active, the performance page in Business Profile shows a banner saying aggregated data is being shared. For a multi-location business, the 6-month window and the summing mean the link is a convenience, not a replacement for the per-location export. Our guides to GA4 subproperties and website analytics reporting cover the GA4 side.
The Performance API
Agencies and multi-location brands that want the data in their own dashboards use the Business Profile Performance API (service businessprofileperformance.googleapis.com, OAuth scope business.manage). It has three methods: two return daily time series for one or several metrics, and one lists monthly search keywords, up to 100 per page.
The daily metrics are more detailed than the dashboard in one respect: impressions are split four ways, into desktop Maps, desktop Search, mobile Maps and mobile Search. The other daily metrics are direction requests, call clicks, website clicks, messaging clicks ("e.g. WhatsApp"), bookings "via Reserve with Google" and food menu clicks. The reference marks the older conversations and food orders metrics as deprecated, so a dashboard built on them needs updating.
What the report can't tell you
The performance report counts what happens on Google. It stops at the moment someone leaves your profile, so three gaps are worth knowing:
- Calls are taps, not conversations. The calls metric counts clicks on the call button. It doesn't know if the call connected, how long it lasted or whether it became a job. Our call tracking guide explains tracking numbers and what Google's profile rules allow.
- Website clicks are not visits or leads. A click may not load your page, and your analytics may count it under organic search or direct traffic. Adding UTM parameters to the website link on your profile is a common way to tell that traffic apart in GA4; Google's performance help page doesn't cover it, so treat it as our practice, not a Google rule.
- Organic and paid are mixed. Because the report includes Google Ads activity, a month with a new campaign can lift views and actions without any change to the profile itself.
Separately, Business Profile has an Insights tab with suggestions "based on public, location-based information, such as customer reviews, photos, and local search trends", and a Profile Strength tool that points out missing details. Google says Insights "may not be available for all Business Profiles". Both are advice, not measurement.
Our view: a monthly reading routine
This part is our own practice, not Google guidance. Once a month, after the searches data has refreshed, we compare the same month last year as well as the previous month, because local demand is seasonal. We look at calls, directions and website clicks one by one instead of the interactions total, and set them against what the business actually saw: calls answered, visits and enquiries from the website. A rise in clicks with no rise in enquiries usually points to the website or the phone, not the profile. We note any profile edits, new photos or ad campaigns in the same sheet so a change in numbers has a likely cause next to it.
Frequently asked questions
Why can't I see performance data for my Business Profile?
Google shows performance data only for verified profiles, and you must be signed in to the Google Account that owns or manages the profile. Some metrics also appear only when they apply to your business type.
Does Business Profile performance include Google Ads?
Yes. Google says performance data includes views, searches and actions from both organic search results and Google Ads, and the report doesn't separate them.
Why is the searches data for this month missing?
The searches metric is updated at the start of each month and can take up to 5 days to show, so a month's search terms appear early in the following month.
Does a call in the report mean someone spoke to us?
No. Google defines calls as the number of times a customer clicked the call button on your profile. Whether the call connected or led to a sale has to be measured on your side.
How long does Google Analytics keep Business Profile data?
Analytics Help says Business Profile metrics in GA4 are available for the last 6 months, even if you select a longer date range. For a longer history, download the reports from Business Profile Manager.
For more on local search, see our guides to Google Business Profile, Business Profile verification, service-area pages and Google Local Services Ads.