Guide
How do I compare Google Business Profile performance across locations?
Choose one reporting period, download the selected profiles together from Business Profile Manager, and compare like-for-like rows after checking verification, metric availability, and data scope. Keep Google's metric names and counting rules intact. Record map position separately: Google's performance guidance defines profile activity metrics, while its local-ranking guidance describes local results using relevance, distance, and popularity.1,2
What should I decide before comparing locations?
Set up one comparison sheet with one row per location and the same fields for every profile. Google says performance data is available only for verified Business Profiles, requires the associated Google Account, and shows only metrics that apply to the business.1
| Field | Record | Comparison rule |
|---|---|---|
| Location | A stable location name or identifier that you can reconcile to the selected profile | Keep one row per location. Do not merge two profiles because their names look similar. |
| Report window | The same start and end dates for every selected profile | Use one selected timeframe for the multi-profile download.1 |
| Verification | Whether each profile is verified | Do not treat an unverified profile as having an equivalent performance record. Performance data is available only for verified profiles.1 |
| Metric availability | Every metric shown, plus not available for a needed metric that is absent |
Do not turn an absent metric into zero. Google says not all metrics are available to every business.1 |
| Data scope | The scope stated by the report | Keep organic Search results and Google Ads in the stated scope. Do not relabel the report as organic-only.1 |
| Metric label | Google's exact label, such as Views, Searches, or Directions | Compare the same metric with the same definition. Do not collapse different actions into one engagement number. |
For the meaning of each metric on an individual profile, see how to read Google Business Profile performance metrics. This page adds the multi-location comparison method.
How do I download performance data for several locations?
Use Business Profile Manager on a computer. Google documents this path for downloading several profiles into one spreadsheet:
- Go to Business Profile Manager.
- Select the checkbox next to each profile you want to compare.
- At the top right, click Actions, then Insights.
- Select the timeframe for the performance data.
- Click Download Report.
- If a Download ready dialog appears at the bottom left, click DOWNLOAD. After the download finishes in a new tab, close that tab.1
Use the same selected timeframe for every location. If downloads are not enabled, Google says the spreadsheet might show *** in its columns. Resolve that access or download condition before interpreting the affected values.1
How should I normalize the multi-location spreadsheet?
Normalize the comparison before sorting locations or calculating differences. The goal is to make every row answer the same question about the same period.
- Keep one row for each selected profile and preserve a stable location label.
- Put the report start and end dates beside the row, not only in the file name.
- Mark the verification state for each profile. Do not rank a verified row against an unverified row as if both had the same data basis.1
- Keep every metric under Google's own label. Record
not availablewhen a needed metric does not appear. A missing card is not a zero.1 - Keep the report's data scope visible. Google says performance data can include views, searches, and actions from organic Search results and Google Ads.1
- Separate Google Business Profile data from other platforms if another report combines them. Google's third-party policy requires the Business Profile-specific report to remain separately available.3
If a comparison tool adds its own totals or rates, label those values as calculations and retain the underlying Google values beside them. The derived number should never replace the source metric's definition.
Which Google metrics can I compare directly?
Compare a metric only when the rows use the same label, date range, and eligibility conditions. The following dictionary keeps the most important differences visible.
| Google metric | What the metric means | Comparison guard |
|---|---|---|
| Interactions | A summary of total interactions | Keep it as Google's summary label. Do not treat it as a substitute for the individual action metrics.1 |
| Searches | Search terms people used to find the business | The metric updates at the start of each month and may take up to 5 days to appear. Compare the same refreshed month.1 |
| Views | People who viewed the Business Profile on Search and Maps | Views count unique visitors. A person can be counted once per day, and a user can be counted a limited number of times if they visit on multiple devices and platforms. The metric does not represent overall views of the business on Google.1 |
| Directions | People who asked for directions to the business | Google adjusts the count for multiple taps, cancelled requests, and spam. Treat it as direction requests, not raw taps or completed visits.1 |
| Calls | Clicks on the call button on the Business Profile | A phone number must be added to track this metric. It is a click count, not a count of completed calls.1 |
| Website clicks | Clicks on the website link on the Business Profile | Keep it as a link-click metric, not a completed website session or sale.1 |
| Messages | Different conversations through messages | Compare only rows where the metric applies and appears.1 |
| Bookings | Bookings people completed | Booking data requires bookings to be managed through a booking provider.1 |
| Booking clicks | Clicks on a hotel's booking link | This metric applies only to hotels and sends the user to the hotel's booking landing page.1 |
| Products | Views of products over a period | The count covers products sold at the Business Profile location, not products sold online.1 |
| Menus | Menu-content clicks per user per day | The metric includes menu photos, menu links, and structured menu data on the Business Profile.1 |
| Offers | Views and clicks on offers | Preserve the two actions in the source meaning instead of presenting the value as a generic view count.1 |
The table is a comparison guard, not a new Google scoring system. A location with a missing Calls, Bookings, or Booking clicks metric may simply lack the condition that makes that metric applicable. Record the missing metric as unavailable and keep the condition beside the row.1
What should I do when locations have different metrics?
Compare the common metrics and explain the differences in availability. Do not fill a missing value with zero, and do not force a location into a metric that Google does not show for its business.1
| Situation | What to put in the comparison | What not to do |
|---|---|---|
| The same metric appears for every location | Compare the values over the shared period | Do not rename the metric or combine it with a different action. |
| A metric appears for some locations only | Mark the other rows not available and record the applicable condition |
Do not treat an absent card as zero activity.1 |
| Searches has not refreshed | Mark the affected month as pending and wait for the value before interpreting it | Do not compare a refreshed month with a value that may still be within Google's 5-day display delay.1 |
| One report includes activity from a different scope | Keep the scope beside the values and split the comparison if needed | Do not label mixed organic and Google Ads activity as organic-only.1 |
| A third-party report combines Google with other platforms | Use the separately identified Google Business Profile report for the Google comparison | Do not let a combined platform total replace the Google-specific report.3 |
For a repeatable owner-facing record, the Google Business Profile performance metrics guide has a single-profile worksheet and counting-rule checklist. Use this page when the rows represent multiple locations.
How do I keep Business Profile activity separate from map rank?
Keep two records: one for Business Profile activity and one for an independently observed local result. Views, Searches, Calls, Directions, and Website clicks describe profile activity. Keep them out of a position or local-rank score: Google's local-ranking guidance describes local results separately by relevance, distance, and popularity.1,2
| Record | Minimum fields |
|---|---|
| Business Profile activity | Location, report period, Google metric label, value, verification state, and data scope |
| Map-rank observation | Exact query, searcher location, device, observation date, and the result observed |
Do not use a larger Views total as evidence that one location appeared higher in Google Maps. Google's performance guidance defines views, searches, and actions, while its local-ranking guidance describes local results separately by relevance, distance, and popularity. For the separate observation workflow, see tracking local search rankings.1,2
Can I use the Performance API for a multi-location comparison?
Use the Performance API locations resource as an advanced per-location time-series source, then combine the retrieved rows yourself. The reference describes daily and multi-daily metric values for a specific location over a requested time range, with an optional sub-entity type where applicable. It also says the resource does not store persistent data.4
- Choose the locations, date range, and metric definitions before requesting data.
- Retrieve the same metric and date range for each location.
- Apply the same verification, availability, and scope checks as you would for the spreadsheet.
- Combine the per-location results only after those checks pass.
- Save the returned data with its date range because the resource itself is not a persistent data store.4
Do not describe the locations resource as an automatic multi-location aggregate. For OAuth, account discovery, pagination, and the separate daily and monthly request shapes, use the Google Business Profile Performance API export workflow. This guide's comparison rule remains the same: equal definitions first, aggregation second.
What should a third-party reporting tool show?
A third-party tool should identify Google Business Profile data separately from data from other platforms. If it reports geographic performance aggregated across platforms, Google's policy says it must also provide the Google Business Profile location performance report and its required fields.3
Keep the Google-specific rows separate in your review. Do not compare or share one customer's Business Profile-specific data with other customers, and do not let a cross-platform total hide which values came from Google.3
Sources
-
Google Business Profile Help, “Understand your Business Profile performance & insights”: Performance guidance (read 2026-10-14)
-
Google Business Profile Help, “Tips to improve your local ranking on Google”: Local-ranking guidance (read 2026-10-14)
-
Google Business Profile Help, “Business Profile third-party policies”: Third-party policies (read 2026-10-14)
-
Google for Developers, “REST Resource: locations”: Location performance resource (read 2026-10-14)
See where your profile stands
The audit shows how this applies to your own profile: it reads a verified Google Business Profile and scores it the same way every month.
Visibility Score
0 to 100
20 scored factors across profile completeness, performance, competitive position. Free, no signup, on any verified Google Business Profile.
No signup, no card. You get the score and the factors behind it.
Common questions
- Can I compare a location that has no value for a metric?
- No. Record a needed metric as `not available` when Google does not show it for that business. Do not infer zero activity from a missing metric.
- Does a higher Views total mean that a location ranks higher on Google Maps?
- No. Views measures unique visitors to a Business Profile under Google's counting rules, including the once-per-day rule and the limited multi-device and platform count. Google describes local results separately by relevance, distance, and popularity, so a local-position observation needs its own query, searcher location, device, and observation date.
- Does the Performance API create one persistent report for every location?
- The cited `locations` resource is a per-location time-series reference. Request the same range for each location, combine the results after validation, and save the returned data because the resource does not store persistent data.