How often do consumers search for local businesses in maps?
BrightLocal's 2025 survey of a representative panel of 1,000 US adults via SurveyMonkey found that 20% of respondents selected a maps product as their default first port of call for local-specific searches.1 That is a share of respondents choosing Google Maps, Apple Maps or Bing Maps, not a count of how many map searches each person conducts.
By Sergey Sulimko, Founder · ·
Compiled from 2 sources
- Read
- Oct 21, 2026
What share of consumers default to maps for local searches?
The 20% combined figure and the 15% Google Maps figure answer the same default-platform question. They are not interchangeable: the first combines three maps products, while the second names Google Maps alone.1
| What was measured | Finding | Source and sample | What the finding means |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google Maps, Apple Maps and Bing Maps combined as the default local-search platform | 20%, or one in five respondents | BrightLocal's representative panel of 1,000 US adult consumers; report published April 29, 2025; survey method was SurveyMonkey1 | The share selecting a maps product as the default first port of call for a local-specific search |
| Google Maps alone as the default local-search platform | 15% | The same BrightLocal panel and report; fieldwork window not stated1 | The share selecting Google Maps as the first port of call, not the share of all map searches |
What did BrightLocal's 2025 survey measure?
Respondents selected the platform they would use first for local-specific searches. That makes the result a stated default preference. It does not measure appearances in the Google Local Finder, clicks from a map listing, or a business's position in local results.
What this does not show
What do these numbers not tell you?
For a separate measurement of AI Overviews in local search, see AI Overview statistics in local search. For the distinction between a Business Profile and Google's AI-search surfaces, see how Google Business Profile integrates with AI search.
- They do not tell you how many map searches a person conducts. BrightLocal does not publish a per-person count or a weekly, monthly or annual frequency distribution.
- They do not mean that 20% of all local searches happen in maps. The denominator is respondents selecting a default platform, not every search event.
- They do not turn into a ranking factor or business outcome. Google's local-ranking guidance describes local results as mainly based on relevance, distance and popularity.2 That guidance does not convert BrightLocal's consumer-use percentage into a ranking threshold, visit estimate or purchase effect.
- They do not describe every market. The panel was 1,000 US adults, so the result should not be presented as a global consumer rate.
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Sources
All read Oct 21, 2026
- 1Consumer Search Behavior: Where Are Your Customers?BrightLocalBrightLocal's 2025 consumer search report (published April 29, 2025; representative panel of 1,000 US adult consumers via SurveyMonkey)
- 2Tips to improve your local ranking on GoogleGoogle Business Profile HelpGoogle's local-ranking guidance (publication date not stated)
Cite this page
Maps Agent, "How often do consumers search for local businesses in maps?", updated Oct 23, 2026, maps-agent.com/