Directory usage statistics for local businesses

Which sources did consumers recall using?

BrightLocal's Business Listings Trust Report 2021 asked 1,141 US-based consumers which of more than 20 business-information sites they recalled using in the previous 12 months. Respondents could select multiple sites. The table keeps directories separate from search, maps, social networks, and voice assistants because the source measured all of them together.¹

The 2021 measure shows that consumers used directories alongside other discovery surfaces. It does not show that a directory was the first source used, that all respondents used the same sources, or that a source affected Google's rankings.¹

How did review-site use differ in 2026?

BrightLocal's Local Consumer Review Survey 2026 used a representative panel of 1,002 US adult consumers. Its question concerned reading local-business reviews and choosing businesses, not directory usage as a whole. The report says the average consumer used six different review sites when choosing businesses.²

The same survey measured review writing separately. 69% of respondents said they wrote a business review in the previous 12 months. The sites named most often were Google at 45%, Facebook at 34%, Yelp at 24%, Apple Maps at 17%, Tripadvisor at 16%, and Better Business Bureau at 16%.²

These are review-site and review-writing measures. They should not be rewritten as a complete list of directories or treated as a direct continuation of the 2021 business-information-site table.

What channels did consumers use during a recent local-business search?

BrightLocal's July 2026 channel survey asked 1,227 US-based consumers who had searched online for a local business in the previous three months about their most recent local-business search. The measures describe one recent journey, not general annual directory usage.³

The difference in wording matters. A respondent can use a review site during a recent search without using it as the starting point, and a respondent can recall a directory from the previous year without using it in the latest search measured by this study.³

Where do AI recommendations fit?

BrightLocal's March 2026 companion report used the same 1,002-person Local Consumer Review Survey panel. Some findings used only the 455 respondents who had used an AI tool for local-business recommendations in the previous 12 months. The report says AI-tool use for local-business recommendations rose from 6% in 2025 to 45% in 2026. This is a recommendation measure, not a directory measure.⁴

Among those AI users, 31% used ChatGPT for business recommendations in the previous 12 months and 23% used Google's AI Mode. Those figures describe the report's defined AI-user subset, not all US consumers and not a Google Business Profile ranking signal.⁴

Does directory usage show what improves Google ranking?

No. Consumer-use percentages describe reported behavior under each study's sample and question wording. They do not establish that a named directory feeds Google's local-ranking system or that using one produces a ranking change.

Google's local-ranking guidance says local results are mainly based on relevance, distance, and popularity. Google also says there is no way to request or pay for a better local ranking, and that it keeps search-algorithm details confidential.⁵

Google Search Central separately says that claiming a Business Profile lets an owner manage how the business appears on Google Maps and Google Search. That is guidance about providing and managing business details, not evidence that the consumer-use percentages above are ranking inputs.⁶

What these numbers do not tell you

• They do not establish a universal directory hierarchy. The studies cover US respondents, and the populations, dates, and questions differ.
• They do not measure the same behavior. The 2021 study used previous-12-month recall, the 2026 review study covered review use and review writing, and the July 2026 study covered one recent search journey.
• They do not show causation. A source being used or mentioned by respondents does not prove that it changes visibility, rankings, calls, visits, or sales.
• They do not replace a business's own record of where customers find accurate information. For the distinction between a directory listing and a broader local citation, see understanding local citations. For review behavior, see where people leave reviews and Google reviews versus other review sites.