We audited 40 local businesses in 40 US cities. Here are the 5 ways almost all of them lose.
July 2026 · original data · 12-point audits from live Google Maps · 10 service verticals · methodology below
In July 2026 we ran our standard 12-point Google Business Profile audit on one mid-ranked local business in each of 40 US cities — plumbers, dentists, roofers, HVAC, attorneys, and five other service verticals. 98% are out-reviewed by their nearby competitors, 98% have an empty or thin business description, and 88% hold fewer than half the reviews of their local market median. The median audit score was 73/100 — a C+ profile is what "normal" looks like.
98% out-reviewed by nearby competitors98% empty or thin description88% < half the local review median45% owner rarely replies to reviews23% website or booking link missing
The five most common failures
#
Finding
Businesses affected
Why it costs money
1
Nearby competitors hold a stronger review profile
39 of 40 (98%)
Review strength is the main visible tiebreaker for the 3 map-pack spots. Measure yours with the review gap calculator.
2
Business description empty or thin
39 of 40 (98%)
An empty description gives Google zero text to match service queries against — races not entered.
3
Review count below half the local median
35 of 40 (88%)
The gap is usually closable in months, not years — the review velocity calculator turns it into a monthly pace.
4
Owner rarely or never replies to reviews
18 of 40 (45%)
Reply rate is the cheapest visible differentiator; Google explicitly recommends responding. Grade yourself with the response grader.
5
Website or booking link missing
9 of 40 (23%)
A profile that can't convert traffic it wins is paying for a leak, not a gap.
Also observed: 5 businesses (13%) whose rating trails the 4.5★+ local leaders, and 1 with no new reviews in the last ~3 months.
Scores: what "normal" looks like
Grade
A (85+)
B (70–84)
C (55–69)
D (<55)
Businesses
5 (13%)
24 (60%)
8 (20%)
3 (8%)
Median score 73/100, mean 72, range 42–91. The takeaway for agencies: the average local business isn't a disaster — it's a B− with two or three specific, provable gaps. That's a better sales conversation than "your profile is bad": you can show the exact finding, the local benchmark, and the fix.
Methodology
One business per city across 40 mid-size and large US metros (Atlanta to Virginia Beach), spread over 10 service verticals (6 plumbers, 5 dentists, 5 roofers, 5 HVAC, 4 personal-injury attorneys, 4 landscapers, 4 auto repair shops, 3 physical therapists, 2 chiropractors, 2 veterinarians). Each business was selected as a mid-ranked (not leading, not failing) result for its category in its city, then audited with our production 12-point scorer against its real nearby competitors, using live Google Maps data pulled in July 2026. Full audit reports for every business in the study are published below. Cite freely with a link.
In order of measured frequency: write the description (30 minutes, fixes finding #2), start a systematic review ask (fixes #1 and #3 over months — the velocity calculator sets the pace), reply to every review from the last 90 days (#4), and connect the website/booking links (#5). Or start with the free completeness checker to see which apply to you.
Agencies: this is what your prospects look like
Every stat above is a door-opener. We produce this exact audit, white-labeled with your branding, for any prospect on your list — $49 single, less on volume.