What Is a Google Business Profile Performance Report?
A Business Profile performance report is Google’s record of how people found a business’s profile on Google Search and Maps and what they did next, such as calling, asking for directions or clicking through to the website. Google says the data “highlights how customers use Search and Maps to find your profile, and what actions they take once they do,” and that owners and managers can see it for one profile or several (Google Business Profile Help). A Business Profile is the listing that appears in Maps and in the panel beside search results; our guide to setting up a Google Business Profile covers creating and verifying one.
For a communications team, the report is the closest thing Google publishes to a count of what happens when coverage makes people look a company up. Our explainer on whether a Business Profile affects brand search covers what the profile does and does not change.
How to Read a Business Profile Performance Report at a Glance
| Step | Action | Expected result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Open the profile on Google Search and click Performance | The report for the default period |
| 2 | Choose a time period and click Apply | Metrics for that period |
| 3 | Read views and searches by Google’s definitions | Unique daily viewers and monthly search terms |
| 4 | Read calls, website clicks, directions and messages | Counts of actions taken from the profile |
| 5 | Compare with the API or Google Analytics | Known differences explained |
| 6 | Download the data | A spreadsheet for one or more profiles |
| 7 | Line the figures up against coverage dates | A dated record, not proof of cause |
Time: 20 to 40 minutes the first time. Tools: a Google Account with owner or manager access; optionally a Google Analytics 4 property. Cost: free. Skill level: beginner.
What Do You Need Before Starting?
You need a verified profile and the right account. Google says “Performance data is available only for verified Business Profiles” and that you “must be signed in to the Google Account associated with your profile” (Google Business Profile Help).
- Owner or manager access to the profile.
- For the Google Analytics link: an Editor or Administrator role on the Google Analytics 4 property, plus owner or manager permission on the profile (Analytics Help).
- A list of coverage dates: when articles, podcast episodes or broadcasts ran. This is our recommendation, not a Google requirement.
Step 1: Open the Performance Report
Open it from Google Search or the Maps app. Google’s steps on Search are: go to your Business Profile, click Performance, select a time period at the top, and click Apply. In the Google Maps app, tap Business at the bottom right, tap See more next to “Performance,” select a time period and tap Apply (Google Business Profile Help).
Your screen may not match those steps exactly. Search Engine Roundtable reported on October 23, 2026 that Google is testing “a completely revamped performance report section,” with screenshots showing Overview, Engagement, Reviews, Audience and Search trends sections (Search Engine Roundtable). That account rests on screenshots readers sent the site; Google’s help page did not describe the new layout when we read it.
Step 2: Pick a Date Range That Matches the Question
Set the period to the question you are asking. Google’s tip is that “You can set a date range to track your Business Profile performance over a period of time” (Google Business Profile Help). The help page we read does not state the earliest date you can select, so we do not give one.
Our recommendation, not a Google rule: when checking whether coverage moved anything, compare equal periods, such as the four weeks after a story ran against the four weeks before, and remember that searches update monthly, so short windows will not show search terms.
Step 3: Read Views and Searches by Google’s Definitions
Views count people, not page loads, and searches count terms by month. Google defines Views as “How many people viewed your Business Profile on Search and Maps,” and gives four reasons the figure can be lower than the numbers in your profile notifications or emails: it “counts the number of unique visitors,” a user “can be counted a limited number of times” across devices and platforms, “A person can only be counted once a day,” and it “only counts the views of your Business Profile and not the overall views of your business on Google” (Google Business Profile Help).
Searches are “The search terms people used to find your business.” Google says the metric “is updated at the start of each month” and “might take up to 5 days to show up,” and that “You can’t directly manage these queries” (Google Business Profile Help). Search terms are the most useful field for coverage work: a rise in searches for a company’s or executive’s name in the month a story ran is worth noting. For the website side, our guide to tracking branded search in Search Console covers the matching report.
Step 4: Read the Action Metrics
The action metrics count what people did on the profile. Google’s definitions:
| Metric | Google’s definition | Condition |
|---|---|---|
| Interactions | “A summary of all your total interactions” | None stated |
| Calls | “The number of times a customer clicked on the call button” | “Add your phone number to track this metric” |
| Website clicks | “The number of times people clicked on the website link” | A website on the profile |
| Directions | “How many people asked for directions to your business” | Adjusted for multiple taps, cancellations and spam |
| Messages | “The number of different conversations through messages” | Messaging turned on |
| Bookings | “The number of bookings people completed” | Bookings “must be managed through a booking provider” |
| Menus | Clicks on menu content “per user, per day” | Menu content on the profile |
All definitions are quoted from Google Business Profile Help. Google also lists booking clicks (hotels only), products and offers, and says “Only metrics that apply to your business appear.” A call click is a tap on the call button, not a completed call, and a website click is a click, not a visit your analytics recorded.
Step 5: Compare the Report With the API and Google Analytics
Google documents the same data in three places, and they do not list the same metrics. The chart counts what each page names.
metrics listed
Source: Google Business Profile Help, “Understand your Business Profile performance & insights”; Google for Developers, “DailyMetric” (last updated October 16, 2026); Analytics Help, “Connect Google Business Profile (GBP) to Google Analytics”. Read October 26, 2026.
Our count of the metrics each page lists. The help page’s 12 include Interactions, Searches and three business-specific metrics (booking clicks for hotels, products, offers). The API lists 11 named daily metrics, of which 2 (conversations, food orders) are marked deprecated; search keywords come from a separate monthly method. Google says only metrics that apply to your business appear on the Performance page.
The chart shows the Performance page lists the most metrics, while the Google Analytics link carries only seven. The table below is our own comparison of the three published definitions.
| Question | Performance page | Performance API | Google Analytics link |
|---|---|---|---|
| How are views counted? | Unique people, once a day | Impressions split by Search or Maps and desktop or mobile; “Multiple impressions by a unique user within a single day are counted as a single impression” | Views not in the listed metrics |
| How are search terms reported? | Monthly, up to 5 days late | Monthly; each keyword gets a value or “A threshold that indicates that the actual value is below this threshold” | Not in the listed metrics |
| How far back? | Not stated on the help page | Not stated on the pages we read | “the last 6 months” |
| Several locations? | Per profile, or download several | Per location | “the sum of the data from all linked profiles” |
| Irrelevant metrics? | Hidden | All listed | Shown “regardless of your business type” |
Sources: Google Business Profile Help; Google for Developers, DailyMetric and search keywords method; Analytics Help. The API page marks message conversations and food orders as deprecated and adds a separate “messaging (e.g. WhatsApp) button” click count.
To link the two, Google says to go to Google Analytics Admin, click Google Business Profile links under Product links, click Link, select the profiles and confirm (Google Business Profile Help). Analytics Help adds the limits: metrics are “aggregated data only” across linked profiles, “cannot be used in custom explorations, comparisons, or have filters applied,” and the link “is not supported for subproperties” (Analytics Help).
Step 6: Download the Data
Download a spreadsheet to keep a record that outlives the report’s date range. Google’s steps: on a computer, go to Business Profile Manager, tick the profiles you want, click Actions then Insights at the top right, select the timeframe and click Download Report; if a “Download ready” box appears, click Download (Google Business Profile Help). Google says you can download several profiles at once to compare locations.
Step 7: Line the Figures Up Against Coverage
Put the monthly figures beside the dates coverage ran, and treat any match as a lead, not proof. This step is our recommendation. A month with a national story and a rise in name searches is worth reporting to a client; a rise in website clicks the same month that a paid search campaign ran may be the campaign, since Google says the totals include Google Ads. Our guide to measuring whether a placement worked covers building that comparison, and tagging links in coverage with UTM parameters separates coverage clicks from profile clicks on the website side.
How to Verify It Worked
- The report loads with metrics for the period you chose; if it says data is unavailable, check verification first.
- Searches show the last full month once five days of the new month have passed.
- The downloaded file shows numbers rather than “***” in its columns.
- In Google Analytics, a “Google Business Profile” collection appears in Reports, which Analytics Help says “is only visible when a link exists,” and the profile’s performance page shows a banner that data is being shared (Google Business Profile Help).
Common Problems and Fixes
| Problem | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| No performance data | Profile not verified, or wrong Google Account | Verify the profile; sign in with the account that manages it |
| Views lower than the notification email | Unique daily counting, as Google explains | Use the Performance figure and say how it is counted |
| This month’s searches are blank | Monthly update, up to 5 days late | Wait until early next month |
| “***” in the spreadsheet | Profile not enabled for downloads | Google points to its bulk-upload status page |
| GA4 shows metrics your business never gets | GA4 shows every metric “regardless of your business type” | Ignore those rows |
| GA4 shows nothing older than six months | Data retention limit | Use downloaded Business Profile files for older periods |
| Calls metric missing | No phone number on the profile | Add the number, as Google says, to track it |
What Not to Do
Do not report views as visits. Consequence: you overstate reach, because Google counts a person once a day on the profile only. Correction: call them “profile views (unique people per day).”
Do not credit every rise to coverage. Consequence: Google Ads activity is in the same totals. Correction: note any paid campaigns running in the same period.
Do not rely on Google Analytics for history. Consequence: it holds only six months of profile data. Correction: download the report each month.
Do not treat a call click as a call. Consequence: you count taps that never connected. Correction: say “call button clicks.”
Do not buy services that promise to raise these numbers. Consequence: Google’s metrics count real user actions, and a placement or profile service cannot guarantee them. Correction: judge coverage by its audience.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where do I find Google Business Profile performance?
Open your Business Profile on Google Search and click Performance, or in the Google Maps app tap Business, then See more next to Performance. Select a time period and apply it. The profile must be verified.
What counts as a view on a Google Business Profile?
Google counts unique people who viewed the profile on Search and Maps, and “A person can only be counted once a day.” It counts only profile views, not every view of the business on Google.
How often are Business Profile search terms updated?
Google says the searches metric “is updated at the start of each month” and “might take up to 5 days to show up.”
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.”
Can I see Business Profile data in Google Analytics?
Yes, by linking the profile to a Google Analytics 4 property under Admin, Product links. Analytics Help says the metrics are available for the last 6 months, are summed across linked profiles and cannot be filtered.
Why is my view count lower than Google’s email said?
Google gives several reasons: the report counts unique visitors, counts a person once a day, limits repeat counting across devices and platforms, and counts only views of the profile itself.
Sources and Methodology
This guide is built from Google Business Profile Help pages on performance and on the Google Analytics link, the Analytics Help page on connecting a Business Profile, the Business Profile Performance API reference, and Search Engine Roundtable’s October 23, 2026 report on a redesigned report in testing, all read October 26, 2026. Definitions, steps and limits are Google’s; the date-range method, coverage comparison and what-not-to-do advice are our recommendations, not Google rules. The chart and comparison table are our own count and comparison of Google’s published pages. We did not open a live profile or test the Google Analytics link, and the redesigned report is described only from third-party screenshots.
- platform documentation Google Business Profile Help, Understand your Business Profile performance & insights. Eligibility, steps, metric definitions, Google Ads inclusion, download steps. Read October 26, 2026.
- platform documentation Google Business Profile Help, Connect your Business Profile to Google Analytics. Roles, linking steps, data shared, banner. Read October 26, 2026.
- platform documentation Analytics Help, Connect Google Business Profile (GBP) to Google Analytics. Metrics shared, 6-month retention, aggregation, limitations. Read October 26, 2026.
- platform documentation Google for Developers, DailyMetric, Business Profile Performance API. Daily metric list, unique-per-day impressions, deprecations; last updated October 16, 2026. Read October 26, 2026.
- platform documentation Google for Developers, Method: locations.searchkeywords.impressions.monthly.list. Monthly keywords and thresholds. Read October 26, 2026.
- trade press Search Engine Roundtable (Barry Schwartz), Google Business Profiles Tests New Advanced Performance Reports. Redesigned report in testing, October 23, 2026. Read October 26, 2026.