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Google Business Profile metrics for a local SEO monthly report

Business Profile shows how people found and used a local client's profile on Google Search and Maps. Report each metric the way Google defines it, keep it apart from Search Console clicks, and explain changes from what you checked, not from what you suspect.

Google details checked on 29 October 2026 on Google's own help and developer pages, listed under Sources. If a label in the product differs, the linked help page is the reference.

The short answer: report calls, website clicks and direction requests as the action rows, use views and search terms as context, and leave out rows that do not apply. Put them next to Search Console clicks in separate rows, never added together. Google says these numbers include Google Ads activity as well as organic results. When a number drops, write down what you checked and what you still do not know.

What the Performance view counts

On Google Search, open the client's profile, click Performance, choose a time period and click Apply. In the Google Maps app, it sits under Business, then See more next to Performance. Google says only the metrics that apply to the business appear.

MetricWhat Google says it counts, in our wordsWhat to watch for
ViewsUnique people who viewed the profile on Search and Maps, each counted once a day. Someone on several devices or platforms may be counted a limited number of times. Profile views only, not every appearance of the business on Google.Google notes it can be lower than the figure in profile or email notifications. Warn the client before they compare.
SearchesThe search terms people used to find the business.Refreshed at the start of each month; can take up to five days to appear. You cannot manage these terms.
InteractionsThe total of all interactions.A sum of different actions. Report the parts.
CallsClicks on the call button. Needs a phone number on the profile.A tap, not an answered call. Call history left the profile on 31 July 2024, and Google says call buttons now use the business's own number, not a Google forwarding number.
Website clicksClicks on the website link.Not the same as site visits or Search Console clicks.
DirectionsDirection requests, adjusted for multiple taps, canceled requests and spam.Because of that adjustment, it may not match a raw count from another tool.
MessagesThe number of distinct message conversations.The old in-profile chat ended on 31 July 2024. Verified profiles in select regions can add a WhatsApp or text option. The developer documentation counts messaging-button clicks separately; the help page does not say how those chats appear here.
BookingsCompleted bookings managed through a booking provider.Expect nothing here without a booking provider. Google's developer documentation describes it as bookings made through Reserve with Google.
Products, Menus, Offers, Booking clicksViews of products sold at the location; menu clicks, once per person per day; offer views and clicks; hotel booking-link clicks.Report only if the business uses the feature.

Paraphrased from Business Profile Help and Google's Business Profile developer documentation, listed under Sources.

Four rules that apply to every row

Platform, device and search terms

The help page does not describe a platform or device breakdown; it only notes that one person on several devices or platforms can be counted more than once. The Business Profile Performance API, Google's interface for developers, splits business impressions four ways: Search on mobile, Search on desktop, Maps on mobile and Maps on desktop, each counting one person once a day. Google does not say the four add up to the dashboard's Views. If your reporting tool shows the split, call it impressions and report shares of the month's total, not four separate audiences.

For search terms, the developer documentation adds detail the help page leaves out. Each term is the lower-cased string the person entered, and its count is the number of unique users who used it in a month. When too few people used a term, the API returns a threshold the real count falls below, not an exact number. Copy what Google shows; never turn a threshold into a precise figure.

The help page describes no split between people who searched for the business by name and people who searched for a service. Make it yourself: label each term branded (the name and its variants), service or other, and report the groups apart, as the KPIs article does for Search Console.

Dates, delays and what Google does not document

ItemBusiness ProfileSearch Console
When a month is completeSearch terms: up to five days into the new month. No delay stated for other metrics.Usually two to three days. The newest data can be preliminary for a few hours.
Time zoneNot statedPacific Time
How far backNot stated16 months

So: pull both tools on the same fixed day after the fifth, using whole calendar months. Keep every month in your own sheet, since the help pages do not say how long Business Profile keeps the data. Because Business Profile's time zone is not stated, days at the edges of a month may not line up with Search Console's Pacific Time days. The report email template suggests sending on the third to fifth business day; if the search terms have not appeared by then, send the rest and say the terms will follow.

Putting Business Profile next to Search Console clicks

The two tools count different events. A Search Console click is a click from Google Search, Discover or News that takes someone to the site; the Performance report covers web, image, video and news search types. A Business Profile website click is a click on the profile's website link. The Search Console help pages listed under Sources do not mention Business Profile or Maps, so they do not say whether one event also counts as the other. Keep separate rows and never add them up.

  1. Note the URL the profile links to

    Often the home page, sometimes a location page. Write it in the report sheet so every month uses the same URL.

  2. Pull Search Console for that page and for the site

    In the Performance report, set a custom date range for last calendar month. Add a filter, choose Pages, then Custom (regex), and anchor the URL with ^ and $ so it matches only that page, such as ^https://www\.example\.com/$. Record clicks, then remove the filter and record whole-site clicks. Use Compare to add the month before.

  3. Pull Business Profile for the same month

    Record every row that applies. Copy search terms once five days of the new month have passed.

  4. Add context rows

    Did Google Ads run? Was the profile edited (hours, phone, website link)? Was a chat or booking option added or removed? These yes/no rows are what let you explain movement later.

For access and saved views, see setting up Search Console for client reporting.

A monthly table you can copy

One block per location, with a source column on every row, in the same order every month.

RowSourceAug 2026Sep 2026ChangeNote
CallsBusiness Profile4641−5Taps on the call button
Website clicksBusiness Profile5863+5Not added to Search Console clicks
Direction requestsBusiness Profile3423−11Adjusted by Google for repeat taps, cancellations and spam
Profile viewsBusiness Profile2,1401,980−160Unique people per day, Search and Maps
Messages, BookingsBusiness Profilen/an/aNo chat option or booking provider
Clicks to the linked pageSearch Console205211+6Home page, regex page filter
Clicks, whole siteSearch Console512498−14Web search type
Booked appointmentsClient's scheduling system3129−2The outcome, from all sources
Google Ads running?ClientNoNoBusiness Profile data includes ads
Profile editsYour logNoneHoliday hoursEdits are reviewed before going live
Search term, as Google shows itYour labelAug 2026Sep 2026
dentist near meService410380
[practice name]Branded220205
emergency dentistService6045

Example only: a hypothetical dental practice in a fictional town, with made-up numbers. Replace every row with your client's data and drop rows that do not apply. Copy search term counts exactly as Google shows them.

How to explain a drop without guessing

One month down is a data point, not a finding. In the example, direction requests fell from 34 to 23. Run these checks in order and note each result before you write a cause.

  1. Check the numbers are comparable

    Same whole months, same profile, search terms pulled after the fifth. A partial month can look like a drop.

  2. Check the profile

    Still verified? Edits waiting for review? Phone number still there, since calls need one? Website link, chat or booking option changed? Your context rows answer most of this.

  3. Check paid activity

    The figures include Google Ads, so a paused campaign or a budget change can move them. Ask the client.

  4. See where the drop sits

    If views and actions fell together, fewer people saw the profile. If one action fell while views held, look at what that action depends on: the phone number for calls, the website link for website clicks, the booking provider for bookings.

  5. Read Search Console for the same month

    If only Business Profile moved, start with the profile and its local results. If site clicks moved too, use the diagnostic sequence for ranking drops.

  6. Compare with the same month last year

    From your own record. If the pattern repeats, show both years.

Google's local ranking page says local results are mainly based on relevance, distance and popularity (it explains the third under the heading Prominence), and defines distance as how far the business is from the person searching. So fewer views can come from the profile appearing lower or from fewer people searching nearby. Neither report tells you which; say so. If a client asks about paying for placement, the same page says there is "no way to request or pay for a better local ranking on Google."

Report paragraph you can adapt. Edit the brackets.

Direction requests from your Google Business Profile fell from [34] in [August] to [23] in [September]. Profile views were also lower, [2,140] to [1,980]; calls and website clicks [changed little]. What we checked: both months cover the full calendar month, the profile is verified with no edits waiting for review, [the only edit was holiday hours in September], and [no Google Ads ran in either month]. Google adjusts direction requests for repeat taps, canceled requests and spam, so this number may not match other counts. We do not know the cause yet. Next we will [check how the profile appears for your main services in your area] and report what we find in [October]'s report.

What not to write

For the email around a weak month, see how to handle a bad month.

Where Business Profile goes in the monthly report

In the report outline, calls, website clicks and direction requests go under search traffic and results, next to Search Console clicks and the leads they produced. Views and search terms go under visibility. If you agreed calls as a KPI (the KPIs article maps "more calls" to Business Profile calls), put it in the three-line summary with the same definition every month. In the monthly report email template, it goes in the search traffic and results sentence, with one comparison. For the GA4 lines in the same section, see the monthly table in the GA4 organic search report.

Sources

checked on 29 October 2026