Google Business Profile · Guide

What Is Google Business
Profile Insights?

What Google Business Profile Insights is, the data it shows about how customers find and interact with your listing and why it is one of the most useful free tools for improving your local SEO.

Updated: June 2026
Written by: Andrew Odgers, Managing Director
Reading time: 6 minutes
The short answer

Google Business Profile Insights is the free data Google provides on how customers find and interact with your listing, such as how many people viewed your profile, how they searched and what they did next.

It shows things like the searches that brought people to you, whether they found you on Search or Maps and the actions they took, such as calls, website clicks, direction requests and messages.

This matters because it turns your profile from guesswork into something you can measure and improve, so Insights is one of the most useful free tools a local business has for understanding its customers and sharpening its local SEO over time.

The detailed answer

Understanding Insights

Insights is the part of your Business Profile that tells you what is actually happening: how people find you and what they do. Many businesses never look at it, missing a free, valuable source of understanding. Here is what Google Business Profile Insights is and why it is worth using.

What Insights is

Insights, sometimes called performance data, is the free analytics Google provides on your Business Profile. It shows how customers find and interact with your listing, turning your profile from something you only hope is working into something you can actually measure and understand.

It is free profile analytics. The profile basics are in What Is Google My Business?

How customers found you

Insights shows how people discovered you, including the searches that led them to your profile and whether they found you through Google Search or Maps. This tells you which terms and channels bring you customers, so you learn what is working and where your visibility actually comes from.

See how you are found. Maps SEO is covered in What Is Google Maps SEO and How Does It Work?

What customers did next

It also shows the actions people took after finding you: calls, website clicks, direction requests and messages. These actions are the real value, since they are customers engaging with you, so seeing which ones people take tells you how well your profile turns views into contact.

Actions are the real signal. Tracking calls is covered in How to Track Calls From Your Google Business Profile

Searches and discovery terms

Insights reveals the search terms people used to find you, showing what customers actually type. This is genuinely useful, since it tells you which words you are appearing for and can highlight terms worth targeting more, so it feeds directly into how you optimise your profile.

Search terms guide optimisation. Optimising is covered in How to Optimise Your Google Business Profile for Local SEO

Calls, clicks and directions

The data on calls, website clicks and direction requests shows how customers choose to reach you. Knowing whether people mostly call, click through or seek directions helps you focus on what matters, so these metrics guide where to put your effort for the most return.

Know how people reach you. Performance data is covered in What Is Google Business Profile Performance Data?

Photos and engagement

Insights can also show how your photos are performing and how engaged people are with your listing. This helps you see what is drawing attention, so you can do more of what works, such as adding the kinds of photos and content that get the most response.

Engagement shows what works. Adding photos is covered in How to Add Photos to Google Business Profile for Better Rankings

Why Insights matters

Insights turns your profile from guesswork into something measurable, showing what works so you can do more of it. For a free tool, it offers real understanding of your customers and visibility, so using it regularly is one of the smartest, easiest things you can do for your local SEO.

Data beats guessing. Using it is covered in How to Use Google Business Profile Insights to Improve Local SEO

A free window into your customers

Google Business Profile Insights is a free window into how customers find and engage with your listing, from the searches they use to the calls and clicks they make. Checking it regularly and acting on what it shows is one of the most useful, low effort habits in local SEO.

A free, valuable tool. The whole guide is gathered in the Google Business Profile Guide

In short, Google Business Profile Insights is the free data on how customers find and interact with your listing, from the searches they use to the calls, clicks and directions they request. It turns your profile into something measurable, so it is one of the most useful free tools you have.

This guide is part of our complete Google Business Profile Guide. The hub brings together every question a business asks about Google Business Profile, from setting up and verifying through to optimisation, reviews, insights and ranking in the map, each written in plain UK English.

Part of the guide Google Business Profile Guide View all guides →
Frequently asked

Profile Insights

What is Google Business Profile Insights?
It is the free data Google provides on how customers find and interact with your listing, such as how many people viewed your profile, how they searched and what they did next. It shows the searches that brought people to you, whether they found you on Search or Maps and the actions they took, such as calls, website clicks, direction requests and messages. It turns your profile from guesswork into something you can measure and improve, which makes it one of the most useful free tools.
What does Insights show me?
How customers found you, including the searches they used and whether they came through Google Search or Maps and what they did next, such as calling, clicking to your website, requesting directions or messaging you. It can also show how your photos are performing and how engaged people are, so it gives you a rounded picture of how people discover and interact with your listing.
Is Google Business Profile Insights free?
Yes, completely free. Insights, sometimes called performance data, is the free analytics built into your Google Business Profile, so there is no cost to see how customers find and interact with your listing. For a free tool it offers genuinely useful understanding of your customers and visibility, which is why it is well worth checking regularly as part of managing your profile and local SEO.
What can I learn from the search terms in Insights?
Which words customers actually type to find you, showing what you are appearing for. This is genuinely useful, since it tells you which terms are working and can highlight others worth targeting more, so it feeds directly into how you optimise your profile. Seeing the real search terms people use helps you shape your categories, services and content around what customers are genuinely searching for.
Does Insights show what customers do after finding me?
Yes. It shows the actions people took after finding you, such as calls, website clicks, direction requests and messages, which are the real value since they represent customers engaging with you. Seeing which actions people take tells you how well your profile turns views into contact, so you can focus on improving the steps that matter most for getting customers to reach you.
Why does Insights matter for local SEO?
Because it turns your profile from guesswork into something measurable, showing what works so you can do more of it. For a free tool it offers real understanding of your customers and visibility, so using it regularly is one of the smartest, easiest things you can do for your local SEO, letting you base decisions on what the data shows rather than on assumptions about how your listing performs.
How often should I check Insights?
Regularly, so you can spot trends and act on them, such as which searches bring you customers and which actions they take. Checking it periodically rather than never means you can see what is working, adjust your profile accordingly and measure the effect over time. There is a separate guide on using Insights to actually improve your local SEO once you know what the data is telling you.