Short answer: BrightLocal's Small Business Marketing Report 2026, released October 22, says 84% of US small business owners are confident customers can find them online. But only 35% say they keep an active Google Business Profile, 47% have fewer than 20 Google reviews, and only 22% rank Google as one of their top two sources of customers, even though 71% of consumers use Google at some point when they look for a local business. The fix is not a bigger project. It is a few unglamorous, recurring tasks on the places customers actually check.
If you run an HVAC company, a lawn care crew, a dental office, a restaurant or a shop in Northeast Indiana, you probably feel reasonably findable. You have a Google listing, a website and some reviews, and people do call. This report is a useful nudge because it lines owner confidence up against what customers say they do, and the two do not match neatly.
We stick to what BrightLocal and the sources below published. The survey is national, not a Fort Wayne study, and the numbers are owners' own answers, so we flag where that matters. We do not have Northeast Indiana figures for any of this and we are not going to invent them.
Key Takeaways
- 84% of surveyed owners are confident customers can find them online (58% very confident, 26% fairly confident).
- 85% say they have a Google Business Profile, but only 35% say they keep an active presence on it, and 21% have not updated it in more than three months.
- 47% of owners have fewer than 20 Google reviews, and 47% of consumers say they will not use a business with fewer than 20.
- 89% of consumers expect owners to reply to reviews, but only 51% of owners regularly do.
- 65% of owners say they are working on AI visibility, yet 46% have not checked, or do not know, whether they actually appear in AI answers.
What Did BrightLocal Find?
BrightLocal, a local SEO software company, surveyed 1,002 US owners of locally operating businesses with 1 to 50 employees. Every respondent was responsible for marketing decisions in their business. The results are published as a four part Small Business Marketing Report 2026, and a press release summarizing them went out on October 22, 2026.
BrightLocal then compared what owners said against two of its own consumer studies, the 2026 Local Consumer Review Survey and its Consumer Search Behavior research. That comparison is what makes the report interesting. Owners were asked where they think customers find them and what they are doing about it. Consumers were asked where they actually looked the last time they needed a local business.
The Headline Numbers, as BrightLocal Reported Them
- Owner confidence: 84% are confident customers can find them online.
- Profile ownership versus activity: 85% have a Google Business Profile, 35% keep it active.
- Where customers start: 61% of consumers began their most recent local search on Google (52% Google Search, 9% Google Maps), and 71% used Google at some point.
- Where owners say customers come from: word of mouth 35%, social media 33%, AI tools 23%, their own website 22%, Google 22% (owners picked two channels).
- Reviews: 47% of owners have fewer than 20 Google reviews, matching the 47% of consumers who say they will not use a business with fewer than 20.
- Review replies: 89% of consumers expect a reply; 51% of owners regularly reply.
BrightLocal CEO and co-founder Myles Anderson summed it up in the press release: “When 84% of owners feel confident in their online presence, yet nearly half fall short of basic review thresholds, and seven out of 10 consumers rely on a Google ecosystem that businesses under-prioritize, confidence becomes a blind spot.”
One piece of context before we go further. BrightLocal sells local SEO software and services, so it has an interest in the conclusion that owners need more help. That does not make the numbers wrong, and the methodology is stated plainly, but it is a reason to read the findings as a prompt to check your own situation instead of a final judgment.
Why Does Confidence Not Match What Owners Actually Do?
The core of the report is one contrast. 84% of owners say customers can find them. Yet BrightLocal found that only 35% keep an active Google Business Profile, only 41% keep their website active, and only 26% stay active on review sites and directories. Owners are confident about visibility while being quiet on the channels that create it.
The profile numbers are the sharpest. 85% of owners say they have a Google Business Profile, and 63% manage it themselves. BrightLocal asked how recently owners had touched it. 30% said they had updated it in the last week, whether by changing hours, adding a photo, posting an update or replying to a review. 72% had updated it within three months. And 21% said it had been more than three months since the last update.
BrightLocal is careful to say that “active” is open to interpretation, and so are we. A profile that was set up carefully a year ago with correct hours, services and photos may be perfectly fine. A profile with holiday hours that never changed back, a phone number that rings a former employee, or a service list missing your biggest job is a problem, even if the owner would call it “set up.” We looked at the specific layer of services and descriptions in The 300-Character GBP Field AI Overviews Read First (2026), and it is a good example of an unglamorous field that most profiles leave thin.
Why does the gap exist? BrightLocal's own data hints at the answer. 98% of owners are primarily responsible for their own marketing decisions. 28% say marketing feels too technical to do more of, and 25% think it will not make a real difference. When one person is also running jobs, payroll and customers, the task that has no deadline is the one that slips. A listing never sends a past-due notice.
Our reading, which is judgment and not a survey result, is that confidence is partly a stand-in for “nothing has gone visibly wrong.” If the phone still rings, the profile feels fine. The people who never call because they found a competitor with a fresher profile, more recent reviews or clearer hours do not show up in anyone's inbox.
Where Do Customers Look Compared With Where Owners Focus?
BrightLocal asked owners to pick the two channels that delivered the most new customers over the last 12 months. The answers were word of mouth (35%), social media (33%), AI tools (23%), the business's own website (22%) and Google (22%). Google came in fifth.
On the consumer side, BrightLocal found that 61% of people started their most recent local search on Google, 52% on Google Search and 9% on Google Maps. Counting the whole journey, 71% used Google at some point, including people who began on an AI tool or social media and then went to Google. Around two in five who began on social media, AI, voice search, review sites or Apple Maps returned to Google before deciding.
These two sets of numbers are not as contradictory as they look, and BrightLocal says so. Word of mouth really is the strongest source for most local businesses. But a friend's recommendation often ends with “let me look them up.” That lookup usually happens on Google. Someone who says they found you “through your website” probably reached the website from a Google result, an AI answer or a social profile first. The channel an owner remembers is the last touch. The profile and reviews that earned the trust happened earlier.
The behavior is also fast. BrightLocal reports that 73% of consumers started their most recent local search on a mobile phone, 75% found a business in under 30 minutes, and 72% looked at three or fewer businesses before deciding. With so few options considered, the business that looks current and complete on a phone screen has a real advantage over the business that looks half finished.
None of this means you should drop social media or stop asking for referrals. It means the places customers check after they hear about you need to be solid. We made a related point in Why 81% of Customers Don't Trust AI's Business Picks (2026): whatever route someone takes to your name, they tend to verify it on a source they trust before they call.
Do You Have Enough Reviews, and Are You Answering Them?
Reviews are where the owner and consumer numbers line up most precisely, and most uncomfortably. 47% of small businesses have fewer than 20 Google reviews. 47% of consumers say they will not use a business that has fewer than 20. That is a coincidence of percentages, not the same people, but it means a large share of owners sit on the wrong side of a line a large share of customers use.
Effort is not the problem. 64% of owners regularly ask customers for reviews, and 80% say they have some kind of review management process for Google. But 14% said they do not really do anything, and 6% did not know they could manage or respond to Google reviews. And among the owners who do ask, the asking does not always translate into volume or freshness. BrightLocal found that 57% of businesses that ask have between 11 and 50 reviews, compared with 50% of those that do not ask, a modest difference.
Replies are the cheaper gap to close. 89% of consumers expect owners to respond to reviews, and 42% are unlikely to use a business that ignores feedback. Only 51% of owners say they regularly respond. BrightLocal points out that a reply is not only for the reviewer. It is read by the next customer, and it can add detail that exists nowhere else on the profile.
BrightLocal's advice is practical and we agree with it. Tie the request to something you already do, such as the invoice at the end of a job or the thank-you email after an appointment, so that it does not depend on remembering at the end of a long day. Ask every customer, not only the happy ones. And keep the request simple. For the opposite problem, a review that is unfair or clearly against Google's rules, see our post on Google Review Appeals Are Delayed Again: What to Do (2026).
Are You Really Showing Up in AI Answers?
The AI part of the report is more encouraging than the review part, and also more fragile. 86% of owners know consumers use AI tools like ChatGPT and Gemini to find local businesses, and 67% say they have a good understanding of how that works. 65% say they are actively working on showing up in AI results, with a further 13% planning to start and 7% who want to but do not know where to begin.
Then comes the checking question. 54% of owners say they have checked and are confident their business appears in AI results. Another 21% believe it probably appears but have not checked. Taken together, 46% have not checked or do not know. BrightLocal flags a deeper problem with even the 54%: it analyzed 200,000 AI prompts across ChatGPT, Google AI Mode and Google AI Overviews for 1,300 locations, and found that even with identical prompts and tools, the businesses recommended were not consistent from one run to the next.
That fits what we found in ChatGPT and Gemini Pick Different Local Businesses (2026). A single check, especially a search for your own name, tells you little. Our advice, in light of that inconsistency, is to test the realistic questions a customer would ask when they do not know your name yet, across several AI tools, and to repeat the test over time. A better test for a dentist in Auburn is not “Auburn Family Dental” (a made up name for illustration) but “dentist near Auburn Indiana that takes new patients and is open Saturday.”
The mismatch behind the AI numbers is the same one as before. Owners are working on AI visibility, but BrightLocal notes that the sources AI tools draw on are the same ones many owners are leaving idle. In its analysis of AI citations of local businesses, Google Business Profile, Yelp, Facebook and TripAdvisor were the most frequently cited business directories, and 415 directories were used as sources overall. Meanwhile only 35% of owners keep a Google profile active and only 26% are active on review sites and directories. BrightLocal CEO Myles Anderson put it this way: AI “rewards fresh information that stays consistent across all the sources it draws on,” and “a strong month followed by three quiet ones won't hold your visibility.”
One more piece of consumer data keeps this in proportion. BrightLocal found that 23% of consumers used AI tools in their most recent local search, and 31% use them for local recommendations at least monthly. But among consumers who started on an AI tool, only 2% used AI as their only channel, and 43% went on to Google. Of those already using AI for local searches, only 18% felt ready to contact the recommended business without checking elsewhere. AI is a shortlist, and the checking still happens on the profile, the reviews and the website.
How Do Trades, Health, Food and Retail Compare?
BrightLocal broke several results out by industry. These are national figures from the owner survey, and the subgroups are smaller than the full sample of 1,002, so treat them as directional. Still, they line up with the kinds of businesses we work with in Northeast Indiana.
What BrightLocal Reported by Industry
- Trades or home services: 38% keep an active Google Business Profile. 54% have fewer than 20 Google reviews, the highest share of any group listed. 69% regularly ask for reviews and 56% regularly respond.
- Home or garden services (which covers lawn care): 32% keep an active profile, 47% have fewer than 20 reviews, 77% regularly ask for reviews and 48% respond. 35% named AI tools as a top two source of new customers.
- Health or medical (which covers dental offices): 52% keep an active profile and 58% keep an active website, the best of any group. 79% regularly ask for reviews, yet 50% still have fewer than 20.
- Food or drink: 35% have fewer than 20 Google reviews, the lowest share of any group, and 60% regularly respond to reviews.
- Independent retail: only 21% keep an active Google profile, the lowest of any group, and 44% have fewer than 20 reviews.
A few readings stand out. Trades and home service businesses are active on Facebook (56% for trades) but, in BrightLocal's words, are less likely to be visible on directories. Health and medical businesses lead on profiles and websites, which BrightLocal links to the reassurance people want before trusting someone with their care. Food and drink businesses have the strongest review counts, and BrightLocal suggests that is partly structural: more customers, more repeat visits and a product that inspires a review, not only asking.
BrightLocal also notes that in industries where customers entrust a business with their health, their home or a big purchase, a small review count gives people less evidence at the moment they want reassurance. For a roofer, a dentist or an HVAC company, a thin review profile costs more than it does for a coffee shop.
What Can a Northeast Indiana Business Do This Month?
You do not need a campaign to close this gap. You need a short, repeatable routine. Here is the one we would run, built from BrightLocal's own suggestions and the sources below. Budget about an hour for the first pass and about 20 minutes a month afterward.
A One-Hour Visibility Check
- Look at your own profile like a customer. On your phone, search your business type and town, open your Google listing and check hours, phone number, website link, services, photos and the booking or contact button. Fix anything wrong or stale.
- Count and date your reviews. How many Google reviews do you have, and when was the most recent one? If you are under 20, make that the first target. If the newest review is months old, that is the second.
- Reply to every review that has no reply. Address what the customer actually said. Keep it calm and specific, because the next customer reads it too.
- Build the review request into something you already do. An invoice line, a text after the job, a card handed over with the receipt. Ask every customer, not only the ones you think are happy.
- Check the other places AI and customers read. Find your business on Yelp, Facebook and one industry directory relevant to you, and make sure name, address, phone number and hours match your Google profile.
- Run three realistic AI searches. Ask ChatGPT, Gemini and Google's AI Mode the question a stranger would ask, such as “who does gutter cleaning near Garrett Indiana,” and note who is named and what they are cited for. Repeat in a month.
- Put a recurring reminder on the calendar. BrightLocal's point that this is “not one-and-done work” is the real finding. Twenty minutes monthly beats a big push twice a year.
A note on priorities. If you can only do two of these, do the reviews (steps 2 to 4) and the profile check (step 1). They connect to the strongest numbers in the report, and they feed the sources AI tools lean on. The AI searches in step 6 are a measurement, not a fix. They tell you what to work on next.
If your website is part of the problem, for instance slow on a phone or unclear about what you do and where, that is a different and larger piece of work, and it belongs ahead of any AI project. The consumer data above says most local searches start on mobile, so check how your site loads and reads on a phone before anything else on the site.
What Are the Limits of This Data?
A few cautions, so you can use the report without over-reading it.
- It is self-reported. The owner figures are what owners said. As one local marketing newsletter that covered the report put it, they are owners' reported answers, not an audit of their profiles. “Active” is each owner's own definition.
- It is national, not local. The sample covers US owners of businesses with 1 to 50 employees. It says nothing specific about Fort Wayne, Auburn or any Northeast Indiana county.
- The publisher has an interest. BrightLocal sells local SEO software and services. We used its published numbers and its own methodology notes, and we stuck to figures it stated directly.
- The consumer comparisons come from separate studies. The 47% of consumers and the 47% of owners are different groups answering different questions, so the match is a useful illustration and not a measured cause and effect.
- The AI figures are a snapshot. BrightLocal itself found AI recommendations vary run to run, and this field is changing quickly.
With those limits in mind, the direction is still clear and it matches what we see in the field: the places customers check are not always the places owners tend. Nobody can tell you from a national survey how your own profile compares. The hour of checking in the section above will.
Want a Second Set of Eyes on How Findable You Really Are?
Button Block helps Northeast Indiana businesses keep their Google Business Profile current, build a steady and honest review routine, and check how they appear in AI answers. We do not promise rankings. We help you cover the places customers actually look, and we will tell you plainly what we find.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How many small business owners think customers can find them online?
- BrightLocal's Small Business Marketing Report 2026 found that 84% of US small business owners are confident customers can find them online. Of those, 58% said they are very confident and 26% said fairly confident. The survey covered 1,002 owners of locally operating businesses with 1 to 50 employees.
- What share of small businesses keep their Google Business Profile active?
- BrightLocal found that 85% of owners say they have a Google Business Profile, but only 35% say they maintain an active presence on it. In the same survey, 30% said they had updated it in the last week, 72% in the last three months, and 21% had not updated it in more than three months.
- How many Google reviews do customers expect a business to have?
- BrightLocal's 2026 Local Consumer Review Survey found that 47% of consumers will not use a business with fewer than 20 reviews. The new owner survey found that 47% of small businesses have fewer than 20 Google reviews, so almost half of owners sit below the line almost half of customers draw.
- Do customers expect owners to reply to reviews?
- Yes. BrightLocal reports that 89% of consumers expect business owners to respond to reviews, and 42% say they are unlikely to use a business that ignores feedback. Only 51% of owners say they regularly reply.
- If a customer finds me through ChatGPT or Gemini, will they still check Google?
- Most likely. In BrightLocal's Consumer Search Behavior research, only 2% of consumers who started their latest local search on an AI tool used AI as their only channel, and 43% of them went on to Google. Of consumers already using AI for local searches, only 18% felt ready to contact the business an AI tool recommended without checking elsewhere.
- How do I check whether my business shows up in AI search?
- Test realistic, specific questions a customer would ask, such as "emergency plumber open late near Auburn Indiana," across more than one AI tool, and repeat the test over time. BrightLocal found that AI recommendations are not consistent from one run to the next, and a search for your own name does not show whether you appear when someone asks about a service without knowing who you are.
- Is this survey proof that small businesses are failing at marketing?
- No. The figures are what owners reported about themselves, not an audit of their profiles, and BrightLocal sells local SEO software and services. The survey is useful as a reality check on where owners put their effort compared with where customers look, not as a verdict on any one business.
Sources & Further Reading
- PR Newswire, “BrightLocal Report: Small Businesses Losing Online Visibility as Social and AI Prioritised Over Google”: prnewswire.com (Oct. 22, 2026): the 84% confidence figure, the 1,000-owner survey, Google versus other channels, the review gap and the quote from Myles Anderson.
- BrightLocal, “Small Business Marketing Report 2026”: brightlocal.com (read October 23, 2026): the survey of 1,002 owners, the four key takeaways, and the 98%, 25% and 28% figures on owner-run marketing.
- BrightLocal, “Customers still use Google, but small businesses don't think it's important”: brightlocal.com (read October 23, 2026): the top channels owners named, Google Business Profile ownership and update recency, the by-industry activity table, and the count of 415 directories used as AI sources.
- BrightLocal, “Small businesses can't keep up with consumer review expectations”: brightlocal.com (read October 23, 2026): review volumes, reply rates, how many owners ask for reviews and the by-industry review table.
- BrightLocal, “65% of small businesses are working on AI visibility, but are they overlooking the channels that feed it”: brightlocal.com (read October 23, 2026): owner confidence, AI awareness and checking, the 200,000-prompt analysis and the directories AI tools cite most.
- BrightLocal, “Google is #1 for local search, but three-quarters use more than one channel” (Consumer Search Behavior): brightlocal.com (read October 23, 2026): where consumer searches start, mobile use, AI use and how often consumers return to Google.
- BrightLocal, “You have less than 30 minutes to win a customer” (Consumer Search Behavior: Speed): brightlocal.com (read October 23, 2026): the share of consumers who decide in under 30 minutes and how many businesses they consider before choosing.
- Justin Herring, Yeah Local newsletter, “The answers missing from your website”: justinherring.substack.com (Oct. 22, 2026): independent commentary noting that the survey figures are owners' reported answers, not an audit of their profiles.