Google Business Profile for accountants

A Google Business Profile is the free listing that puts a firm on Google Maps and in the small map of nearby businesses Google shows at the top of the results for a search like "accountant near me". This page collects the evidence on how much that matters for a practice: the defensible numbers, what to treat with caution, and where each figure comes from.

Local search and the map results

Around 46% of all Google searches have local intent. (Google, reported via source 5)
Google reports that complete profiles get roughly seven times more clicks than empty ones, and about 70% more requests for directions or visits. (sources 4, 5)
The map of businesses at the top draws more clicks than the ordinary links beneath it. Exact per-position figures conflict between studies, so the split is best read loosely, not as a precise number. (sources 5, 6)

Claiming, reviews and revenue

The one large primary dataset here is a 2019 study of more than 200,000 small businesses. It is cross-industry, not accountants specifically, so read these as "small businesses generally":

Businesses that claim and manage their listings across the web earned about 58% more annual revenue; unclaimed businesses averaged roughly 72,000 dollars a year less. (sources 1, 2)
It is the review count, not the star rating, that tracks revenue: businesses with an above-average number of reviews earned about 82% more. (sources 1, 3)
Responding to reviews correlates with about 35% more revenue - yet roughly three-quarters of businesses never reply to a single review. (sources 1, 2)
The revenue "sweet spot" is around 3.5 to 4.5 stars; rating higher than that does not add revenue in the data. Review count matters more than star rating. (source 1)

What to treat with caution

Most Google Business Profile statistics circulate between marketing blogs without a primary source and drift as they are recycled. Three honesty notes on the figures above:

The 200,000-business study is from 2019 and cross-industry, so it evidences small businesses in general, not accountancy firms specifically.
Google's "complete profile" figures are widely repeated but not cleanly traceable to a single Google page, so they are stated as "Google reports", not as an independent finding.
Precise local-pack click-through rates disagree between sources; the direction (the map outdraws the links below it) is safe, an exact percentage is not.

Sources

Search Engine Land - review counts matter more to local-business revenue than star ratings (Womply study of 200,000+ businesses). searchengineland.com
BusinessWire - Womply study release. businesswire.com
WP Business Reviews - Womply study summary (review-count benchmarks). wpbusinessreviews.com
Searchlab - Google Business Profile statistics 2026. searchlab.nl
BizIQ - local SEO statistics 2026. biziq.com
RedLocal - Google local pack statistics. redlocalagency.com