The shop is closed, the lunch rush never came, and you are sitting with one question: where do customers search for local businesses now? Google is still the most common answer. In BrightLocal's 2026 survey of 1,227 US consumers who had searched for a local business in the previous three months, 52% started their latest search on Google Search and 9% on Google Maps.
That does not mean everyone stops there. In the same survey, 75% used more than one channel, 9% started on social media, and 8% chose an AI tool first. The national pattern is a mix, and the mix among your own customers may look different.
You can find your own mix in about a week. Ask the next ten customers one question, tally the answers, and check them against two reports you may already have. You do not need to move your budget on a hunch before then.
Key Takeaways
In BrightLocal's 2026 survey of 1,227 US consumers, 52% began their latest local search on Google Search and 9% on Google Maps, while 9% began on social media and 8% on an AI tool.
75% of those consumers used more than one channel, so a customer who finds you on Instagram may still verify you on Google before calling.
Ask "What was the first place you looked for us?" with fixed answer choices, then compare the tally with Google Business Profile Performance and GA4 Traffic acquisition.
Put Your Next Marketing Hour Where Customers Begin
Start with the biggest named survey, because it gives you a baseline to compare your own customers against. BrightLocal's 2026 Consumer Search Behavior Channels report asked 1,227 US consumers about their latest search for a local business. Of those, 52% started on Google Search, 9% on Google Maps, 9% on social media and 8% on an AI tool they chose on purpose. Another 23% used AI somewhere along the way.
The sentence that matters most for your budget is the quiet one: 75% used more than one channel. Among the people who began with AI, 43% later checked Google and 39% checked social media. A customer rarely stays in one place from the first search to the phone call.
| Survey | Who was asked | What it measured | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| BrightLocal, 2026 | 1,227 US consumers who searched for a local business in the previous three months | First channel for the latest local search | 52% Google Search, 9% Google Maps, 9% social media, 8% AI first |
| BrightLocal, 2025 | 1,026 US adults | Default platform for local searches | 45% Google, 15% Google Maps, 14% social platforms |
| SOCi, 2024 Consumer Behavior Index | Consumers grouped by age | Platforms used for local discovery | Instagram and TikTok especially prominent at ages 18 to 24; Google Search dominant in older groups |
| Yext, 2026 | Global consumers | What people did after an AI answer | 5% went straight to purchase, 53% searched Google, 49% visited the website, 42% clicked cited sources |
Read the table as four different questions rather than one answer. One asks about the first channel, one about a default, one about age, and one about what happens after an AI answer. Each is the publisher's own finding, and none of them describes your town or your customers.
Reach Younger Customers Without Dropping Google
Age is where the studies differ most, and it matters if your customers skew young. BrightLocal's 2025 consumer search behavior study found that Google was still the leading default for Gen Z, but only 30% chose Google Search and 18% chose Google Maps. TikTok was the third most common choice at 10%.
Grouped by platform type, 26% of Gen Z used social media as their primary local-search method, compared with about 5% of Baby Boomers. SOCi's 2024 Consumer Behavior Index reported a similar pattern: Instagram and TikTok were especially prominent among 18 to 24 year olds, while Google Search dominated older groups.
Business type shifts the picture too. Restaurants, retail, beauty and other visual businesses tend to get more of their discovery on social platforms, though category differences are less settled than age differences. If you sell to a younger crowd or your work photographs well, a short-video habit may earn its place, and our post on whether short videos bring local customers covers that decision.
AI follows the same rule. It can build a shortlist, and the people who start there often check Google next. For more on that, see our post on whether AI search is bringing you customers.
Get Your Own Answer From the Next Ten Customers
A national percentage cannot tell you what your customers do. Ten of them can tell you more than you expect. Ask every new customer the same neutral question: "What was the first place you looked for us?" Do not hint at Google, social media or referrals, and do not change the wording from one customer to the next.
Give them fixed choices so the tally is easy to count:
- Google Search: They typed what they needed into Google.
- Google Maps: They searched or browsed on the map.
- Social media: Instagram, Facebook, TikTok or another platform.
- Review site: Yelp or another site where people post reviews.
- AI assistant: They asked a chat tool for a recommendation.
- A person they know: A friend, family member or colleague.
- What they saw in person: A sign, a vehicle or your location.
- Repeat customer: They already knew you.
- Other: Anything that fits none of the above.
Put the question in your booking form, inquiry form, checkout screen or follow-up message. At a counter or on the phone, ask after the sale rather than before it, so the answer is not rushed or shaped by the transaction. Keep "first place" separate from "places checked later," because a customer who found you on Instagram and verified you on Google gave you two different facts.
Check the Tally Against Two Reports You Already Have
The customer answer tells you where people began. Two free reports tell you what they did next, and the three together give you a far better read than any one alone.
In Google Business Profile, Performance shows how people find and use your listing, including searches, views, calls, website clicks, directions, messages, bookings and menu clicks. In GA4, open Reports, then Acquisition, then Traffic acquisition. Google defines source and medium as the platform that referred a visitor and the category of traffic, such as organic search, referral, email or social. Compare those against your key events and conversions, which Google explains in its Traffic acquisition report guide.
| Source | What it shows you | What it cannot show |
|---|---|---|
| Customer answer to the ten-customer question | The first place a real customer looked, including word of mouth and signs | Anything beyond the people you asked |
| Google Business Profile Performance | Searches, views, calls, website clicks, directions, messages, bookings | Which channel a customer saw before they found your listing |
| GA4 Traffic acquisition | Source, medium, key events and conversions for website visits | Walk-ins, referrals and many first touches |
Treat the customer answer as the main record for anything offline, because GA4 cannot reliably see every first touch. The ten-person tally is a direction rather than a benchmark. If it points strongly one way, repeat the question with a larger group before you change a meaningful amount of budget.
Fix the Small Leak Before You Buy Another Channel
The answer to your tally is often a repair rather than a new channel. These are worth checking in this order, as a practical audit and not a ranking of how common each one is:
- Wrong profile details: Name, hours, phone, website, service area or booking link are incomplete or out of date on Google Business Profile or Maps.
- A hard-to-use phone site: Contact and booking details are buried or the form does not send.
- Thin or stale reviews: Reviews are sparse, old or unanswered.
- No question asked: Nobody asks customers how they found you.
- Calls and bookings not tracked: You cannot tell where inquiries came from.
- Inactive social profiles: They exist but lack location or contact details.
- Impressions as the score: Reports count followers or views instead of calls, bookings and visits.
Correcting profile data is usually a small to medium job, while tracking calls, forms and bookings is usually medium. If the problem is local visibility, our post on how local SEO produces leads shows the chain from search to inquiry, and our local SEO work covers the profile and listing side.
One survey cannot tell you what caused a customer's choice, how you rank, or what a channel earned you. So, keep your Google Business Profile and your website in good shape while you test. When the tally shows a gap, add one channel that matches your customers and your type of business, and judge it by calls, bookings and visits. Our post on where to advertise a small business helps you choose that one test.
Know When Outside Help Saves You Time
You can run the ten-customer check alone, and the answer may be a profile cleanup or a tracking fix that costs you an afternoon. Outside help earns its fee when you run out of hours, when tracking needs technical setup, or when you have several locations to keep consistent.
It also helps when you cannot connect where customers began to what they bought, or when you need steady work across search, Maps, social, reviews, your website and AI answers. The point of hiring someone is accurate information, completed actions you can count, and gaps you cannot see yourself.
No one can promise a result from picking a channel. If your tally points to one simple fix, a good partner will say so, even when that means a smaller project.
Where do your customers start?
Pick an answer to begin.
1. In BrightLocal's 2026 survey of 1,227 US consumers, where did the largest share start their latest local search?
2. What is the best first step before you move marketing budget to a new channel?
3. Where should you look for offline discovery, such as word of mouth or a sign?
Frequently Asked Questions About Where Customers Look for a Local Business
Do customers still start with Google?
Usually. BrightLocal's 2026 US survey found 52% started their latest local search on Google Search and 9% on Google Maps. Overall, 75% used more than one channel.
How do customers find local businesses if not on Google?
They use social media, review sites, AI tools, and people they know. In the same survey, 9% started on social media and 8% chose AI first, and 75% used more than one channel.
Do people use social media to find local businesses?
Yes. It was the first channel for 9% of those surveyed and was used by 30% somewhere along the way. Use is higher among Gen Z in BrightLocal's 2025 study, where 26% used social media as their primary method.
Do people use AI assistants for local businesses?
Yes, but AI is not the main starting point yet. Eight percent chose it first and 23% used it somewhere. Among people who began with AI, 43% later checked Google.
How can I know where my customers found me?
Ask each new customer, "What was the first place you looked for us?" Then compare the tally with Google Business Profile Performance and the GA4 Traffic acquisition report.
Should every business focus on TikTok or AI?
No. Test a channel against your own customers and completed actions, and keep your profile and website accurate while you do.
Moving Forward
Google was the most common starting point in BrightLocal's 2026 survey, and 75% of respondents used more than one channel. Age shifts the picture, with Gen Z leaning further toward social media and TikTok than older groups. One percentage cannot tell you where your own customers begin, and it cannot show cause, ranking impact or revenue.
Ten answers to one neutral question can do something a national survey cannot: point to your next step. That step may be a profile cleanup, a working contact path or call tracking rather than another channel, and each of those is cheaper than months on the wrong platform.
If you would rather have someone connect the answers to your calls and bookings, Web Leveling can help through our internet marketing work, covering search, Maps, social, reviews and your website. We work with small and medium businesses across the country and overseas, and we do not promise results from a channel choice. Send us your ten answers and the reports you have, and we will help you read them.
Terms
Words used in this post
Tap a term to see what it means.
Google Business Profile. A business's free listing on Google Search and Maps.
Performance report. The Business Profile report showing searches, calls, website clicks, directions, messages and bookings.
GA4. Google Analytics 4, which reports how visitors reach and use a website.
Traffic acquisition report. A GA4 report that groups visits by source and medium.
Source and medium. The platform that sent a visitor, and the type of traffic, such as organic search, referral, email or social.
Key event. An action GA4 is set to count as important, such as a completed lead form.
