I'll never forget the moment a restaurant owner called me, frustrated to tears. "We're number one on Google Maps," she said, "but we're still losing money. What's the point of all these rankings if my tables are empty?"
That conversation changed everything for me. I'd spent months obsessing over local pack positions, keyword rankings, and map visibility—all the vanity metrics that make us feel like we're winning. But here's what I learned the hard way: rankings don't pay the bills. Revenue does.
If you're managing a Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business) and wondering whether all that optimization work is actually moving the needle for your bottom line, you're asking exactly the right question. In this guide, I'm going to walk you through how to stop chasing rankings for their own sake and start measuring what actually matters—the real business impact of your GMB efforts.
So, What Exactly Does "From Rankings to Revenue" Mean for GMB?
Here's the thing: "From Rankings to Revenue" is about connecting the dots between your Google Business Profile visibility and actual money in the bank. It means tracking not just where you appear in local search results, but what happens after someone finds you—do they call? Do they visit? Do they buy?
Think of it like this: a billboard on the highway might get thousands of views, but if nobody takes the exit to your store, those views are worthless. Your GMB ranking is that billboard. Revenue measurement tells you who actually took the exit.
How Does GMB Actually Drive Revenue in Practice?
When I first started tracking this stuff, I was shocked by the disconnect between what I thought was happening and what the data showed.
GMB drives revenue through a surprisingly direct path:
- Discovery: Someone searches for what you offer (like "best pizza near me")
- Engagement: They find your profile and interact with it—reading reviews, looking at photos, checking your hours
- Action: They take a revenue-generating action—calling, getting directions, visiting your website, or booking directly
- Conversion: They actually show up or purchase
The magic happens when you can measure each step. I learned this working with a small dental practice that was ranking #1 for "emergency dentist" in their area. They were getting tons of profile views but almost no new patients. When we dug into the data, we discovered their phone number was wrong in GMB. All those desperate people searching for emergency dental care were calling a disconnected line.
Rankings looked perfect. Revenue impact? Zero.
Once we fixed the number and started tracking calls, we could see that about 35% of people who viewed their profile during business hours actually called, and roughly 60% of those callers booked appointments. Now we had a revenue formula we could optimize.
Key GMB actions that directly correlate with revenue:
- Phone calls (especially during business hours)
- Direction requests that result in visits
- Website clicks that lead to online purchases or bookings
- Direct bookings through reserve features
- Message conversations that convert to sales
What Are the Main Benefits and Drawbacks of Measuring GMB Revenue Impact?
Let me be honest about both sides here, because I've experienced the good, the bad, and the ugly.
Benefits I've seen firsthand:
- Budget justification: When I could show a salon client that their GMB optimization generated 47 new clients worth $8,200 in the first month, renewing their contract became a no-brainer
- Smart resource allocation: You stop wasting time on tactics that look good but don't convert
- Predictable growth: Once you know your conversion rates, you can forecast revenue from increased visibility
- Faster problem detection: When revenue drops but rankings stay stable, you know something else is broken (like that disconnected phone line)
The drawbacks nobody talks about:
- Attribution complexity: Not every customer who finds you on GMB will tell you that's how they found you. I've learned to accept that some revenue impact is invisible.
- Time lag: Someone might discover you on GMB today but not purchase for weeks. Your data needs to account for longer sales cycles.
- Multi-touchpoint journeys: That customer who found you on GMB might also see your Facebook ad and Google your name directly before buying. Who gets credit?
- Setup effort: Honestly? Getting proper tracking in place takes work. Call tracking numbers, UTM parameters, conversion pixels—it's not plug-and-play.
I spent about three weeks setting up comprehensive tracking for a client with five locations. Was it annoying? Absolutely. Was it worth it when we could prove a 340% ROI on their local SEO investment? You bet.
Why Measuring GMB Revenue Impact Actually Matters
Look, I get it. Rankings are easier to measure. They're clean, simple numbers that go up or down. Revenue attribution is messy and complicated.
But here's what I've learned after working with dozens of businesses: the ones that focus exclusively on rankings often make terrible business decisions.
I watched a home services company spend $3,000 trying to rank for "plumber" in their city—a super competitive term. They finally cracked the top 3, and the owner was thrilled. Until we looked at the actual calls generated: mostly people looking for free estimates they never converted on, or jobs too small to be profitable.
Meanwhile, they were already ranking #1 for "emergency plumber" and "water heater installation"—terms that brought in customers who needed help NOW and had actual budgets. But because nobody was measuring revenue by keyword, they'd been ignoring their most profitable rankings.
This matters for your business because:
- Budget allocation: You need to know which GMB optimization efforts actually generate returns
- Strategic focus: Different ranking positions and keywords drive different quality traffic
- Competitive advantage: While your competitors chase vanity metrics, you can dominate the profitable niches
- Business viability: Especially for small businesses, knowing your customer acquisition cost through GMB determines whether your local marketing is sustainable
According to research from BrightLocal, 87% of consumers read online reviews for local businesses, and 79% trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. But here's the stat that matters more: businesses that actively manage their GMB profiles see an average 70% increase in location visits and a 50% increase in purchase likelihood.
That's the bridge from rankings to revenue right there.
The GMB Metrics That Actually Predict Revenue
After years of trial and error, I've landed on a hierarchy of GMB metrics. Some are vanity metrics that make you feel good. Others are predictive metrics that actually forecast revenue.
The Vanity Metrics (Track Them, But Don't Obsess)
Search impressions tell you how often your profile appeared in search results. Sounds important, right? But I've seen profiles with 50,000 monthly impressions generate less revenue than profiles with 5,000 impressions. Why? Because impressions don't account for search intent, position, or competitive context.
Profile views are slightly better—at least someone clicked through to see more. But I've learned that profile views without actions are just window shopping.
Photo views can be helpful for certain businesses (restaurants, hotels, salons), but again—looking doesn't equal buying.
The Predictive Metrics (These Are Your Revenue Indicators)
Phone calls are gold, especially for service businesses. I track:
- Total calls
- Calls during business hours (worth 5x more in my experience)
- Call duration (calls under 30 seconds rarely convert)
- Call conversion rate (requires call tracking software)
For a plumbing client, we discovered that calls over 2 minutes converted at 73%, while calls under a minute converted at just 11%. That insight changed how we optimized their GMB description—we added more qualifying information upfront to attract serious buyers.
Direction requests matter tremendously for retail and restaurants. But here's the nuance: I also track when people request directions. A restaurant getting direction requests at 11 AM and 6 PM is seeing potential customers. Direction requests at 2 AM? Probably not.
Website clicks need to be tracked all the way through to conversion. I use UTM parameters (like utmsource=gmb&utmmedium=organic) on GMB website links so I can see exactly what happens after someone clicks. Do they bounce immediately? Do they spend 5 minutes reading your menu? Do they add something to cart?
Message conversations are underrated. When someone messages you through GMB, they're highly engaged. For a boutique hotel client, we found that 82% of people who messaged about availability ended up booking—compared to just 23% of people who only called.
Booking/reservation conversions (if you have this feature enabled) are the holy grail. These are trackable, attributable, direct conversions.
The Ultimate Metric: Revenue Per 1,000 Impressions
Here's a framework I developed that's helped me compare GMB performance across different industries and business sizes:
Revenue Per Thousand Impressions (RPTM) = Total GMB-Attributed Revenue ÷ (Total Impressions ÷ 1,000)
This normalizes revenue impact regardless of business size or search volume. A local coffee shop with 10,000 monthly impressions generating $5,000 in tracked GMB revenue has an RPTM of $500. A regional furniture store with 100,000 impressions generating $30,000 has an RPTM of $300.
Guess which one has better optimization? The coffee shop, despite lower absolute numbers.
I track RPTM monthly and can immediately see when optimization efforts are working (RPTM goes up) versus when we're just generating more traffic without better conversion (impressions go up, RPTM stays flat or drops).
How to Set Up Revenue Tracking for Your GMB Profile
Okay, let's get practical. This is the system I use, refined over probably 50+ client implementations.
Step 1: Establish Your Baseline (Week 1)
Before you change anything, you need to know where you're starting.
Pull your current GMB insights:
- Log into your Google Business Profile
- Go to the "Performance" tab
- Export the last 90 days of data (search impressions, profile views, actions)
- Note your current average rankings for your key terms
Document your current revenue sources:
- How many customers do you get per month?
- What percentage can you confidently attribute to local/online search?
- What's your average transaction value?
- What's your current customer acquisition cost?
I actually create a simple spreadsheet with these baseline numbers. It's not exciting, but when you're trying to prove ROI six months later, you'll thank yourself.
Step 2: Implement Call Tracking (Week 1-2)
This is non-negotiable if phone calls matter for your business.
I use services like CallRail or CallTrackingMetrics. Here's what you do:
- Get a tracking phone number that forwards to your real number
- Put that tracking number on your GMB profile (and only there)
- Set up call recording and transcription (where legal)
- Create alerts for missed calls during business hours
The tracking number lets you see exactly how many calls come from GMB, when they happen, how long they last, and (with transcription) what people are asking about.
Pro tip I learned the hard way: Don't change your phone number on GMB without updating your website, social media, and other directories to your real number. You want the tracking number isolated to GMB so you can measure its specific impact.
Step 3: Set Up Website Tracking (Week 2)
If you have a website link in your GMB profile (you should), you need to track what happens after people click it.
Create a tagged URL: Instead of just https://yourbusiness.com, use: https://yourbusiness.com?utmsource=google&utmmedium=organic&utm_campaign=gmb
This lets Google Analytics (or whatever you use) show you exactly what GMB traffic does on your site.
Set up conversion goals in Google Analytics:
- Form submissions
- Online purchases
- Booking completions
- Key page views (like pricing or contact pages)
- Time on site thresholds
For a law firm client, we created a goal for anyone who spent more than 3 minutes on their "Practice Areas" page and then visited the contact page. That behavior pattern converted to consultations 67% of the time, so we could count it as a qualified lead.
Step 4: Implement Direction Request Tracking (Ongoing)
This one's trickier because Google doesn't tell you who requested directions or whether they actually showed up.
Here's my workaround:
For retail/restaurants:
- Compare direction requests by day/time with actual foot traffic
- Ask new customers how they found you (seriously, just ask)
- Look for correlation patterns over time
For service businesses:
- When someone calls from a location near your business, ask if they're currently nearby
- Track "walk-in" customers separately and survey them
I'll admit this is the least precise part of the tracking system, but over time you'll see patterns. For a retail boutique, we noticed that every 100 direction requests correlated with approximately 30-35 actual store visits and 12-15 purchases.
Not perfect attribution, but good enough to estimate GMB's impact on foot traffic.
Step 5: Track Message Conversions (Ongoing)
If you have GMB messaging enabled (and you should), track every conversation:
- How many messages do you receive?
- What are people asking about?
- How quickly do you respond?
- How many convert to sales/bookings?
I keep a simple spreadsheet: Date | Initial Message | Response Time | Outcome | Revenue
For a spa client, this revealed that messages received Monday-Wednesday converted at 71%, while weekend messages converted at just 34%. Why? Because they responded to weekday messages within an hour but didn't check messages on weekends until Monday. We adjusted their process, and weekend conversion jumped to 58%.
Common Mistakes That Kill Your Ability to Measure ROI
I've made every single one of these mistakes myself, so I can tell you exactly how they'll bite you.
Mistake #1: Changing Your Phone Number Without a Tracking System
I had a client who was convinced GMB wasn't working. "Nobody calls us from Google," she insisted.
When I dug deeper, I discovered she'd changed her phone number three months earlier and updated it everywhere—including GMB. Of course she had no idea how many calls came from GMB; they all went to the same line as every other marketing channel.
We implemented call tracking and discovered GMB was actually her #2 source of new customers. She'd been about to cut her entire local SEO budget.
Mistake #2: Ignoring Multi-Touch Attribution
Here's how customers actually find businesses today:
- Search on Google Maps while out and about → see your business
- Later, Google your business name directly → visit your website
- See your Facebook ad → engage with your content
- Finally call or visit
If you only give credit to the last touchpoint (the Facebook ad in this example), you'll completely misunderstand what's driving revenue. GMB often plays the critical discovery role even when it's not the final click before purchase.
I use a "first touch" and "last touch" attribution model side-by-side. GMB often dominates first touch (how people discover you) even when other channels get last-touch credit.
Mistake #3: Not Accounting for Offline Conversions
This one's huge for service businesses and retail.
Someone finds you on GMB, gets directions, visits your store, and buys. That's a GMB-driven sale, but if you're only tracking online conversions, it's invisible.
The fix: Train your staff to ask new customers, "How did you hear about us?" I create a simple form (or even just a note on the POS system) to track this. It's not perfect, but it's better than nothing.
For a home services company, we discovered that 64% of their new customers had found them through GMB initially—but only 31% had called the GMB tracking number. The rest had visited the website first, Googled the business name directly later, or just showed up after getting directions.
Mistake #4: Optimizing for the Wrong Keywords
Not all rankings are created equal.
I worked with a coffee shop that was obsessed with ranking for "best coffee in [city]"—a super competitive term. We finally got them to position 2, and traffic increased. But revenue barely budged.
Why? Because people searching "best coffee" are often just browsing or reading reviews. They're not necessarily nearby or ready to buy right now.
Meanwhile, searches like "coffee shop open now," "coffee near me," and "espresso downtown" had much lower volume but dramatically higher conversion rates. These people had immediate intent and were ready to visit.
We shifted focus to these high-intent, lower-competition terms. Traffic actually decreased slightly, but revenue from GMB-attributed customers increased by 43%.
Mistake #5: Not Tracking Negative Actions
Here's something most people never think about: track when people do things that indicate your GMB profile is hurting you.
- Clicks to your website that bounce in under 5 seconds (your profile promised something your site doesn't deliver)
- Calls that last under 20 seconds (wrong number, or they hung up immediately after hearing your greeting)
- Direction requests late at night when you're closed (your hours aren't clear)
For a restaurant client, we noticed a spike in website clicks that immediately bounced. When we investigated, we realized their GMB photos showed a full bar and craft cocktails, but their website made no mention of their drink program. People clicked expecting a bar-focused venue and bounced when they saw a family restaurant menu.
We aligned the messaging, and bounce rate dropped from 73% to 34%.
Advanced Revenue Measurement Strategies
Once you've got the basics in place, here are some advanced tactics I use for clients with longer sales cycles or higher transaction values.
Customer Lifetime Value Attribution
For businesses where customers make repeat purchases, tracking just the first sale understates GMB's value.
A gym client acquires a member through GMB. That member stays for an average of 14 months at $50/month. The GMB-attributed value isn't $50—it's $700.
I track:
- Initial acquisition source (GMB, social, referral, etc.)
- Average lifetime value by acquisition source
- Retention rate by acquisition source
Interestingly, we found that GMB-acquired members had higher retention (16 months average) than members acquired through paid ads (11 months average). This completely changed how we valued GMB traffic.
Revenue Cohort Analysis
I create monthly cohorts of customers acquired through GMB and track their behavior over time.
- What percentage make a second purchase?
- How long until they purchase again?
- What's the revenue trend over 6 months, 12 months?
For an e-commerce business selling specialty food items, we discovered that GMB-acquired customers took longer to make their first purchase (7 days vs. 2 days for paid search) but had higher repeat purchase rates (42% vs. 31%) and higher average order values on subsequent orders.
This meant GMB's true value didn't show up for 3-4 months after acquisition—but when it did, it was substantial.
Competitive Conquest Measurement
Sometimes GMB's value isn't just the revenue it generates directly—it's the revenue you protect from competitors.
I had a client in a shopping district with three direct competitors within two blocks. We optimized their GMB profile aggressively—more photos, better posts, faster review responses, detailed attributes.
Their GMB-tracked revenue increased 23%, which was good. But when we surveyed new customers, we discovered that 41% had initially been searching for or heading toward a competitor and chose our client instead after comparing GMB profiles.
That "conquest" revenue wouldn't show up in basic tracking, but it represented the defensive value of GMB optimization.
Seasonal and Trend Analysis
I track GMB revenue impact by:
- Day of week
- Time of day
- Season
- Local events
- Weather patterns
For a landscaping company, we discovered that GMB drove 3x more calls on rainy days (when people noticed drainage problems) and the week after major storms. This let us adjust GMB post scheduling to capitalize on these high-intent moments.
A restaurant client saw direction requests spike 170% during local sports events at a nearby stadium. We started creating GMB posts specifically targeting game days ("Pre-game dinner specials tonight!"), which increased game-day revenue by 34%.
The GMB Revenue Dashboard I Actually Use
I'm going to share the exact dashboard I built (and keep refining) to track GMB revenue impact. You can adapt this to your business.
Top-Level Metrics (Check Weekly)
GMB Revenue:
- Total revenue attributed to GMB this month
- Revenue per 1,000 impressions (RPTM)
- Month-over-month change
- Year-over-year change
GMB Traffic Quality:
- Profile views to action rate (what % of viewers take an action)
- Action to conversion rate (what % of actions become customers)
- Average transaction value (GMB customers vs. other sources)
GMB Efficiency:
- Cost per GMB-acquired customer (if you're paying for optimization)
- GMB customer acquisition cost vs. other channels
- Return on investment (revenue ÷ cost)
Secondary Metrics (Check Monthly)
Discovery Metrics:
- Search impressions by type (direct, discovery, branded)
- Search appearance rate (how often you appear when people search relevant terms)
- Average ranking position for key terms
Engagement Metrics:
- Photo views and engagement
- Post views and clicks
- Q&A activity
- Review volume and sentiment
Conversion Path Metrics:
- Time from first GMB interaction to conversion
- Number of GMB touchpoints before conversion
- Most common conversion paths
Diagnostic Metrics (Check When Problems Arise)
Quality Indicators:
- Call duration distribution
- Bounce rate for website clicks from GMB
- Message response time and conversation length
- Negative reviews and response status
Competitive Context:
- Your share of local search impressions vs. competitors
- Your share of direction requests vs. competitors
- Review count and rating vs. competitors
I keep all of this in a Google Sheet that pulls data from Google Analytics, call tracking software, and manual entry for things like offline conversions. It takes about 30 minutes a week to update, and it gives me a complete picture of GMB's revenue impact.
When GMB Revenue Tracking Isn't Worth the Effort
Look, I'm a huge advocate for measuring GMB impact, but I'm also realistic. There are situations where the juice isn't worth the squeeze.
Very Small Businesses with Simple Needs
If you're a solo consultant who gets maybe 10 clients a year through all sources combined, implementing comprehensive GMB tracking is probably overkill. Just ask new clients how they found you and keep a simple tally.
Businesses Where GMB Isn't a Primary Channel
I worked with a B2B software company whose ideal customers were Fortune 500 CTOs. GMB drove almost zero revenue for them because their target audience wasn't searching locally. We set up basic tracking, confirmed GMB wasn't moving the needle, and focused their resources elsewhere.
Extremely Long Sales Cycles
If your average sale takes 18 months from first contact (think enterprise software or very high-ticket services), connecting GMB interactions to eventual revenue becomes so complex that it's nearly impossible to get clean attribution.
You can still track early-stage metrics (inquiries, demo requests), but expecting precise revenue attribution is unrealistic.
Real-World GMB Revenue Impact Examples
Let me share some actual results I've seen (with details changed to protect client confidentiality).
Case Study: Local Restaurant
Starting point:
- Ranking position 4-7 for key terms
- 8,200 monthly GMB impressions
- 47 phone calls per month (no tracking, just GMB reported number)
- No idea about revenue impact
What we implemented:
- Call tracking on GMB number
- Direction request correlation with reservation system
- Customer surveys asking discovery source
- Monthly GMB revenue dashboard
Results after 6 months:
- Ranking position improved to 1-3
- 14,500 monthly GMB impressions (77% increase)
- 89 tracked phone calls per month (89% increase)
- 38% of calls converted to reservations
- Average party size: 3.2 people
- Average check: $73
- Tracked monthly GMB revenue: $7,850
- Estimated total GMB impact (including walk-ins): $11,200
The owner told me, "I always knew Google was important, but seeing actual dollar figures changed everything. Now when we're deciding whether to invest in better photos or a new dish, we can estimate the GMB revenue impact."
Case Study: Home Services Company
Starting point:
- Inconsistent rankings (position 1-15 depending on location)
- No call tracking
- Couldn't differentiate GMB leads from other sources
- Spending $2,000/month on local SEO with no ROI proof
What we implemented:
- Dedicated tracking phone number for GMB
- UTM-tagged website links
- Conversion tracking for estimate requests
- Revenue tracking by acquisition source
Results after 4 months:
- More consistent rankings (position 2-5 across service area)
- 67 GMB-tracked calls per month
- 31% of calls converted to booked jobs
- Average job value: $1,840
- Monthly GMB-attributed revenue: $38,200
- ROI: 1,810% (revenue ÷ optimization cost)
They actually increased their local SEO budget after seeing these numbers because the ROI was so clear.
Case Study: Professional Services (Law Firm)
Starting point:
- Good rankings (position 1-3) but no revenue tracking
- 24,000 monthly impressions
- Hundreds of profile views but unclear conversion
What we implemented:
- Call tracking with legal-compliant recording
- Detailed call qualification tracking
- Multi-touch attribution model
- Client source tracking through CRM
Results after 8 months:
- 43 GMB-originated calls per month
- 18% converted to consultations (8 per month)
- 44% of consultations converted to retained clients (3.5 per month)
- Average client value: $8,500
- Monthly GMB-attributed revenue: $29,750
The interesting part: GMB's role was primarily discovery. Only 23% of eventual clients called the GMB tracking number directly. The rest found them on GMB, visited the website separately, did additional research, and then called the main line or filled out a contact form.
Without multi-touch attribution, GMB's impact would have been understated by 77%.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take to see revenue impact from GMB optimization?
In my experience, 30-90 days for most businesses. Quick wins like fixing incorrect information or adding photos can show impact within weeks. Ranking improvements that drive more traffic typically take 6-8 weeks to materialize and another 2-4 weeks to convert to measurable revenue.
Can I measure GMB revenue impact without paid tools?
Yes, but it's harder. At minimum, use free Google Analytics with UTM parameters on your GMB website link, manually track calls by asking customers how they found you, and survey new customers. It's not perfect, but it gives you directional data.
What's a good conversion rate from GMB profile views to customer actions?
This varies wildly by industry, but I typically see 15-30% of profile viewers taking some action (call, directions, website click, message). Of those actions, 20-40% convert to actual customers. So roughly 3-12% of profile viewers eventually become customers.
How do I track GMB impact for a business with multiple locations?
Use unique tracking phone numbers for each location's GMB profile. In Google Analytics, set up separate views or filters for each location's website traffic. Track revenue by location in your POS or CRM system, and map it back to GMB-attributed customers.
Should I track GMB revenue impact differently for service area businesses versus physical locations?
Yes. For service area businesses, focus heavily on call tracking and form submissions since there's no foot traffic to measure. For physical locations, direction requests and in-store surveys become more important. The principles are the same, but the metrics you prioritize differ.
What if my GMB rankings are good but revenue isn't increasing?
This usually means a conversion problem, not a visibility problem. Check: Is your phone number correct? Are your hours accurate? Do your photos and description set accurate expectations? Is your website mobile-friendly? Are you responding to messages quickly? The problem is likely in your conversion funnel, not your rankings.
How do I prove GMB ROI to a skeptical boss or client?
Show them three numbers: GMB-attributed revenue per month, cost of GMB management per month, and ROI percentage. Then compare GMB's customer acquisition cost to other channels. I've never had someone question GMB value when they can see it generates customers at $47 each while paid ads generate customers at $230 each.
Can seasonal businesses accurately measure GMB revenue impact?
Absolutely, but you need to compare year-over-year rather than month-over-month. Track your percentage of total customers that come from GMB across seasons. A landscaping business might get 80% of GMB-attributed revenue in spring/summer, but that's fine as long as GMB's share of total revenue is growing.
What's the biggest mistake people make when measuring GMB revenue?
Giving credit only to the last click before purchase. GMB often plays the discovery role—someone finds you on Google Maps, but then visits your website directly later or calls your main number. If you only credit the final touchpoint, you'll massively undervalue GMB's contribution.
How often should I review my GMB revenue metrics?
I check top-level metrics (total GMB revenue, RPTM, conversion rates) weekly. I do a deeper analysis monthly, looking at trends, comparing to other channels, and identifying optimization opportunities. Quarterly, I do a comprehensive review and adjust strategy based on what's working.
Moving From Rankings to Revenue: Your Next Steps
Here's where we are: you now understand that GMB rankings are just the starting point, not the end goal. Revenue is what matters, and measuring it accurately is what separates businesses that thrive from businesses that just... exist.
If you're feeling overwhelmed, I get it. This is a lot. But you don't have to implement everything at once.
Start here:
- This week: Set up UTM tracking on your GMB website link and document your current baseline numbers (how many customers do you get, and how many can you attribute to online search?)
- This month: Implement call tracking for your GMB phone number so you can see exactly how many calls come from your profile and listen to what people are asking about
- Next quarter: Build your simple revenue dashboard—even if it's just a spreadsheet where you manually enter weekly numbers—and start tracking GMB-attributed revenue month over month
- Ongoing: Ask every new customer how they found you and keep a tally. It's low-tech, but it works.
The goal isn't perfection. It's progress. Even rough attribution data is infinitely better than optimizing blind.
I've watched too many businesses waste money chasing rankings that don't matter while ignoring the rankings that drive actual customers through their doors. Don't be one of them.
And look—if you're managing multiple locations or just want to skip the manual tracking headache, that's exactly why platforms like GMBMantra.ai exist. Their AI handles the optimization work while you focus on tracking what matters: revenue. But whether you use a tool like that or do it manually, the principles stay the same.
Start measuring. Start connecting the dots between visibility and revenue. Start making decisions based on what actually grows your business, not what looks good in a ranking report.
Your bank account will thank you.