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UK context
Updated 2026

UK Local SEO Statistics 2026

Verified local search statistics covering Google, mobile behaviour, reviews, local ranking factors and AI search.

This page brings together current UK search-market evidence and recent consumer research from recognised primary and specialist sources. Every figure is dated, linked to its source and labelled by geography so UK data is not confused with US consumer research.

See the key statistics

Methodology

Local SEO statistics at a glance

The numbers worth knowing first

These are the strongest current figures from the sources reviewed for this edition.

UK
90%+

of general searches in the UK take place on Google

The Competition and Markets Authority says Google handles more than 90% of UK general search queries.

CMA, 2025

UK
96%

of online UK adults used a search engine in the past year

Search engines remain one of the UK’s main gateways to online information.

Ofcom, 2026

US consumer panel
84%

searched online for a local business in the previous three months

Based on BrightLocal’s 2026 panel of 1,227 US consumers who had recently searched locally.

BrightLocal, 2026

US consumer panel
73%

started their latest local-business search on a mobile phone

Only 19% started on a computer and 8% on a tablet.

BrightLocal, 2026

US consumer panel
97%

read reviews for local businesses

BrightLocal’s 2026 review survey used a representative panel of 1,002 US adults.

BrightLocal, 2026

Expert survey
#1

dedicated service pages rank first among local-organic factors

Whitespark’s expert survey ranked a dedicated page for each service as the leading local-organic factor.

Whitespark, 2026

Important context
The UK figures above come from UK regulators. BrightLocal’s 2026 consumer studies use US panels, so those figures are useful behavioural benchmarks rather than claims about UK consumers specifically. Whitespark’s ranking-factor data is an expert survey, not a disclosure of Google’s algorithm.

UK search market

Google still dominates how the UK searches

UK regulator data gives this page a stronger local foundation than the recycled global statistics commonly used in local SEO roundups.

90%+
Google’s share of UK general search queries
CMA · 2025

96%
online UK adults reporting search-engine use in the previous year
Ofcom · 2026

~9bn
Google search page views by UK adults in October 2025
Ofcom · 2026

70–80%
of UK traditional-search queries made on mobile devices in 2024
CMA final decision · 2025

Competition and Markets Authority
Ofcom Adults’ Media Use and Attitudes 2026
CMA final decision

Local search behaviour

Consumers search quickly and compare a short list

The figures in this section come from BrightLocal’s 2026 Consumer Search Behavior research. The survey used 1,227 US consumers who had searched online for a local business during the previous three months.

US consumer panel
75%

choose a local business in under 30 minutes

Local-business decisions tend to happen within a short consideration window.

US consumer panel
28%

decide in under five minutes

More than a quarter of respondents made their choice almost immediately.

US consumer panel
72%

look at three or fewer businesses before deciding

Only 1% said they considered more than ten businesses.

US consumer panel
73%

begin the search on mobile

Mobile is the dominant starting device across the overall sample.

US consumer panel
52%

started their latest local search on Google

Google remains the largest single starting point, but not the whole journey.

US consumer panel
71%

used Google Search at some point in the journey

Consumers often return to Google even when their search starts elsewhere.

US consumer panel
75%

used more than one channel

Local discovery increasingly moves between search, maps, reviews, social and AI.

US consumer panel
23%

used AI tools during their latest local-business search

AI is already part of a meaningful share of local discovery journeys.

Sources:
BrightLocal Consumer Search Behavior — decision speed
and
BrightLocal Consumer Search Behavior — search channels.

Local review statistics

Reviews influence trust, research and action

BrightLocal’s Local Consumer Review Survey 2026 used a representative panel of 1,002 US adults. These figures are labelled as US consumer research rather than UK-specific behaviour.

US consumer panel
97%

of consumers read reviews for local businesses

Review reading is now close to universal within BrightLocal’s survey sample.

BrightLocal Local Consumer Review Survey 2026

41%
always read reviews when browsing for businesses

71%
use Google to read local-business reviews

6
review sites used by the average consumer

47%
will not use a business with fewer than 20 reviews

74%
only care about reviews from the previous three months

31%
will only use a business with a 4.5+ star rating

54%
visit the business website after reading positive reviews

81%
expect a business to respond to a review within a week

Ranking factors

What Google confirms — and what local SEO experts observe

Google does not publish a weighted local-ranking formula. It says local results are mainly based on relevance, distance and prominence. Whitespark’s annual Local Search Ranking Factors report adds expert opinion based on testing and practical local SEO work.

Google confirmed

RelevanceHow closely a Business Profile matches what the searcher is looking for.

DistanceHow far each potential result is from the searcher or the location used in the query.

ProminenceHow well known a business is, informed by signals including links, articles, reviews and web results.

Google Business Profile Help

Whitespark expert survey 2026

Local Pack / Maps
#1 Primary GBP category

Local Pack / Maps
#2 Proximity to searcher

Local Pack / Maps
#3 Keywords in GBP business title

Local organic
#1 Dedicated page for each service

Local organic
#2 Geographic relevance of content

Local organic
#3 Quality / authority of inbound links

Whitespark Local Search Ranking Factors

AI and local search statistics

Local discovery is spreading beyond traditional Google results

AI local-search data is developing quickly. BrightLocal’s figures below come from US consumer research; SOCi’s figures are based on its 2026 study of multi-location brand locations.

US consumer panel
45%

have used AI tools for local-business recommendations

BrightLocal reports a substantial rise in the use of generative AI for local recommendations.

BrightLocal, 2026

Multi-location brands
1.2%

of measured locations were recommended by ChatGPT

SOCi compared this with a 35.9% Google 3-Pack appearance rate.

Multi-location brands
30×

harder to appear in ChatGPT local recommendations

SOCi’s study expresses this relative to high visibility in traditional local search.

LLM local-query citations
23.1%

came from brand websites

Owned local pages remain an important source used by AI systems for local queries.

Whitespark expert survey
#1

expert-curated “best of” lists for AI local visibility

Whitespark’s contributors ranked presence on expert-curated lists first among AI local visibility factors.

Sources:
SOCi 2026 Local Visibility Index data,
BrightLocal AI recommendations study,
and
Whitespark Local Search Ranking Factors.

Source quality

Why some famous local SEO statistics are not headline figures here

Local SEO articles frequently repeat statistics for years after the original research has become dated. The often-quoted claim that 46% of Google searches have local intent, for example, traces back to a Google presentation reported in 2018. It may still be useful historical context, but it is not presented here as fresh 2026 evidence.

Our rule is simple: if a figure is old, geographically narrow, based on expert opinion, or difficult to trace to the original producer, that limitation should be visible beside the statistic.

Original source firstWe link to the organisation that produced the data wherever possible.

Year shownA current page should not make an old statistic look newly measured.

Geography labelledUS consumer findings are not silently presented as UK consumer behaviour.

Opinion labelledExpert ranking-factor surveys are not described as Google’s confirmed algorithm.

Methodology

How this statistics page is maintained

This is a curated research asset rather than a claim that iwebsitez.com conducted every survey shown above. We reviewed current primary-source and specialist research relevant to local search, prioritising UK regulator data for the UK market and clearly labelling non-UK consumer studies.

Statistics are selected for relevance, traceability and recency. We avoid presenting old figures as new, and we distinguish Google’s own published guidance from industry expert surveys and commercial research.

01
Trace the sourceWe look for the organisation that actually produced the figure, not another roundup that repeated it.

02
Check the sampleWe note whether data covers UK users, US consumers, multi-location brands or industry experts.

03
Check the dateOlder statistics can remain useful, but their original research year stays visible.

04
Review regularlyThe page uses 2026 in the heading while sources themselves retain their actual publication year.

Primary sources

Research used on this page

UK regulator
Competition and Markets Authority
Google’s UK search-market position · 2025

UK regulator
Ofcom Adults’ Media Use and Attitudes
UK search-engine use · 2026

Consumer research
BrightLocal Consumer Search Behavior
Decision speed and shortlist size · 2026

Consumer research
BrightLocal Search Channels
Devices and discovery channels · 2026

Consumer research
BrightLocal Local Consumer Review Survey
Reviews and trust · 2026

Platform guidance
Google Business Profile Help
Relevance, distance and prominence

Expert research
Whitespark Local Search Ranking Factors
Pack, organic and AI visibility factors · 2026

Measurement study
SOCi Local Visibility Index data
Traditional and AI local visibility · 2026

Cite this page

You are welcome to reference these local SEO statistics

When quoting a statistic, the strongest citation is the original research source shown beside it. If you reference this collection, please credit iwebsitez.com and link to this page.

Suggested citation
iwebsitez.com, “UK Local SEO Statistics 2026”.

Research enquiries

Questions about a source or statistic?

Contact Pete if you need clarification on how a figure is presented, its source, or the methodology used for this page.

Contact Pete

UK Local SEO Statistics 2026

Local SEO statistics at a glance

of general searches in the UK take place on Google

of online UK adults used a search engine in the past year

searched online for a local business in the previous three months

started their latest local-business search on a mobile phone

read reviews for local businesses

dedicated service pages rank first among local-organic factors

Google still dominates how the UK searches

Local search behaviour

choose a local business in under 30 minutes

decide in under five minutes

look at three or fewer businesses before deciding

begin the search on mobile

started their latest local search on Google

used Google Search at some point in the journey

used more than one channel

used AI tools during their latest local-business search

Local review statistics

of consumers read reviews for local businesses

What Google confirms — and what local SEO experts observe

AI and local search statistics

have used AI tools for local-business recommendations

of measured locations were recommended by ChatGPT

harder to appear in ChatGPT local recommendations

came from brand websites

expert-curated “best of” lists for AI local visibility

Why some famous local SEO statistics are not headline figures here

Methodology

Primary sources

Cite this page

Questions about a source or statistic?

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