![local voice logo [recovered]](https://mylocalvoice.io/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Local-Voice-Logo-Recovered-250x56.png){kind=logo}
Local Voice research
9 in 10 Google Searches That Turn Up a Plumber Don't Use the Plumber's Name
BrightLocal found 90% of searches that surface a plumbing or HVAC Google listing are for a service. Only 10% use the name. What it means for calls.
By Adam Brewer, founder of Local Voice. Figures checked October 10, 2026.
90% of searches that turned up a plumbing or HVAC Google listing were for a service or category, according to BrightLocal's 2019 study of 45,264 listings. BrightLocal calls these discovery searches. Only about 1 in 10 searched for the business by name or address.
For locksmiths it was 97%. Most people who find you on Google are choosing from a list. In the same study, 38% of actions on plumbing and HVAC listings were calls. The data covers 2017 and 2018.
Every figure was checked at its source on October 10, 2026. Derived figures are marked as Local Voice calculations, with the math shown in the methodology. The core data dates from 2017 and 2018.
Key findings
90% of searches that surfaced a plumbing and HVAC Google listing were discovery searches for a service or category, in BrightLocal's 2019 study of 45,264 listings.
Locksmiths had the highest discovery rate of 36 industries at 97%, followed by repairs at 96%, in BrightLocal's 2019 study.
Across all 36 industries BrightLocal studied, 84% of listing searches were discovery searches and 16% were direct searches for a name or address (2019).
38% of customer actions on plumbing and HVAC Google listings were calls in BrightLocal's 2019 study, in the top 10 of 36 industries for call rate.
Phone call clicks on Google Business Profiles fell about 8.6% for service-based businesses from Q1 2024 to Q1 2025 (Rio SEO, as reported by Basar Optimization).
47% of U.S. mobile searchers said they would explore other brands if they couldn't quickly find a phone number (Google and Ipsos, 2013, as reported by Search Engine Land).
How do people find a plumber on Google?
Mostly by searching for the service. BrightLocal's Google My Business Insights Study looked at 45,264 business listings from September 2017 to December 2018. 90% of the searches that turned up a plumbing and HVAC listing were discovery searches.
BrightLocal counts a discovery search when someone looks up a category, product or service you offer and your listing comes up. A direct search is one for your business name or address. Think "water heater repair near me" against "Smith Plumbing."
Across all 36 industries, the split was 84% discovery and 16% direct. Trade categories sat well above that average. BrightLocal said businesses that customers use infrequently tend to have the highest discovery rates.
Figure 1. 90% of searches that find a plumbing or HVAC listing are for a service or category
Discovery searches as a share of searches that surfaced the listing. Trade categories in BrightLocal's top 10, with the 36-industry figure for context.
Data from September 2017 to December 2018. Google's current Performance report lists search terms but doesn't split discovery from direct searches.
Source: BrightLocal, Google My Business Insights Study (July 15, 2019). 45,264 listings in the U.S., Canada, Australia and U.K. Medians.
What "9 in 10" means for a local plumber
It means only about 1 in 10 searches that find your listing use your name. BrightLocal counted two search types, so the direct share for plumbing and HVAC is 100% minus 90%, or 10% (Local Voice calculation).
The other 9 come from people who want a fix and haven't picked a company. Google names distance from the searcher as one of the main factors in local results. Your listing shows up beside nearby competitors, and the searcher can tap any of them.
Table 1. Discovery and direct search shares for trade categories (BrightLocal 2019; direct share is a Local Voice calculation)
Discovery and call rate: BrightLocal's published top-10 lists. Direct: Local Voice calculation, 100% minus discovery. Call rate appears only for industries in BrightLocal's top 10 for that measure.
Your Google listing shows up in 600 searches this month.
60 of them are for your business name or address. That's 60 ÷ 600 = 10%.
The other 540 are for a service, like "drain cleaning." That's 540 ÷ 600 = 90% discovery.
Google's current Performance report lists the search terms people used to find you, updated at the start of each month. Count the ones that contain your name.
BrightLocal read the pattern two ways. Discovery searchers "may have a lower intent to buy" than people searching a name, with several businesses competing for their attention. For locksmiths and repairs, BrightLocal also said many leads likely come from people in need without time to shop around.
Direct searches still matter. BrightLocal found industries with high direct rates tend to be ones that take more research, often after a referral. For a plumber, direct searches likely come from past customers and referrals. BrightLocal didn't measure that for trades.
How many of those searchers call?
More than a third of the actions on a plumbing and HVAC listing are calls. BrightLocal found 38% of customer actions on those listings were calls, sixth in its top 10. The other actions it counted were website visits and direction requests.
Table 2. Industries with the highest call rate on Google listings, with discovery rate where published (BrightLocal 2019)
BrightLocal, Google My Business Insights Study (2019). Call rate is calls as a share of listing actions. BrightLocal publishes top-10 lists for each measure, so industries outside a top 10 show no figure.
Four industries appear on both top-10 lists. Three are trades: plumbing and HVAC, locksmiths and repairs. These trades get mostly discovery searches, and calls make up a large share of their listing actions.
Calls cluster on weekdays. BrightLocal found the typical business got 94% of its listing calls Monday to Friday, with the most between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m. on Mondays. Locksmiths got 31% of their calls on weekends, close to restaurants at 32%. See weekend calls to home service businesses.
Are Google listing calls going up or down?
Down lately, after growing in BrightLocal's data. BrightLocal found calls from listings grew 22% from Q4 2017 to Q4 2018. Rio SEO's newer benchmarks point the other way, as reported by Basar Optimization.
Rio SEO found phone call clicks fell about 8.6% for service-based businesses from Q1 2024 to Q1 2025. Listing views fell more than 30%. Rio SEO said searchers may be getting what they need from the listing or from AI Overviews without clicking, as quoted by Basar Optimization.
Figure 2. Phone call clicks fell about 8.6% while listing views fell more than 30%
Year-over-year change in Google Business Profile metrics, service-based businesses, Q1 2025 vs Q1 2024. Bars show the size of each decline.
Basar Optimization doesn't link to a Rio SEO report or give a sample size. Treat these as directional.
Source: Rio SEO Local Benchmarks, as reported by Basar Optimization (Taher Dawoodi, January 23, 2026).
Calls fell least of the five measures. The two studies measured different businesses several years apart, so don't read them as one trend.
What happens if a searcher can't reach you
Many move on. Google and Ipsos surveyed 3,000 U.S. smartphone users in 2013, as reported by Search Engine Land. 47% said they would "explore other brands" if they didn't quickly find a phone number. 70% had used the call button in Google search results.
Google's original study page now redirects, and the survey is 13 years old. CallRail's 2025 survey of 1,000 U.S. consumers points the same way: 21% call another business right away when nobody answers. The two surveys asked different people 12 years apart.
Reviews push searchers to act too. BrightLocal's 2026 Local Consumer Review Survey of 1,002 U.S. adults found 20% contact a business after reading positive reviews, and 20% make an appointment. 34% said they're ready to buy or book. See what callers do when you don't answer.
What to do this week
Check your search terms. Open your Business Profile's Performance report and look at the search terms. Count how many contain your name. BrightLocal's 2019 benchmark for plumbing and HVAC is about 10%.
Fill in every service you offer. Google says businesses with complete and accurate info are more likely to show up in local results. Discovery searches are for services, so list each one by name.
Put your phone number in front. Make sure it's on the listing and works as tap-to-call. 38% of actions on plumbing and HVAC listings were calls in BrightLocal's study.
Answer the calls the listing sends. Reviews and posts that lift your listing are wasted if the call rings out. Check who picks up your Google listing number after hours. Local Voice sells AI phone agents and local SEO, so we see both sides of this. See what each option costs.
Frequently asked questions
What is a discovery search on Google Business Profile?
A search for a category, product or service you offer where your listing appeared, as BrightLocal defines it. A direct search is for your name or address. BrightLocal's 2019 study of 45,264 listings found 84% of searches across 36 industries were discovery searches. For plumbing and HVAC it was 90%.
Do people call plumbers straight from Google?
Yes, often. BrightLocal's 2019 study found 38% of actions on plumbing and HVAC listings were calls. Across all industries, 16% of businesses got more than 100 calls a month from their listing. Your own count is in your Business Profile's Performance report, which tracks taps on the call button.
Can I still see discovery and direct searches?
Not as a split. Google's current Performance report shows the search terms people used to find you, updated at the start of each month. It doesn't separate discovery from direct searches. Count the terms that include your business name to estimate your direct share. Plumbing and HVAC listings ran about 10% direct in BrightLocal's 2019 data.
Are Google Business Profile calls declining?
In the latest data we could verify, yes. Rio SEO data reported by Basar Optimization showed phone call clicks for service-based businesses down about 8.6% from Q1 2024 to Q1 2025. Listing views fell more than 30%. Calls fell less than website clicks, at about 15.4%, and direction requests, at about 12%.
Is BrightLocal's 2019 data still useful?
As a benchmark, yes, with care. It covers September 2017 to December 2018, and Google's current report doesn't show the same split. We found no newer public study that splits discovery from direct searches by industry. Use the 90% plumbing and HVAC figure as a starting point and check your own search terms.
Free tool
What do missed calls cost your business?
Pick your trade, enter how many calls you miss and what a job is worth. The free calculator shows the sales you lose each month, each year and per missed call, using published booking and close rates.
Open the calculatorMethodology
Main source
BrightLocal, Google My Business Insights Study, by Rosie Murphy, published July 15, 2019. BrightLocal reviewed a random sample of 45,264 listings in 36 industries in the U.S., Canada, Australia and U.K., from September 2017 to December 2018. BrightLocal says its averages are medians. It grouped business categories into 36 industries and doesn't publish which categories each industry contains. "Repairs" and "Tradesmen" may include businesses that aren't service-area trades. Ben Fisher, an outside Google My Business expert quoted in the study, said Insights data "are not very accurate, and can sometimes suffer from data outages."
Definitions
BrightLocal defines a discovery search as a search for a category, product or service the business offers that surfaced its listing. A direct search is one for the business name or address. BrightLocal didn't study branded searches. Call rate is calls as a share of listing actions, shown beside direction request and website visit rates. BrightLocal doesn't give a formula.
Published lists
BrightLocal publishes top-10 lists for discovery rate and call rate. Industries outside a top 10 have no published rate, so this post shows none. We use the published rates only and don't compute rates from BrightLocal's per-industry medians.
Formulas
Direct share = 100% minus discovery share. BrightLocal counted only discovery and direct searches and left branded searches out, and its 84% and 16% add to 100%. Plumbing and HVAC: 100% minus 90% is 10%, or 1 in 10. Locksmiths: 3%. Repairs: 4%. Tradesmen: 8%. Worked example: 60 ÷ 600 = 10% and 540 ÷ 600 = 90%.
Rio SEO
Rio SEO Local Benchmarks for service-based businesses, Q1 2025 against Q1 2024, as reported by Basar Optimization (Taher Dawoodi, January 23, 2026). Total listing clicks were down about 16.8%, website clicks about 15.4%, phone call clicks about 8.6% and direction requests about 12%. Listing views were down more than 30%. No sample size or Rio SEO link was given. We could not open a Rio SEO page with these figures.
Google and Ipsos
"The Role of Click to Call in the Path to Purchase," 3,000 U.S. smartphone users, conducted by Ipsos for Google. Reported by Greg Sterling in Search Engine Land on September 24, 2013, and in Search Engine Watch the same day. Google's original page now redirects to a general page.
Other sources
BrightLocal Local Consumer Review Survey 2026: 1,002 U.S. adults via SurveyMonkey, published February 11, 2026. CallRail: 1,000 U.S. consumers, September 25, 2025. Google's help pages on local ranking and on Business Profile performance. Each study measured different people at different times.
When we checked
BrightLocal's 2019 and 2026 studies, Basar Optimization, Search Engine Land, Search Engine Watch, CallRail and both Google help pages were checked at the source on October 10, 2026.
Sources
BrightLocal. Google My Business Insights Study. Rosie Murphy, July 15, 2019. Accessed October 10, 2026.
Basar Optimization. A comprehensive analysis of Local Search 2025: Why GBP Clicks & Calls Are Declining (and How to Adapt). Taher Dawoodi, January 23, 2026, reporting Rio SEO Local Benchmarks. Accessed October 10, 2026.
Search Engine Land. Study: 61 Percent Of Mobile Callers Ready To Convert. Greg Sterling, September 24, 2013, reporting Google and Ipsos research. Accessed October 10, 2026.
Search Engine Watch. Google: 70% of Mobile Searchers Call a Business Directly From Search Results [Study]. Danny Goodwin, September 24, 2013. Accessed October 10, 2026.
BrightLocal. Local Consumer Review Survey 2026. Rosie Murphy, February 11, 2026. Accessed October 10, 2026.
CallRail. Why businesses can't afford to miss calls. Danielle Wood, September 25, 2025. Accessed October 10, 2026.
Google. Tips to improve your local ranking on Google. Google Business Profile Help. Accessed October 10, 2026.
Google. Understand your Business Profile performance & insights. Google Business Profile Help. Accessed October 10, 2026.
Stop missing calls
Answer every call, even after hours.
Local Voice answers your phone and books callers onto your calendar. Plans start at $397 a month for 500 minutes, plus a $500 setup fee. Call the demo line to hear it work.